Article Link Here April 3, 2005, 12:59AM NBA NOTEBOOK Yao needs summer school in U.S. NBA refresher would help out, but China's needs will come first By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Ignore all other considerations. Forget what might be best for the Rockets or what might be in Yao Ming's best interests. Consider only China. Whether Yao finally takes a summer off from international competition will not be his decision. The Asia Games are to be played this summer, and if he is asked or told to play, he will without complaint. But this is the summer China would be best served to instruct Yao to take some time off, then work on his conditioning and skills while the national team wins without him. Next summer, he will play for the Chinese national team in the World Championships. In 2007, he might train with the team in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. In 2008, the Olympics will be in Beijing, and that is understandably the priority for China's sports leaders. Like many nations and more than most, China does not like to be told what is in its interests, especially from the West. The last thing Beijing wants is for Yao to become another NBA player indifferent about representing his country. But there is no chance of that. None. Yao is not about to beg off playing for China. He has never looked more determined, more visibly driven than when playing in last summer's Olympics in Athens. China's goals are his goals. He also seems to know that he would be helped by a summer to rest, heal and train, without spending time preparing for any specific opponent. "That's not under my control, if I go or not," Yao said. "If they want me, I go. But I really hope I can have two months, or 1 1/2 months of practice in Houston in the summer. I want to work this summer on conditioning, post moves, anything." Asked what he would do if it were under his control, he said, "I don't want to say." "But if not this summer, 2007 will be the best chance to get rest in the summer," he said. "But I'm not saying I can't get rest this summer or next summer. But because the 2008 Olympics are in Beijing we don't need to play anything to (qualify to) play. It's not like they have to get a championship to get to the Olympics." Yao's current injury, a deep bruise in his right calf, will be gone long before training for the Asia Games would begin. But it could be a symbol of the wear of competition. Jeff Van Gundy has insisted that Yao's summer workload has not limited his growth. But there are other ways the Rockets would have him work on his body and his game. "I haven't gotten into that very much because you have to accept every player for what he can do," Van Gundy said. "If his commitment is elsewhere in the summer, it's what he has to do. If he can stay here and it's what he feels is best for him, that's good, too. I think it's overdone (and) overblown what he's done in the summer as far as precluding him from improving. I don't agree with that at all." To be his best, Yao needs the competition and training in the NBA. For that matter, his national team teammates also need to play in the best leagues that will have them. That much was made clear in Athens. But for China to be at its best in the World Championships and especially in Beijing 2008, Yao needs to spend his athletic gifts wisely. China would not send its divers to break records in the Houston city championships. Its greatest basketball player similarly needs to think now of competitions later. Four or three? The Rockets' race with the Kings to finish fifth and open the playoffs against Southwest Division runner-up Dallas instead of Northwest champion Seattle doesn't seem to offer much of a prize. This is not so much of a statement about the Sonics, though their defense is shaky, and they have had injury problems. Danny Fortson has shown all sorts of distraction potential. But it is more about the Mavericks, who have become a real threat in the West. Dallas is getting players back from injury, and Erick Dampier rejoined the rotation last week. But more than that, the Mavericks have been better than advertised defensively all season, and have improved lately. "You can measure toughness in a lot of different ways," coach Avery Johnson said. "We've progressed in a lot of them. "You can see it in a lot of small ways. You can see it when you're getting pushed. Do you push back? You can see it in post defense, hard fouls and penetration." Johnson has not yet learned to pick his spots, but as a rookie coach, he can get away with carping, especially with everything falling into place. "We're looking a lot better now than we did earlier," Dirk Nowitzki said. " Keith ( Van Horn) is fitting in well. He's actually a lot better rebounder and defender than I thought he would be. Once we're healthy, I really like our chances against anybody in the playoffs. "For us, it's about staying in fourth. I don't know who we'll play, probably Houston or Sacramento. But that really shouldn't matter. When we're healthy we can beat them both. We shouldn't be afraid of anybody." 'Sissy basketball' is good theater Houston interests aside, a playoff matchup of the SuperSonics and Spurs would be something to see. San Antonio's Bruce Bowen and Seattle's Ray Allen have a pretty good feud going, and their meeting Wednesday offered a good prologue to a potential playoff meeting. Allen, who said last season that Bowen plays "sissy basketball," made six of 17 shots, then complained that Bowen gets away with muggings on defense. "I don't know what he does," Allen said. "They put him out there to throw punches and throw elbows. I don't know what he's doing. That's not basketball that he plays." Bowen's answer, however, earned him the latest round. "I've never heard the great ones say anything like that," Bowen said. "You never heard Michael Jordan say, 'John Starks doesn't play basketball, or the Pistons don't play basketball.' John Starks might have gotten physical with him, but what did Michael do? He went and hit the gym hard and continued to play." Voter fraud in Springfield Coaches and inventors help the game and they should be recognized. Executives contribute in subtle, but important ways, and it's good they are appreciated. But basketball is nothing without basketball players. Take