Drafts 2001-2005

2001

You would like a mulligan on this one right, MJ? Gasol is probably the best big man right now behind D12, Joe Johnson is a top tier player, Tony Parker is a 3 time champ and a finals MVP, Zach Randolph is (was?) crazy but gives you a 20/10 night after night. So, yeah, bad choice MJ, bad choice

Championship Builders: None

Biggest Jump: Mehmet Okur from 37th to 10th

Pick Order. Picking Team -- Player Selected ( Original position drafted)

1. Wizards -- Pau Gasol (3)
2. Clippers -- Joe Johnson (10)
3. Hawks -- Tony Parker (29)
4. Bulls -- Shane Battier (6 )
5. Warriors -- Zach Randolph (19)
6. Grizzlies -- Gerald Wallace (25)
7. Nets -- Richard Jefferson (13)
8. Cavs -- Jason Richardson (5)
9. Pistons -- Tyson Chandler (2)
10. Celtics -- Mehmet Okur (37)


2002

Solid solid class featuring 4 quality dependable big guys (if we count Nene as dependable), Amare could overtake Yao as the first pick depending on where he lands this summer. Also a very bad drafted class as we have 3 second round picks in the top 10.


Championship Builders: Rockets
Biggest Jump: Luis Scola from 55th to 9th


Pick Order. Picking Team -- Player Selected ( Original position drafted)

1. Rockets -- Yao Ming (1)
2. Bulls -- Amare Stoudemire (9)
3. Warriors -- Carlos Boozer (34)
4. Grizzlies -- Caron Butler (10)
5. Nuggets -- Tayshaun Prince (23)
6. Cavs -- John Salmons (26)
7. Knicks -- Nene Hilario (7)
8. Clippers -- Matt Barnes (45)
9. Suns -- Luis Scola (55)
10. Heat -- Drew Gooden (4)



2003

Four franchise players. Its 1984 all over again and as in 1984 the redoing of this class changes everything! Cleveland get Lebron but the Pistons come away with Dwayne Wade, basically taking away the 2006 title from the Heat and Shaq’s fourth title. What Detroit does with Wade? Bring him off the bench? We all know Wade was ready to be a impact player in year one, does Larry Brown plays him? Do the trade him? I’m guessing both Dumars and Brown would realize what they have in hands and do the right thing (Trading Rip after a year or two). Kaman goes to the Heat (no more Shaq) and Perkins take Kaman’s spot in the Clippers (Sorry Kendrick. Sorry Celtics)

Championship Builders: Cavs, Pistons, Nuggets, Raptors

Biggest Jump: Kendrick Perkins from 27th to 6th


Pick Order. Picking Team -- Player Selected ( Original position drafted)

1. Cavs -- Lebron James (1)
2. Pistons -- Dwayne Wade (5)
3. Nuggets -- Carmelo Anthony (3)
4. Raptors -- Chris Bosh (4)
5. Heat -- Chris Kaman (6)
6. Clippers -- Kendrick Perkins (27)
7. Bulls-- David West (18)
8. Bucks -- Leandro Barbosa (28)
9. Knicks -- Boris Diaw (21)



2004

Fourth straight solid talent filled class. And you wonder why we are getting a better product (player wise). The impact of this class: Al Jefferson getting selected by the Bobcats so the Celtics don’t have the golden ticket to get the Big Ticket. No 17th banner for the Celtics. Oh look, the Hawks selects a point guard!

Championship Builders: Magic, Bobcats

Biggest Jump: Anderson Varejao from 30th to 11th


Pick Order. Picking Team -- Player Selected ( Original position drafted)

1. Magic -- Dwight Howard (1)
2. Bobcats -- Al Jefferson (15)
3. Bulls -- Josh Smith (17)
4. Clippers -- Emeka Okafor (2)
5. Wizards -- Andre Igoudala (9)
6. Hawks -- Jameer Nelson (20)
7. Suns -- Loul Deng (7)
8. Raptors -- Kevin Martin (26 )
9. Sixers -- Ben Gordon (3)
10. Cavs -- Devin Harris (5)
11. Warriors -- Anderson Varejao (30)
12. Sonics -- J.R. Smith (18)



2005

Can we say “5 straight good class?” Not exactly a deep class but you rarely have the first 6 teams selecting coming out with a big smile in their faces. We have two franchise point guards, one big swing man who wants to be a second banana and three really good big man who happens to be young enough to get better. Oh look, the Hawks selects a point guard!

