Notes on Mo, Yao and Mobley/Francis - CHRON

<i>Memo to Yao: Rockets have space for you
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

You've got to like this Yao Ming guy. Not only does he offer to take members of the media to lunch -- always a big plus -- he is willing to do our job for us. (You didn't think we forgot that lunch thing, did you, big guy?)

After a few minutes of small talk in Beijing, Yao was left to chat with Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich and asked a variety of pertinent questions. Once Tomjanovich got over the shock -- not at Yao and his command of English but at finally hearing a few decent questions -- he did his best to answer.

But since Yao is asking, it would seem the least we could do is answer.

How is Maurice Taylor's Achilles?

Well, he looks healthy. Very healthy. Actually, Taylor is down to an estimated 290 pounds and has been cleared for running and shooting. The Rockets' best-case scenario is to have Taylor ready when the their LA Summer Pro League team begins working out July 7.

Rockets trainer Keith Jones said Taylor will need to pass strength tests and "get in condition" to be cleared for practice. But Taylor should be ready in plenty of time for the season, which, of course, begins for Taylor five days late.

Hey, Yao, you had to ask.

What are the guards like?
They can really score, but you could find that from statistics sheets. What you really wanted to know is if Cuttino Mobley meant it when he said he and Steve Francis would rather have Lamar Odom than you.

Of course he meant it. Don't take it personally. NBA players are not scouts. They know no more about you than they saw from that Chicago workout, which proved you are good at jogging and taking jump shots.

Besides, Odom is a buddy. Sure, he's got a couple drug suspensions, but he's a good guy, a terrific talent and has a history at Rhode Island with Mobley.

Players always prefer the immediate reward of a veteran to the prospects of a project. Nothing personal. That will come later when every high flyer in the league tries to dunk on you.

What would four years at a university in the United States rather than playing in China and internationally have done for my game?

For starters, if you stayed for four years, it would have made you nearly as rare a commodity in the draft as a 7-5 Chinese center. And you would have enjoyed yourself. (See Mobley and Odom, above.)

In some ways, you would be further ahead than you are now, but in other ways, your experiences might be more useful than playing college basketball would have been. You would be much more accustomed to the United States style. You would have been lifting some weights, too.

But you would not have run into the muscular 7-footers who play internationally. You've seen the tricks, felt the elbows. Either way, you've got a lot to learn.

Will I fit in without disrupting the way the Rockets do things?

What's wrong with disrupting things? Actually, the way the Rockets do things is to adjust their style to their talent, so you should fit in easily.

You will be an ideal high-post balance if Taylor is in the low post, a strategy that worked well with your hero Hakeem Olajuwon in his last season in Houston. Most of all, there are all sorts of open shots waiting for someone who can catch and shoot.

But more than that, long before Tomjanovich thought he would have a chance at picking a 7-5 center with soft hands and a knack for passing the ball, he had written all sorts of back cuts and screens that injuries kept him from using.

If you watched the Nets in the NBA Finals, it usually looks better than that, but that's the idea.

Tomjanovich is not likely to deploy the continuous motion the Nets or Kings use when the initial cuts are covered. But Francis loves the Rockets' "flex" offense, and you should do just fine with that. Check out Vlade Divac and Arvydas Sabonis tapes. Not only will you see how you can fit in, you'll know why the Rockets went to Shanghai and Beijing last week.

Hope that helps. Keep those questions coming. Better still, save them for between the appetizer and entree.

Around the league


15th pick also intriguing
-- The Rockets remain thrilled about their good fortune and prospects for the draft. They also are happy about the prospect of using the No. 1 pick on Yao Ming.

But having gone almost as far as they can in their hopes to draft Yao, they might have as much work to do with their second first-round pick, the 15th choice overall.

"This is really an extended lottery," Rockets director of player personnel Dennis Lindsey said. "The depth is so good that we felt as good about candidates we had with higher picks. We have good candidates from a talent standpoint that could fill needs, so we're talking about both sides of the argument, talent vs. need. So it's a decision about whether we keep it or send it on."

That is why there is so much to consider. The depth of the draft will keep the Rockets from really knowing just who will be around for the 15th pick. Brazilian forward Nene Hilario has moved way up, and Jared Jefferies has likely moved safely into the lottery. Qyntel Woods is slipping but likely won't fall that far. Curtis Borchardt might be slipping, but even if he falls all the way to 15, the Rockets won't pick a center if they have already taken Yao.

This is not the NFL, where teams make deals to move a spot or two. But because of the depth of the draft, the notion of moving up or down will have to be considered.

There might be chances to move up, particularly if teams such as New York or Washington can't fill specific needs and believe the next player they want will still be around. The Rockets could feel the same way and move back. They might also hope the depth of the draft will make the 15th pick attractive enough for Memphis to accept it to satisfy the last bit of the Steve Francis trade.

For now, the Rockets' primary hope for a successful draft -- after getting Yao's letter of clearance -- is to have a key player fall to them at 15. That might be 6-9 Benetton Treviso forward Bostjan Nachbar or 6-8 Fresno State forward Chris Jefferies. But the offers on draft night will not end when the Rockets take Yao. They will be just beginning. </i>