Yao ming....did houston make the right choice?

[Jayrich28]

I am watching espn classic the year of yao.
He was the first pick in 02 the best players out of that draft were boozer, stat, caron, prince , nene.
Really nobody super special...but did houston win choosing yao that year..with him the team never made it out of the 1st round and they were always good enough to make the playoffs but thats it leaving them in poor draft position.

For yao being a number 1 pick as a center....im not saying he was a bust he wasn't but did he do enough to be considered worth the first pick?

[utl768]

he was the right pick

u cant predict injuries

[ChitownBears22]

He was the right pick. I don't think anyone drafted that year is still with their original team. So they aren't getting production with Yao now. And they wouldn't be getting production out of anyone else.

[Jayrich28]

He was the right pick. I don't think anyone drafted that year is still with their original team. So they aren't getting production with Yao now. And they wouldn't be getting production out of anyone else.

I think thats what saves them nobody in the draft really was any more produce than yao maybe stat with francis may have been ok but prolly same future as the current rockets.

[ChitownBears22]

The only thing is they might have been able to trade Boozer or Stat. But I think they would still be in about the same spot.

[popo85]

Weak draft minus a few players, he when healthy was a very good player.

[Sixerlover]

Their owner made more money off of Yao in those 9 seasons then probably all of those other players would have made combined in merchandise sales, ticket sales, and overall brand recognition. So in the financial sense, yes it was the right move.

On the court it was the right move too, just too bad injuries happened. But put it this way, if you put me in a time machine to the '02 draft and told me everything that would happen with every player in that draft, I'm still taking Yao.

[Sssmush]

I am watching espn classic the year of yao.
He was the first pick in 02 the best players out of that draft were boozer, stat, caron, prince , nene.
Really nobody super special...but did houston win choosing yao that year..with him the team never made it out of the 1st round and they were always good enough to make the playoffs but thats it leaving them in poor draft position.

For yao being a number 1 pick as a center....im not saying he was a bust he wasn't but did he do enough to be considered worth the first pick?

If people had known how good Amare would be, then he for sure would've been the first pick.

If I was the GM, I might've traded that #1 pick for multiple future picks and a backup center or something like that, to just build the franchise. There was just too much uncertainty; I mean, Yao is super great, but if I was the GM holding that #1 pick, a 7'6" Chinese guy is just way too much uncertainty for me and I would've traded out. Like if you looked at the history with Shawn Bradley Ralph Sampson then you would've had enough doubts to trade out I think.

The ultimate would be if you traded down to #4, got Amare, then Prince later in the first round, then Boozer in the second round.

But if you wound up with Amare and a 1st round pick in two years or something like that, much better.

[Jayrich28]

Their owner made more money off of Yao in those 9 seasons then probably all of those other players would have made combined in merchandise sales, ticket sales, and overall brand recognition. So in the financial sense, yes it was the right move.

On the court it was the right move too, just too bad injuries happened. But put it this way, if you put me in a time machine to the '02 draft and told me everything that would happen with every player in that draft, I'm still taking Yao.

I understand what u guys r saying but for them to not get to even the wcf with him kind of seems like a incomplete project..pretty much the team has been average the past ten years.

Then when u think of bigs going 1st the team usually succeed unless ur portland...lol sorry blazer fans....jk

[koetravis]

Yao was better than all of those players.

[Raps08-09 Champ]

Yao is a cash cow and was the best player in that draft when healthy.

[Burkey3472]

Yao was the right pick.

[dylon smoke]

boozer was a diamond in the ruff...he went in the second round....amare didn't go super high either....he was the right pick, if you take away his injuries he would have been one of the best centers,,, the guys ****ing 7'6 lol

[StinkEye]

Yao was the best C in the league for a few years, and pretty damn great before injuries killed him. Stat had some amazing performances in the playoffs with the Suns, but Yao was definitely the right pick. Nobody else is really relevant in this discussion.

[Jayrich28]

Yao is a cash cow and was the best player in that draft when healthy.

He help them financial...but I question if he was a leader for that team