Championship Builders: Bucks, Hawks

Biggest Jump: Anderson Varejao from 30th to 6th


Pick Order. Picking Team -- Player Selected ( Original position drafted)




1. Bucks -- Chris Paul (4)
2. Hawks -- Deron Williams (3)
3. Jazz -- Danny Granger (17)
4. Hornets -- Andrew Bogut (1)
5. Bobcats -- Andew Bynum (10)
6. Blazers -- David Lee (30)
7. Raptors -- Raymon Felton (5)

If I were a GM...

After years of watching tons of GM coming and going and critizing their jobs assuming I could do better job I decided to give some ideas and thoughts for how to be a GM. This is wisdom coming from the Basketball' Gods! Use it wisely

1. Never ever draft or signed a chinese players. Your franchise would be a second priority for them no matter how much money you pay them. First priority will ALWAYS be the exultation of capturing glory for their country. If they get injured in the middle of the season they will get their surgery or whatever treatment inmediatly because they won't wait for the offseason. The offseason is their season. See Yao Ming, Yi Jialin
2. Don't even think about giving a huge contract to a player that comes from just a single good season or a good postseason run. I don't care how many rebounds he pull down or how high is his PER. Consistency is the key. The same rule applies to college kids that overachieved in a couple of tournament games. Ask yourself this, what have this guy done the entire tournament? Is just that he played really hard those games. Where's his dedication? His work ethic? See Jerome James
   
3. Draft for need not for talent. Unless the guy is really, really good or you have a pre-arranged deal with another team for that talented guy. Don't mess around with chemistry. Let me give your an example: If you have a solid point guard the last couple of years.He's a good player, hard worker, good basketball IQ ,etc. You know the entire package unless you can draft the next Magic Johnson don't threaten his work security by drafting another poing guard who may be better. Go for the next best thing.
4. Stay away from troublemakers. If you had a young team don't even look at a "problematic" player directly to the eye. If your team has some veteran leadership you can afford the gamble of bringing a talented but disturb individual. This rule doesn't apply to Ron Artest. Ignored him completely.
5. Have consistency on the bench. Select a coach, preferebly with some experience, an commit to him and his system. Give him all the tools necesary under which his system can thrive and be as sucessfull as it can be as quickest as possible. I have a "sub-rule" or corollary if your are felling fancy:
1. Know your coach. You need to keep in mind the personality and character twists of your coach. Don't sign players that they will crash with your coach and/or his system. If you have a shot at bringing an franchise player that you know eventually will have problems with your coach you need to be a very good GM and do the following:
1. Never give power to the player over the coach, don't let him feel that's he's running your franchise. See Lebron James
   
2. Prepare for the worst and make sutil trades or adquisition that complement the new player leaving that "complement your coach" as a lower priority.
3. When and if you have to fire your coach bring a new one that adapts to your star player but give him the final word about all basketball court decisions. Don't give too much power to your players. See Mike Brown
   
4. The bigger the franchise player (I'm refering here to ego, basketball IQ, leadership, brand name, etc ) the stronger the coach you need. See Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson
   
2. Hire coaches that know their limitations. Coaches know need offensive specialist, defensive specialists, etc. The era of coaches who know everything is over. See Pat Riley
6. Always, always have a strong veteran voice in your lockeroom, besides your coaching staff It doens't matter if the guy can't play no more, if he's respected and heard keep him around.
7. If you find yourself in a offseason where you have cap room and money to spend don't give it away just for the sake of signing somebody. Save for the next offseason or some in season trade where you can steal draft pick or something.
8. Know your owner. If your franchised is owned by a guy that's wont break the salary cap you have several ways to go:
1. Have a max player and pray to the basketball gods he doesn't go south on you. Have a bunch of well payed ballers but nobody of them will make the top 20 salaries.
2. Have a couple of players near the max and a bunch of hard working young guys and desperate and crafty veterans who wants to win now
3. Use the Detroit Pistons or Chicago Bulls (pre Ben Wallace) model and group a bunch of talented players and cross your fingers so they get along and develop some chemistry.

