RealGM

With Shaq retiring and now Yao, there goes two huge fan favorites at the Center position. Feels a bit like a changing of the guard, even though neither of these guys were a factor this past season.

Does the retirement of these stars weaken the player position in the lockout negotiations at all? I wonder if it hurts the interest from the Chinese markets now that Yao is done or if they manage to keep growing over there anyway.

Yao will remain NBA-centric and will not be a stranger in retirement. I don't think it makes any difference now, there will eventually be more Chinese players. There's usually a lull after the first big break through it seems. Drazen and Vlade were novelties at the time, then after the teens who watched those guys grew up the market for Yugo players in the NBA exploded. It has a lot to do not just with the attention by the players, but also by the establishment of coaches and scouts who push top athletes toward basketball.

Kanter is going to be an All-Star by default at some point in his career.

There are five great center prospects in the 2013 draft.