away the players and the ball just sits there. The highlights are awful. This might seem obvious. But to the voters who every year ignore the players to celebrate everyone else, this important concept seems lost. Those behind the scenes help, but they are after all behind the people out front who actually are the game. In other words, only the Basketball Hall of Fame could find room for a couple of college coaches and leave out Dominique Wilkins. We can laugh when Billy Packer describes games as Jim Calhoun taking on Jim Boeheim, but leave the players home and see who shows up or tunes in to watch. As much as the Naismith Hall of Fame is richer for inducting so many contributors to the game, something is wrong with the process if Wilkins is eligible and does not get in. There is only one argument against Wilkins. His teams never won a championship. But somehow, that did not keep out the guy who invented the high-top. But Wilkins was simply a great basketball player. And there should be room for great players next to members of the rules committee, who by the way also failed to beat the Celtics, Pistons or Bulls. For the record, Wilkins was phenomenal in the postseason. He is ninth in career NBA scoring. He was an All-Star in nine of his 15 seasons. He was breathtaking to watch. Anyone who ever saw him play knows Wilkins belongs. Remember, James Naismith, the guy who invented the game and whose name is over the Hall of Fame's front door, said 100 years ago this spring, "You can't coach basketball. You just play it." Memory lapse It was no surprise to the Jazz that Kirk Snyder had a brain lock Monday against the Rockets. Earlier that day, the Jazz veterans ordered the rookies to sing Happy Birthday To You to coach Jerry Sloan, 63. They happily revealed later that Snyder could not remember the words. jonathan.feigen@chron.com
I think we need to petition for Yao to stay here and not go to no stupid Asian game. The reason is simple, Yao can only get better here in the US training and playing with NBA talent. Not against some scrub Asian national team that the whole point of Yao being there is to fatten Chinese officials' wallet.
Let's face it, Yao is a money making Machine and has been making a lot of moneys for these guys. I'm not just saying it's in the Asian games. Yao got non-stop dinner and banquets to go to to meet these officials and local dignitaries. I heard that once the bus drove to meet a local officials without Yao's knowledge and approval and Yao refused to get off the bus and meet these people.
What can I say? We knew what we were getting into when we drafted Yao: that is dealing with a dictatorial government that won't give a damn about Yao's wishes, and will instead just want to exploit him to the max. Do you think they give a sh*t about Yao's future as a successful player with the Rockets? You take the good with the bad Yao's time is running out to improve his game and take it to the next level, he can't wait (WE can't wait) until after 2008 (when he will be reaching the prime of his career at 28-29 yrs of age) to develop himself into a dominant superstar in this league, it will be too late by then. I sympathize with Yao, though, but if you read the above article, you can clearly sense his frustration and what he really wants to do this summer: that is stay in Houston and practice on his game. Yao wants to stay, China doesn't give a damn about what he wants. Now I understand why Zhizhi Wang took the route he did by refusing to play for the Chinese National Team. Thank God we live in America, where individual wishes are actually respected, and I am sure Nowitzki and Tony Parker are saying the same thing about their countries...
First of all, good luck on that petition. I'm thinking China is capable of putting together a few more signatures than we could. The real problem with this line of thinking though is that it's completely ethnocentric. You're not allowing yourself to think about it from the Chinese perspective at all. Do you really believe they think of their National team as scrubs? These are the best players their country has to offer and they are a proud country. We all know that the United States has historically been the best Basketball country. However, that doesn't mean that China should feel they have nothing to offer Yao. (Particularly as poorly as our Olympic team is performing) He plays here how many months out of the year? Exactly. He spends far more time here than he does in China. It's entirely possible they feel by having him spend his offseasons in China he recieves the best of both worlds. I'd love to see Yao spend his offseasons here. It may very well be the best thing for him. However, that doesn't mean the Chinese government can't have some legitimate reasons for wanting Yao to spend his offseasons in China. They may even feel that Yao's best interests happen to coincide with the best interests of China. Please, just try looking at it from their point of view. Just once. C'mon.
Does Bruce Bowen think he's John Starks? And damn, does it feel good to be talking about playoff seeding and positioning and matchups. I missed that. Take the summer off Yao!
I want Yao to stay instead of playing in the Asian games.....but it's his choice..and he has to anyways so yeah.
China officials who will force him to play don't give a rat's butt about Yao getting better, just that they get what they can out of them now. It's a very short-sighted approach - but to them - he's already a star. They aren't basketball people, they are political beauracrats. Yao would be smart to get injured after the playoffs are over...
It is not much of a choice, he has all his decisions made for him, and he is expected to be a good soldier and just bow his head in compliance.
Absolutely not. They don't care any more about hte NBA than we do about the tour de france (for example). I mean as long as an American is humiliating a bunch of froggy asses I'm for it. But once Lance dropps out, I'll never see another bike race, till the next American comes along. All they care about is their league and mostly the Olympics on their soil in 2008. A more insiteful question would be "Should Yao Ming drop out of the NBA in the middle of the 2007 season so that he can be fully rested and fully prepared for the 2008 games?"