Guide to the Casual NBA Fan

This is the second part of this post, this one is meant for the casual fan. This is the first one

Here we go


1. MJ is gone. Do the league need somebody to take his place?

Basketball Gods: Yes MJ is gone. The league has spent more than 8 years recovering from that. Once the league hit the "mainstream" - popularity wise - in the 80's they haven't face a challengue like that. When Bird and Magic retired there was MJ. When MJ went to swing bad pitches the league had Penny and Shaq, Malone and Stockton and the Knicks. They hold the fort for those couple of years. When he left in 1998 (he wasn't the same when he played for the Wizards) all those personalities and high profile players felt short of taking MJ's torch and the league suddenly didnt't know how to sell itself and everybody had this "I miss the 90's" type of feeling.

In some way the league is still looking for MJ's replacemente but in a diferent way: no more it's waiting for the next high scoring charismatic shooting guard, now we are just waiting for the next dominant force.


2. Is Tim Duncan overrated?

Basketball Gods: You know last year I was asking myselft that very same question. There are several factors going agains Tim Duncan: First, he plays in San Antonio, Texas. Second, Tim Duncan is a quiet and introvert individual. Third, his game is no flashy, is fundamental as hell. Add all those things together and it's pretty hard to sell the guy to the average fan. Another factor is that he's not a clutch player, he's a post up player. Is quiet difficult to have a post player taking the last shot of the game.

Taking all that in considerations, the guy is as good as they come. His defense one on one, his team defense, his rebouding, he demands a double team every time he touches the ball because of his array of post up moves makes him a 30 point game waiting to happen if single coveraged. His game make the game of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobilig happen. He makes the Spurs happen.

So, no he's not overrated. His game isn't easy to the eye,that's it.


3. Why there are a more good teams in the West than in the East?


Basketball Gods: Again, there's a bunch of factors. Luck, good management and CAP management are the main reasons. Luck because the have won the lottery or they have high draft picks and they have been able to select the right players. They have scouted and found hidden gems with low draft picks or in the second round. Let me explained you with examples:

• Duncan was the first pick in 1997. Philly (East) took Keith Van Horn with the 2nd pick while Tracy McGrady and Chauncey Billups were available.

• In1998 Dallas picked Dirk Nowitzki with the 9th pick. Same spot that Phoenix found Shawn Marion the next year.

• In 1999 Ginobili was drafted with 57th pick..that's in the second round!

• In 2001 Washington (East) won the lottery and select Kwame Brown (and total bust so far). Memphis traded for Pau Gasol, selected 3rd and Portland grabbed Zach Randolph with the 19th pick.

• In 2002 Yao was the first pick. Chicago (East) selected Jay Williams with the next pick. Amare Stoudemire and Tayshaun Prince were available
  

I'm not saying all East teams draft bad and all the West teams are genius, that's why I say there's a little of luck involve. Good CAPmanagement also comes to the table. Take Phoenix as an example, they traded Mardbury and Penny Hardaway to the Knicks (East) to have enough money to offer to Steve Nash. With Nash the Suns have won an average of 59 games per season. The Spurs have signed Parker, Ginobili and Duncan for long terms contracts but still have room to make key adquisitions like Michael Finley year in and year out and make trades without going over the CAP

Smart people are sucessful no matter what business are they in.


4. The Knicks have sucked for awhile now. What's the deal?

Basketball Gods: Isiah Thomas. Worst GM in the history of that franchise ...by a long shot. They also have an owner, James Dolan, that doesn't really care about the basketball side of the franchise. According to Forbes the Knicks are still the most valuable NBA franchise despite that they haven't won a playoff series in 9 years and they haven't even qualified to the last four years.


