Yao really needs a back up, an average but tall and strong is enough. Rockets did overuse Yao in the regular season and they have paid for it.
I'd like to Deke to stay but with the injuries that Yao and McGrady have every year, roster SPOTS are very important. It may be important for us to have someone at the 5 who can play 30 minutes in case Yao goes down. Diop would be excellent, and worth most of the MLE. Deke is great, but him not being able to play more than 20-25 minutes and not being able to play against fast-paced teams will be a hinderance next season. We need someone at the backup 5 other than Hayes/Scola/Landry. We also need to pick up a swingman who can pick up some scoring slack for when Battier has no one to defend (teams with no scoring swingmen). We need to be smart this offseason. I love Deke. I hope he will see that we need someone else at backup C now. Unless we have an extra roster spot available, which won't happen unless we make a 3-for-1 trade.
You can spot play Landry/Scola at the five but only for a few minutes and only against certain teams. You can get away with that against GS, for example, but not against Orlando, Phoenix, the Lakers, etc... Diop would be a good get for the Rox.
