http://www.foxsportswest.com/12/05/...t/landing.html?blockID=366990&feedID=3707 Summary of the article: -His career has been plagued by injuries up till now. At this point its becoming increasingly clear that it's more than simply a case of bad luck, and may likely be a long-term issue that any team that takes him on will have to deal with. -His salary this season is 13.8 million dollars. After this year, the Lakers have the option of opting out of his contract, or keeping him for another season at $16.8 million dollars- to give some perspective on that number, Yao makes $17.6 million. -Strong likelihood that Lakers opt out of his contract as a result of the above two factors. Question: Assuming that this is Yao's last year- and though I know its no given, I think for the Rockets and Yao, if Yao is unable to stay on the court for a stretch of the season without aggrivating an injury of some sort, it will be in both parties best interest to have Yao retire. Should Yao insist on returning, the Rockets will be in the precarious position of deciding between the franchise poster boy and cash cow and doing whats in the best interest of the team and winning. If that time comes, it's going to be a much larger discussion that I'm sure will be hashed out quite thoroughly on these forums. So going back to the main assumption: Brad Miller is our best center at the moment and he's old. Hayes is undersized and not a solution for the center position. He's a situational player, and at best, a backup. Hill is the only big man that we see a future in, but right now its difficult to assess how that future will look and what he'll bring to the table. If the Lakers opt out, Bynum will still get paid well. If last years free agency told us anything, its that teams are willing to overspend on mediocre talent, and chances are that Bynum's going rate wont be far from what he's making right now. At lowest, I'm going to guess 8 million per year. All of that said, do you think he'd be worth going after?
I don't like Bynum much. He's got great physical tools and talent, but he plays unmotivated at times, especially on the defensive end. Maybe that's just youth and immaturity. I just don't think he's a first or second option. He's getting paid like one, though.
Horrrrrible decision. Yao is going to be a contract black hole to anyone that signs him. Seriously, he is on pace to play ~20 games this season (although yes it is early still). I really hope the Rockets let him go or move him. He's a nice guy and an ambassador for the sport, but I don't think I can stomach 3 more years of him wasting space on this roster. Gimme the younger and more ath-a-letic guy, especially at the same price.
if i HAD to choose id go Bynum almost exclusively on his age and athleticisim when healthy. do i WANT either of them, no probably not.
he's gotta have some postural kind of issue...bad alignment...similar to tmac, but it's probably functional not structural...he's still young enough to bounce back. If they opt out, check him out, see if it can be corrected and sign him.
Bynum's as injury prone as Yao & we can't both of them. That being said, I'd rather have Yao than Bynum; because Yao gives 100% all the time.
Same injury proned health even at a younger age. Yao is still a "cash-cow" for the franchise if he plays at all so you do the math. 80 to 100 Million a year in TV and endorsements from China's exposure if he's healthy. Thats a risk that Les Alexander will take any day if there is a chance he can still play. Even with that economic factor, Les and Morey will still consider moving on from Yao Ming because ultimately winning is the goal and that is wonderful that we have an owner that would consider moving on from the greatest marketing product he has ever owned to win. The Rockets are highly focused on finding a long-term solution at the Center position for many years and Andrew Bynum is not that solution. Health at the Center position is one of the determining factors in them making that decision going forward so he will not be considered. Yao Ming, at least has some positives to the organization and is just as likely to be healthy as Bynum, and when healthy is a much better Center. Until Yao has announced himself that he is retiring from Basketball, expect for Yao Ming to be a Rocket.
I don't think he can take us to the next level, he is good center but not great, he definitely got the size which is what we desperately need, I wouldn't mind going after him if yao won't be healthy after this season.
Even when healthy, I havent been particularly impressed with Bynum's playing ability. That said, free agency is typically slim pickings, and any halfway decent player gets paid pretty well. Yao has gone on record as saying that another major injury would mean retirement for him, and right now its really looking like this season might just be him in and out of the lineup with a variety of injuries. Whether or not we should keep Yao is debatable and will be a hot button topic when the time comes, but given Bynum's track record, there might be a possibility to sign him at a somewhat reasonable price. Given our other options should Yao no longer be in the equation, he might be a worthwhile gamble.... Responses to a few points brought up by various posters: -there is a track record of injury prone players who have overcome the injury bug and had a meaningful career. Grant Hill and McDyess are two names that come to mind, so its not out of the equation. -Agree that unless and until Yao announces retirement for himself, this team probably wont let him go for financial reasons. I just feel that if he keeps getting hurt/finding himself out the lineup, he'll likely call it quits himself. -Center solutions: Unless we have a top 5 draft pick, another Yao/Ralph Sampson/Hakeem/Moses Malone is not walking through that door. And those guys dont end up in free agency. The rest of the league has to make do with guys who can get the job done, but arent focal points of their team. For the record, if Oden was available at a low price, I wouldnt mind the Rockets taking a gamble on him as well.
if he's healthy i think the team can go to the next level...he's not literally going to take us or carry us, but we dont need someone like that. We already have a lot of talent, mainly offensively, so adding a player who can rebound, block shots, and defend is a perfect addition for this team. It may be the role Yao has to take anyway, if he comes back healthy. Offensively the team would just need putbacks and occasional scoring in the post from that position.
Not even so sure why the Lakers would opt out if Bynum proves he is healthy this year and can sustain it through one more year. They will try to keep the Kobe era going as long as they can.
Going after Bynum ------- "Man I am so sick of Yao always being injured! Lets go after a player that is not as good as Yao and is more injury prone!" I mean come on, all the "Yao is injured" "Trade Yao" would become "Bynum is injured" "when will Bynum ever play?" and "Trade Bynum". For once I would like the Rockets to go after someone that is not made of glass.