5. I heard the Bulls were winning again. Can they win it all?

Basketball Gods: Three years ago a young and scrappy Bulls team took everybody by surprise and won 47 games (out of 82) . They did it with defense and outworking pretty much everybody night in a night out. They have a couple of good years after that even going to the second round of the playoffs last year. But this team lacks 2 major components necessary for winning in these league: a post up player and a superstar that takes control when game is on the line.

The Bulls are fill with young talented players. Their names pop up almost every year in trade rumors in exchange for a big name post up player (Garnett, Gasol, Jermaine O'neal) but management had never pull the trigger. Now this team looks tired and frustrated despite being the younger team in the league and their record is showing it (25-38 as this morning). There's still a chance of salvating this Bulls but if history have taught us something this management group, lead by ex player John Paxson, won't be capable of doing it.


6. Vince Carter. He looked as the next big thing! Why I haven't heard anything from him?

Basketball Gods: Carter is probably one of the most talented and gifted athletes in the league. His problem: work ethic. Plain and simple. Vince has never been the hard working type of guy it shows in his game , it shows in his body and his teammates know this. He could be as good as Kobe if he had that same work ethic. As a fan, I think we could had something special.


7. Is the Chinese giant that good?

Basketball Gods: I guess you are talking about Yao Ming. Yes, he's that good. For the last two or three years he's been a top three center in the league.


8. Which foreign players are better between latin americans or europeans?

Basketball Gods: In general terms: europeans. They have more fundamentals, better shooters and have shown a lot more discipline that latins. If you change that question and ask me how's better between argentinians and europeans, I'll have to say argentinians. I just feel they are smarter, more blue collar and most important they are way more team oriented.


9. Give me a reason to go back

Basketball Gods: You'll be a little harder to convince that the Ex NBA fan becuase you have an idea of what's happening. What I can say is that there is more real talent right now that in recent years. There are more competitive teams. The competition is harder.

But my strongest allegation here has a name: Lebron James. This guy is too damn good. You can look in this blog for information about him or the web ( there's a google box on your right :) ) or whatever. This guy is 23 years old, has been in the league since age 17. He's 6'9 , 260 (something like Karl Malone) , he's fast, strong, excellent court vision and can fly with the best of them. Has a career average of 27.3. Lead a crappy Cleveland team to the NBA Finals las June. Just look him up.

Remember how MJ surpassed Magic, Bird. This guy will surpass MJ. I think you might wanna be witness of that.

Yao is Out

So much for this year's exultation of capturing glory.

Yao Ming is out for the season after a stress fracture in his left foot. For anybody who has followed Yao and the Rockets it's a know fact that they have won 12 straight games, before Yao went down, because of their defense and Yao is the building block of that defense. Said that, Houston is going to struggle migthly against high octane offense teams and teams featuring a scoring 1 or a scoring 2, which means the entire West and like 4 teams from the East.

Are the Rockets out of playoff picture? Not yet. They have to be thankful that the Blazers cinderella season doesn't appear to get the into the playoffs. They still have a chance but now the can forget the chase San Antonio, New Orleans and Dallas and begin to worried about the Nuggets and Warriors.


As for Yao goes, he's main problem right now is his country

"If I cannot play in the Olympics for my country this time, it will be the biggest loss in my career to right now," he said

If I were a Rockets I could be wondering right now "Is this guy having surgery or treatment or whatever the hell is doing on his foot in the strech run of our season, missing the playoffs in the process, to be able to recover for the Olympics?"


What's China has to said about all this

Doctors blamed the injury on accumulated stress on the bone, rather than any single incident. Titan said the true cause was the Rockets' failure to provide a reliable substitute for Yao, forcing him into too much game time.

"In fact, exhaustion was really the major reason behind Yao Ming's injury," the paper said.

