This will be the 1st season of the new rule too where we will have 17 man roster and a couple players will get paid different amounts according to which league they are playing in on different nights. I would not expect Qi to be on one of those deals but somebody will

You heard it here first! It’ll be the G League, then the NBA.

Agreed.

Ditto.

Big with a 9’5" standing reach that can switch onto perimeter players, effectively, and hit perimeter shots? Potential unicorn.

He’ll get bullied by a few guys in the post and likely never becomes a great rebounder but can protect the rim by blocking/altering shots and pull opposing bigs out of the paint on offense. Isn’t that just what the Rockets need?

He’s more athletic than given credit for.

It could be a long night against Memphis or New Orleans, but the real question is, can he punish them right back? Dragging Boogie or Zach Randolph out 30 feet and shooting over them anyway has a way of evening things out. That’s why I say – keep in mind what he CAN do. No one is going to ask him to take a board away from Charles Oakley.

15-20 good minutes a night would be great. I expect to see him early 2018. Well, a lot earlier if the Rockets have like 9 guys on the roster…

Yao went from rail thin to 300 pounds and his feet could not carry the load. Durant might be the better model for him.

just to catch up with Durant’s 240, I believe.

so he definitely shouldn’t be hitting the weight room like a maniac. Dude needs to put on weight 15-25 pound in the next three years, so a more steady plan should be used.

You really, really don’t want your Bigs getting 250+ in this day and age. There is less of a need for strength and weight, and a definite need for speed and agility. Being above 250 not only hurts Bigs in those two key categories, it actually increases the likelihood of injury by quite a bit. Essentially Houston needs more of a Rudy Gobert type(started at 238 and is around 245) and less of a Embiid type(started at 240 and is 250). Embiid started real skinny, and all that rapid weight gain from 2011 to 2014/2015 likely contributed to his string of injuries.

Essentially I’ll be happy if Qi puts on 5-10 pounds from his current weight in a year, and worried of he puts on 15+ in the same period.

Embiid is 7’2, 275 and shoots 3s running off screens now.

Qi looks muscular already, he just has a slender frame, like Durant. And is it important that he be bulky or that he be faster than almost anyone his size?