Rockets, Sharks To Meet On Monday By Clutch SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2002 11:29 AM CST http://clutchcity.net/news.cfm?NewsID=1002 Rockets foursome, Sharks execs, Yao's mother and cousin meeting in China on Monday to discuss Yao's future The future of the #1 pick in the NBA Draft could be determined in the next few days. The Rockets group did indeed leave for China Saturday, as originally planned, and will meet with representation of the Shangai Sharks and Yao's mother on Monday. "The main thing we are going to try and accomplish is to develop a relationship with the Chinese officials," said Michael Goldberg, Rockets lead attorney and negotiator. "They've given us a gracious invitation, and we've got to see if we can get that measure of trust and get a deal done." Even more encouraging was the fact that Erik Zhang, Yao's cousin and choice for his representation, was invited to attend the meeting, despite the fact that Li Yaomin, the Sharks GM, has publically tried to discredit Zhang as Yao's rep over the last few weeks. Zhang said he felt the invite meant the CBA is softening their stance and possibly recognizes Yao's right to choose his own representation, though I would say that is unlikely given that just a few days ago it was a completely different story. Said Yaomin of Zhang then, "We select the best choice of agent for Yao. Will Eric Zhang be the person in the U.S. making the decision for Yao? No. Eric has nothing to do with our club. He doesn't represent Yao." So who do the Sharks want to represent Yao? According to the Washington Post, it's Evergreen Sports of Cleveland. Said Yaomin: "In 1998, I took Yao to the U.S. When we came back, we reported to the leaders about the interest in Yao Ming. After this time, 14 sports agencies came over to Shanghai to discuss the possibility of representing Yao. We chose Evergreen because at the time they were very sincere." "We were impressed by their sincerity. In order to develop Yao, they had rented out an athletic club with a gym. They hired 10 players to play with Yao, they rented the coaches, a training staff, a nutritionist, physiotherapist. They had language instructors available to teach him English at all times of the day and night. At the time, they had organized the very best program. We were impressed because it was very detailed."