I'm guessing relationships between the Rockets and China has been "aceptable" all this years. China has always had a eye on Yao and his development and his on going injuries but they have never made an statemente like that. David Stern is in love with China and it's investment potencial, wisely. I hope this doesn't mean that Stern is going to try to give a little "push" to improve the Rockets.


I know, that's very unprofessional and very "Suns fans " behaviour on my behalf (u know "Stern is fixing the league" type of statement) but well, as Puffy used to say "mo' money mo' problems"

Joy to the League. Part II

Indiana Pacers: Jamaal Tinsley is still alive and they are 15-13 playing in the Eastern conference.

New Jersey Nets: Richard Jefferson is becoming a scoring machine thanks in part to the way Jason Kidd is playing (11.3 ppg, 10.3 apg, 8.8 rpg, 1.8 spg). They got back Marcus Williams this past month.

Seattle Supersonics: Kevin Durant. Jeff Green. They're going to be in rebuilding mode for the next 3 years at least but Durant ofensive proweness will help the cause, on an off the court.

Philadelphia Sixers: Billy King is out. Andre Miller's still playing for them so there is hope that once they trade him they probabbly get something good and valuable in return.

Houston Rockets: Yao Ming generates them lots of money. They are pretty good team when TMac is healthy.

L.A. Clippers: Chris Kaman will give them some comfort in case Elton Brand leaves. Rebuilding using a big man of the 2003 class as centerpiece is not that bad.

Sacramento Kings: Ron Artest hasn't gone wild yet. They are winning a fair amount of (11 -15) games without Bibby, Martin and Shareff

Washington Wizards: Caron Butler is playing more and more like a true star which is a very good thing because they need somebody to care more on winning games than self promoting his own ass (Sorry Gilbert the Basketball Gods are huge fans of your blog and your antics and everything you do, including your game, but they do know which is you priority)

Memphis Grizzlies: New coach, new system, new star. Rudy Gay is leading the team in points (19.6 ppg ) and showing some true leadership skills. Mike Miller have also been a bright spot this season. And Gasol is happy playing with his buddy Calderon.

Chicago Bulls: They had a shot at greatness for the second time in franchise history. Now they've fired their coach and their GM likes to give gifts to everybody around the league.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Al Jefferson and the rest of the team play hard night after night and they seem like a close team.

Charlotte Bobcats: Michael Jordan called out Felton and the rest of the team. They responded with 2 straight wins. That's the best thing MJ have done for a basketball team since 1998

Miami Heat: Wade appears to be headed to the All Star game and Riley still haven't abandoned the ship.

New York Knicks: Their fans can be very organized

Looking forward: West All Stars

Let's keep talkin about the deserving All Stars this time from the West. It's unbelievable the amount of players in this conference playing good to great basketball. There are 4 centers who could easily deserve the starting spot (There are 2 and half centers in the East)

Forwards:

• Carlos Boozer: The Jazz are struggling a little bit now, but Boozer always shows up and puts huge numbers ( 25.4 ppg, 11.7 rpg)
  
• Tim Duncan: He's having a quiet season but the Spurs are the best team in the West right now. His stock could be hurt by Manu's but I do se him playing for the West.
• Carmelo Anthony: Something happened in Denver. The last couple of week Melo doesn't seem like the top dog up in there. The change of the alpha dog role hasn't made a difference in the Nuggets record but it might change Melo's chances for his first All Start berth.
• Josh Howard: This is my theory: Avery Johnson is trying to create a go to guy in Josh Howard because Nowitzki, in all his skills, is very likely to choke under pressure. They need a much colder guy but that's just my theory.
• David West: This little known forward of the New Orleans Hornets should had been selected last year to the All Star squad and this year he's putting better number and the New Orleans Hornets and winning more games. Common sense, dude.
  
• Shawn Marion: The do-it-all for the Phoenix Suns is one of the best defensive players of the league but he might not get to be an All Star this year. Let's just hope he keep his eye on the grand prize and not let his ego force a trade to the Eastern Conference.
  
