RealGM

Basically a 6'10" version of KRS-1. Anyways with the team we have now playing their best do you think if we had the Al Jefferson that played against US on our team we could be a contender? That guy was awesome and could probably help us win it all with our current rotation. Swap Yao out for Jefferson would be awesome. A healthy uninjured one that is.

Al Jefferson is actually 6'8.25" w/o shoes
6'9.5" w/ shoes at best

I would still rather Yao..

Jefferson has some of the best post moves and footwork since Hakeem in my opinion. He humbled Yao with his moves like Hakeem humbled David Robinson.

However his defense is subpar and he cannot effectively guard the paint.

If the Rockets had a Deke-type center that could start and play 25-30 minutes, then Jefferson would fit perfectly into the PF spot. But expecting him to play center and playing Scola/Landry alongside him would be a bad idea defensively. Yao fits better in that respect.

Jefferson scored a will against Yao is because that's a mismatch
he can't score like that against Hayes

Yao is an anchor defensively, Jefferson is not. Not to mention the rather large discrepancy in the shot attempts by both players, gimme Yao.