1. YF(I would not name them YOF) knows that YAO will get much better stats than what he did here, or say, they have very strong confidence on YAO going to be much better if he had a team built on him. Which he lacks here. Some say YAO's foul preventing him to play more minutes, but YF would believe it's not true, they compare Hakeem's fouls with YAO's, it comes out Hakeem had done worse at least for the first 9 years than did YAO currently in that area. Why had Hakeem plays more minutes than YAO did, Deke also did the worst on minutes per foul in his career this season, it simply was a choice of coach. This team is no longer a YAO's team from the point when T-mac came. Some say, YAO has no desire to be a leader, but YF would believe that YAO can be reliable and dependable if the management trusts and has confidence on him, which was shown both in CNT and Shanghai Sharks. If they don't trust YAO, he will not have enough touches any soon, also YAO's kinda getting out of team as time goes by. YF would also have YAO traded to a place like NY, LA, SF, or even Toronto, since there exists much larger market for YAO, he will significantly lift the percentage of attendence, and more likely get more adorsement. 2. Fans of Huston would have YAO staying here. because if YAO left, this team is no better than Sonics, howcome they become a contender. YAO may be inconsistent, overpaid in 2 years. But if there is no YAO, there probably no playoffs. Bigger team wins playoff. Yao cannot play fast breaks, grab not enough rebounds, plays worse defense. he has inside presence, he makes this team at least looked better. That's it. That's what he's supposed to do! ALL in all, YAO leaves or not, depends on management, neither YAO, YF, nor fans of Huston, even they are overlaped.
If you say Yao's name 20 times in a post without mentioning the Houston Rockets, you're probably a YOF.
What if a team of 12 cloned, 3/4 scale Yao's played against the 2005 Houston Rockets, with the original full size Yao, coached by Angelica Huston. Who would you root for?
what I'm reading from your post is this: that everything thats going on with Yao Ming has nothing to do with Yao Ming - that he's not responsible for his past circumstance, his present circumstances, nor will he be responsible for his future decisions. I don't think Yao Ming thinks like that at all. And more importantly, the only people in this world who think Yao Ming would want to play anywhere other than Houston is YOF's who want him to play on not necessarily a better team but a team that doesn't have players that will take the glory away from Yao. cause like you say you are proud to be a YOF and that pride has a lot riding on Yao's individual performance so if theres one thing I hope Yao has it is a strong defiance to those type personal fans of his who think they know whats best for him because they have this deep attachment to his idenitity and culture and all that. this is really a waste of thought because everthing we've heard, all signs point to Yao desiring to stay in Houston. But in YOF's consciousness, seeds of discontent are being planted and spread, and now this idea of Yao wanting to leave Houston is streaming from one YOF brain to the next like a dominio effect and it's going to keep spreading leading up to this period of time that nears his resigning with the Houston Rockets. So I understand why this is coming up and why you are saying it. But I hope Yao Ming is man enough to make his own decision when the time comes for him to resign with the Houston Rockets, and I think if he is, which I really don't doubt that he is, then he will stay a Houston Rocket.
Aren't you the guy who posted about how the board wouldn't allow you to post? I kind of wish that that was really the case.
What kind of personnel moves should have been made for Yao? Okay, we all know about the need for a banging PF... Weren't the acquisitions of Wesley, Barry, probably even Padgett and maybe James made with Yao in mind-- outside shooting to open up the middle for Yao?
You say this team is no longer a "Yao's team from the point T-mac came". Pretend I'm managment and explain to me what a "Yao's team" is.
Ummm... WHAT?!? Yao would be better if he had a team built around him? What do you think CD and the Rockets having been doing for the last several years, playing tiddlywinks? Other than Clarence Weatherspoon, who's trade value is worth next to nothing this season, Yao is the ONLY player that remains from last year's team. They have been building around Yao, and Yao has gotten better. And while the players around him definately do help, I think the biggest factor to his slow but steady improvement is that he's still slowly getting used to the differences between pro ball in the US and pro ball in China. You can't blame Van Gundy when Yao has three fouls within the first six minutes of the game. There's no real choice but to take him out when he gets into serious, early foul trouble. He'll learn to stop the stupid fouls, and as the years go on he'll get more and more calls from the refs. However, even if he didn't get into all the foul trouble, he still doesn't have the ENDURANCE to play 42 - 48 minutes a night. Until he builds up his stamina, he's not going to be playing too many more minutes than he is now. He won't be able to build stamina through game play until he cuts down on the fouls though. As for this being T-Mac's team... well, Yao needs to step up and make it Yao's team. It's not just going to be handed to him. I don't know where these rumors start, Yao gets plenty of touches. Yao's had plenty of game winning plays, I don't think it's a question of management or JVG trusting him. JVG wants him out there, and so do his team mates. Some work needs to be done before Yao can play more minutes, however. You know what else boosts attendance? Winning ball games. The Toyota Center's attendance has been picking up steadily since the Rockets gave Houston a reason to believe again. As for endorsements, Yao's going to get the same endorsements no matter where he is due to who he is. You mean Yao is one of the two biggest cogs in the Rockets future? Of course Houston and the Rockets want Yao to stay in Houston. Yao doesn't make the team look better, he makes them play better. He doesn't radiate a freaking mirage. Yao doesn't necessarily need to run the fast breaks, and his defense and rebounding isn't exactly atrocious. Could it be improved? Sure, but he definately isn't a liability out there. I don't understand what you're trying to say in that last paragraph. Believe me though, management wants Yao here, and when the time comes they will offer Yao a nice big long contract. A contract I don't see him turning down. His folks are settled in and running a business here, and he's had nothing but good things to say about the city. The people of Houston will show him that they want him here too. They did with Beltran, and I don't see them not showing the same love to Yao. I think more than anything, you want to see him go to another city, whether that's LA, NY, SF, Toronto, or anywhere other than Houston.
..just don't start off by telling me managment screwed up by getting a 40 yr old guy who due to his excellent play is taking away precious minutes toward Yao's growth. Leave that out. Skip that. Cause If you hint toward something like that i won't be able to bear the rest of it.
I prefer him being better to moving around. If he can stay here better off, why not?! You made an excellent arguement, however, people think in differents ways. I hate to say, what Yao's team needs the most is either PG or decent PF, which we have none so far. Well, we have to admit that CD is almost surely GM of the year, don't we?
Juwon was playing well before he got hurt, but we do still need more of a bruiser at the 4. Mike James is a good point guard despite having more of a shooter's mentality. The man that's not going anywhere however, is Bob Sura. Sura is a vital part of this team. I don't have the numbers in front of me, and I'm sure someone else can find them much easier than I could, but there's a huge difference between when Sura starts and when he doesn't. We don't need another point guard. CD has definately got to be one of the favorites for GM of the year.
Sura's stats: 04-05 HOU 47 45 32.3 .421 .330 .763 1.50 4.50 5.90 5.2 1.19 .13 2.51 2.90 10.2 James's : 04-05 HOU 13 5 27.8 .456 .446 .679 .40 2.80 3.20 3.8 1.00 .08 1.38 2.60 13.8 They are more like SG in some sense, both good players though.
These repetitive YOF threads about Yao leaving because he isnt the primary offensive weapon make me want to barf in my mouth. Yao is a team player. He is not obsessed with stats, like you are. Lets address your idiotic choices for relocation: LA - Yao would be even less of an option here. Kobe is god here and will never leave. This is most stupid option of them all. Toronto - Dead franchise. Nice recommendation. NY - Salary cap hell. Buh-bye. SF (Golden State) - Stuck with Fisher at PG for a hundred years. I'm pretty sure the Sura/James combo is better than that.