• Dirk Nowizki: A rather slow year for the David Hasselhoff fan. Shooting only 29% from downtown and averaging 21.2 - some 5 ppg lower than I expected - but life would be a lot harder for the Mavs and Josh Howard if Nowitzki weren't there.

Guards:

• Kobe Bryant: Right now he's the best player in the league. Lebron is like 3 eaten fingernails behind him. And his Lakers are totally overachieving thanks to no small part to Mr Bryant.
  
• Baron Davis: After last spring dismantle of a 67 win team I'd have think that the ring leader of the Warriors was going to get far more love. This Warrios might not seem like championship material but they can be pretty scary for anybody in this league. It all starts with the beard.
• Steve Nash: The Suns aren't still "clicking at all cylinders", whatever that means, but Steve is getting his numbers and the Suns have one of the best records in the league.
• Allen Iverson: Did he lost his confidence on Melo? Or he did just got tired of playing second banana? For whatever reason he return to his old scoring ways I'm glad! I just love to see Iverson racking up points.
• Manu Ginobili: The real reason the Spurs were winning so much games before this 1-3 bump, it's his line: 20 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.6 spg under 30 minutes per game.
• Chris Paul: The leader of the Hornets is averaging more then 20 ppg and almost 10 apg and leads the league in steals at 2.7. He needs to be selected I don't care if they build the roster with only one center.
  
• Brandon Roy: Everybody expected to the Blazers to roll over and cry Oden a river. They have won 8 straight games and playing inspired basketball. Roy's averging 24 ppg in that streak.
• Stephen Jackson: The Warriors were winninless before Capt Jack appeared. Now, they are fearless.
• Deron Williams: I just don't know where to put this guy. He's playing better basketball than Nash and Parker but even son he has less chances to get selected. Two issues are stading in DWill path to the All Star game 1) the Jazz are strugglinand and 2) the almost sure selection of Carlos Boozer. With the amount of candidates in the West -specially at the guard position - I don't think they'll select two players from a .500 team.
  
• Tony Parker: The third Spur in this list. He's averaging career highs in points (20.1) and assists (6.8) but even so he doesn't appear headed to the All Star roster.
• Tracy McGrady : Mr McGrady was on fire at the start of the season , but as he put it "teams have figured us out now". His great numbers and his popularity could earn him a roster spot

Centers:

• Yao Ming: He's been an All Star every year thanks to the 2 billion Chinese people that vote for him on daily basis but he's been deserving the spot the last couple of years. This year will be no diference.
• Marcus Camby: Three Nuggets on the All Star team. That would be cool. Camby's numbers back him up and the Nuggets are currently sitting at the top of the Norwest division.
• Amare Stoudemire: He's not a friend of rebounding or playing defense but he's a great offensive player and his game fit's with the running show of the All Star game.
• Chris Kaman: The former hippie have taken advantage of the little hole in the paint left by Elton Brand. It's a shame that the Clippers have more injury people than a ER chapter.

All this lead to my predictions:



Starters:

C Yao
F Duncan
F Boozer
G Kobe
G Nash

Bench:


Josh Howard
Carmelo Anthony
Baron Davis
Allen Iverson
Amare Stoudemire
Manu Ginobili
Chris Paul

Stupidness 1.2

Steve “Franchise” is coming back to the franchise that saw him become an All Star. Good for Francis, I’m really glad for the guy, he’s going to play in a familiar territory and he never really fit with those Knicks, maybe because sharing a backcourt with Marbury is like sharing a pie with Val Kilmer this days. My issue (among others) here is that I really don’t understand this from the Rockets point of view. They have 2 scorers and no true point guard, they decided to add another scorer, who calls himself a point guard, but he’s actually a scorer who like to shot a lot in order to score a lot,you know he being a scorer. They now have 3 scorers and the making of a huge catfight for the ball in a middle of a game. SCORER!. If the word scorer just lost the meaning to you, you probably need to score to reconnect to the sense of the word, if you know what I mean. Be a scorer. Score.

