based on his career numbers and accomplishments? no. however, if yao gets in the HOF as a "contributor" (which he stands a very good chance of), then YES of course you retire a HOF jersey.
Surely you're kidding. Whatever one may think of Les as an owner, the guy is not r****ded in business. And even if he is, he still has a lot of smart people working for him who knows business. Not retiring Yao's numbers would be a r****ded business move that would make absolutely zero sense. The only question is the "timing" of it to maximize the benefits.
He's similar to Rudy T and Calvin in that they spent their entire career with multiple all-star appearances all with the Rockets, without winning a championship. Plus the Chinese influence is just the icing on the cake to make sure his number gets retired.
curious......just exactly what *benefit* is there business-wise to retire a jersey? You think all the sudden folks are gonna flock to the Toybox Rocket shop or other retailers to buy themselves a brand new Yao jersey just because his number is retired? Really? You guys are too much.... BTW....IF that is what yall mean, jersey sales go into the league-wide pot known as BRI which gets shared amongst all teams, so even IF jersey retirement leads to increased sales of jerseys, it is NOT a direct financial benefit to the Rockets. Please please learn the rules before you run your mouth about stuff like this
If they do, they should be considered fake rockets fans since they didnt retire Vernon Maxwell's #11. Because without Vernon, there is no clutch, which means no Clutchfans and the Rockets as a team wouldn't even exsist without Mad Max.
I think you're being too literal. I don't think it matters if the retirement affects jersey sales or not. It would help legitimize a piece of Rockets history, making the team's history more "storied." The Celtics have a rich history to market from, and Yao helps the Rockets inch a bit closer in that direction. Having Yao in the history books increases the team's legacy and therefore its grandiosity and therefore its brand-image and marketability. They won't be able to measure the positive effects of having once had Yao nor define what boost retiring his jersey had had. But, it's obvious it will be a positive effect and one that is otherwise hard to come by.