Well, I can fully understand the 2008 Olympics thing in China, but how the heck are Chinese officials helping their team's chances by backwarding Yao's development as a player? The better Yao becomes by practicing and improving right here in the States, the better he will be playing in the 2008 Olympics, and thus the more success the CNT would have, no? We will see what they do this off season, we will know once and for all if they are rational people or short-sighted bureaucrats. BTW, Yao is getting his money from the NBA and in America, it is not the other way around. So the Rockets should have more leverage over him (since they ARE the ones paying him) than the Chinese officials. The Rockets are his employers. Let's not forget that.
Congratulations for taking one case and generalizing based on that. Trust me, if corrupt Chicom officials want to make a buck, there are much better ways to do it than Yao. The money they can earn off Yao is pocket change. And also, believe it or not, not every Chinese official is a corrupt Chicom.
It's not just Asian game, the plan also includes Yao playing for Shanghai for National tournament. From what I have read, the majority fans in China says Yao should not attent the national tournament, but less people say Yao should avoid the Asian games too, because withou Yao CNT might not be the champ in Asian games. I would like Yao to stay. It's better to Chinese National Team in the long run. BUT, it SHOULD be up to China to make the call and say: "Please stay in Houston and take some rest, don't worry about the games.", especially for the national tournament. Because as far as I know, there is an agreement that Yao will go back to play the national tournament. Bad deal, stupid deal, ridiculous deal, whatever you call it, a deal IS a deal! I think it is wrong for Chinese Basketball Committee to pretty much ban Wang Zhizhi. But I do think what Wang did was WRONG in the 1st place. Once again, there WAS a deal he would come back in that summer for the national team. A deal is a deal, not to mention, technically, he still belongs to the military system. You know how it works in military: obey orders, no question ask. I was angry when I first heard that Wang refused to come back to play. I don't any more, he deserves a second chance. But what he did is WRONG. Bottom line? A deal is a deal, you can try to re-negotiate it, yet it is absolutely WRONG to breach an agreement. It's a matter of principal. I just don't buy into all this individual right stuff. I like Yao not just for his talent, but also his attitude toward people and HIS country. He has done and said the right things, I hope he continues that. Yao once said, if he had to make a choice, he would choose to play for CNT instead of a NBA team. As a Chinese, I am very proud to hear that. Too bad CNT is not a contender to world championship, otherwise I will take one world championship over one or more NBA championship any time! Sorry folks, a NBA champion is NOT a world champion. Right now, the world champion is Argentina since they won the Olympic. Manu once said winning a NBA championship is the highest professional achivement one can get, but nothing can make him more proud to play for his home country. For that, I salute him. I want Yao to stay in US this summer, as long as he doesn't breach any agreement he made.
Um yeah, they are political bureancrats for wanting the country to do well in international sports competitions.
Doesn't Yao do the same thing in Houston for the Rockets and other American businesses? Why shouldn't he do it for Chinese business? If you complain about Yao playing in some 2-week-long tournament in the summer, why don't you also complain about the 6-month, 100-plus-game NBA season (counting play-offs) being way too long? If playing for his country in the Asian games is "stupid" in your words, why should Yao give a f*ck about playing for Houston, a city with which he has absolutely no emotional ties, in the NBA, which is merely a business, when all is said and done? You are merely showing your prejudice.
If Chinese officials were smart, they'd petition to have their team train in the US while Yao can work on his game with NBA trainers in Houston. Apparently they don't understand that the Chinese team can go only as far as Yao can take them since the rest of the team couldn't beat a JV girls team on a good day. Basically, what's best for Yao IS what's best for the Chinese team. And all that the rest of the Chinese National team have to do is to learn how to practice passing to a large, life-sized cardboard cutout of Yao - which doesn't necessarily require Yao actually being present at the same practice.
Well, it's just not something that will be comprehendable to Americans who value individual freedom. For us to understand Yao's obligation would be the equivalent of Jeb Bush forcing Shaq to play in the olympics to represent the U.S. And while many in the world may see a World Championship as bigger then an NBA championship (perhaps rightfully so), in the U.S., international competition is considered secondary. The greatest stage of basketball at it's highest level is still the NBA playoffs. The same may not be true with soccor and the European club system, but the World Cup actually attracts all the best players in the world so it's not comparable. While a deal is a deal, one may argue that Yao didn't have a lot of choice in the deal he got - was it a fair deal? Probably not. Clearly if he had a choice he'd want to stay, but because of his loyalty he can't even voice what he wants - and in our culture that's ridiculous. It's very unfair to Yao, even though we can respect his loyalty. At the end of the day, I think it's the Chinese people who have the say. If they want Yao to truly become great, can they sacrafice a small bit of glory now (the Asian games), so that Yao can work on his weaknesses and develop in something greater....something greater that will perhaps bring China closer to the World Championship.
Don't you want Yao to play on the greatest stage of his sport? I mean, what do you think brings China more: winning the asian games or having Yao lead Houston to an NBA championship? Don't you think that's why china let him play here in the first place? Point is, people use people they control. The NBA is a business that is capalitizing on Yao to sell the NBA to China. China is using the NBA to help bring money and fame to China. I think the argument here is not what's best for China, and not what's best for the NBA or houston, but what's best for Yao, and that's having him have a chance to rest so he can work on getting better.