Does this propel Houston pass their Texas buddies? Hell no! But it will be interesting when China calls Houston to said that they are not helping Yao achieve the exultation of capturing glory and that they must kill Francis. Houston will probably be ok with this as long as the murdered Francis' contract doesn't count against the cap.

In another bonehead move, the Suns are trading their (only) best post defender and only player who’s not afraid of the boogeyman to the Sonics for a second round pick and a $8 million trade exception. If Phoenix don’t get KG or Jermainel O’neal, I’m officially getting of the Steve Kerr’s bandwagon and proclaiming that the Suns just wasted the last couple of good years on Steve Nash “rebirth”. Really, Kerr appears to be a good guy, he went through a lot of bad shit before hitting the NBA, he was a great color commentator, a great shooter, but I don’t see how a team in the position the Phoenix is can rely in a rookie GM, they are piece or two (three now) away from really contending, they’re in a crappy CAP position, they need somebody who knows what he or she’s doing, I’m not saying Steve’s doesn’t, but if he’s going to show growing pains handling this team and make a mistake here or there, it would be a great opportunity missed for them do to something special and signing it’s ticket to the basketball Olympus.

Let’s just hope this is step one; I’m not the only one thinking it

China is mad

Somewhere, Jack Bauer is saying "I told u so", I really don't want to be the kind of person who says (or writes ) "this damn chinese are craazy", so, I'm saying (or writing ) this people from China are insane. We are receiving some bad impressions from China's "official spokespersons" lately. I haven't said or write anything about the Yi thing, because I know where's going to end. This is why, Chinese Basketball Program, "regimen" is more of a appropriate word here, recruit kids with potential before they hit puberty and invest on them with one goal and one goal only, to develop a superarmy of basketball players that take control of the basketball Olympus.

They want their supersoldeirs to develop their arms and tactics in the fieriest battle camps, but don't be fooled, they don't have the control of their own fates, they must be grateful and dedicate their lives to the greater good... their country. When chinese players get to the NBA, China expects his superplayers to have significant playing time, you know, in order to develop their arms and control our Olympus. Also, once they are there, the should became a global icon (whatchout Lebron!) and all the money that comes along (I don't know if that money goes to the superplayer or the supercountry, if anybody knows, please let me know).

Once the season ends, their asses must get back to China, we have seen how Yao offseason revolves around the Chinese basketball program, the kid doesn't get any rest, unless China says so. The Wan Zhizhi history is another perfect example of this, he refused to go back and fight with his nation's basketball troop and was labeled as a "immature ingrate" and was banned from the China national team for 5 years, and this is not a good thing, neither for him nor for his family.

Said that, who controls Yi is China and China alone, the NBA rights belong to the Bucks, but the human being belongs to China, there's no debate here who has the upper hand, if they can't force a trade Yi would not play a NBA game for a long time. What's the solution here, you ask?. It could be:

1. The Bucks trade Yi to Golden State and everybody is happy
2. Take some 10 million of Chinese people, move them to Wisconsin, gave them high acquisitive power and Bucks' season tickets

Right now, I don't know which one is more unlikely.


Let's said China officials are not that bad, they are just taking care of their "investment", but then another story comes along, apparently Yao was having too much fun getting married, living his life and immature and ingrate stuff like that, hurting China in the process:

"No matter how lofty public welfare activities are, they can't be allowed to take first place in a player's life,'' the China Sports Daily, a federation-owned newspaper, said in an article appearing Tuesday. "No matter how sweet personal life is, it can't be compared to the exultation of capturing glory for one's nation,'

First of all, I love the phrase "the exultation of capturing glory", it will become my new personal battle cry when going clubbing.

You might think that "it's really sick how this guys are being treated, they are not free, the have not decision power over his personal life..etc..etc." But they do have the option, just ask the Zhizhi dude, but in that culture they live their lives following an honor code and being "immature ingrate" it's way worst for them than for any of us, it's like punching your sweet caring grandma; the option is there and the opportunity might arise, but nobody is going to do it... I hope...