link Pretty intresting article, even says something about Shaq will pass the torch to him!!! Wow I think Yao is a little more advanced than Dream was when he entered the league. Probably because Yao has been playing b-ball his whole life where as Dream didn't play until he reached the states.
Yao will be much better than Duncan in the future... He will revolutionalize how b-ball is played.... Cant wait for the season to start..
oh yeah!!! He goin to teach Rox players some Chinese trash-talk...#$%#%$@#^%^%$^$^ Cant wait to see Ming vs shaq or duncan
Why don't we wait until he plays an NBA game or hell even a season before we go proclaiming he will revolutionalize (is that a word?) how b-ball is played. Some of you need to come back to Earth because this is getting ridiculous.
Here's the text: Yao Ming: Naysayers Can Start Eating Crow By Aran Smith NBADraft.net 8/23/02 Yao Ming and the Chinese National team came to the Golden State, Oakland, California last night to take on the USA Team in a warm-up game for the World Championships, which kick off August 29, in Indianapolis. And one thing became perfectly clear. Yao Ming can play, and play well against the best in the world. Yao didn't have great stats, and the Chinese team was out of the game by the second quarter. Eventually losing by 30 points, 84-54. However, Yao Ming was the story. He runs the floor better than probably any 7-2-and-over bigman ever, with the possible exception of Ralph Sampson. He shoots the ball better than probably 90 percent of the players in the NBA right now. And most importantly, this guy is very competitive. His jumpshot is so crisp. He's one of those players that seems to think he should never miss, and he rarely does. His skill level is very good, and at his size, developing a few indefensible hook shots, and jumpshots, should not be a problem. Ben Wallace talked about how the USA team was going to "beat Yao up". However it was Yao putting Big Ben in the "popcorn machine" to use a Chick-ism. Ben was trying to block Yao's shot, 18 feet from the basket. However he ended up flying right above the Chinese giant and then landing on top of him, both players fell to the floor in a large heap. Next Yao was helping a quizzical looking Wallace to his feet. Ben Wallace must have been thinking, "Was that a 7-6 guy that just faked me out of my shoes?" Yao Ming wasn't intimidated in the least. His team had a first quarter run to take a 11-10 lead, before an officials time-out, and a huge ovation by the estimated 19,000+ (more than 60% Chinese) crowd. The USA team would quickly go on a run to take an insurmountable half-time lead. Yao finished the contest with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 blocks. Just before the end of the first half, Jay Williams decided he wanted to be the first to posterize Yao, and dunk on the big man. Yao Ming had other thoughts, blocking the dunk cleanly without drawing a foul. A message had been sent. By the second half, a new trend had developed, the USA players were not taking the same approach to Yao Ming. Michael Finley had an open court play where it was apparent he thought about a monster dunk on Yao, but instead settled for an up-and-under move. Antonio Davis found out first hand, the necessity to keep track of the behemoth at all times, when going up for a seemingly open dunk, and finding his dunk attempt blocked from behind by Yao, sending the ball ricocheting off the rim and 15 feet in the air. This is not a clumsy Rik Smits running up and down the floor. Yao's agility at his size is alarming. His dexterity in open court situations and during interchanges of the basketball was right on the level with the USA guards. Stealing passes, and catching balls that the average 7 foot center would have trouble reacting to. Nor is this a 7-foot small forward ala countryman Wang ZhiZhi, or Sam Perkins, who will come down and park at the three point line and wait for an open three. Any time Yao was on the floor, shots were being altered, and the USA team's scoring strategy changed. Yao Ming did not shy away from contact. In fact he seemed to enjoy it. His willingness to be physical, and the aggressiveness he showed is a great sign for his future. Yao Ming has the goods, and the process of trying to keep Yao around, in Houston, past his initial five year contract may already be underway. It's no wonder Rudy Tomjanovich has been following around Yao like a college coach who has landed the top high school recruit. The two biggest obstacles for Yao will be, first, adapting to the level of basketball games. In China games are played once a week, as opposed to the NBA where 3 and even 4 games in a week are common. Next he will have to remain healthy. Players his size have a tendency to develop knee and foot problems, so this will have to be a concern for him. So just how good will this Yao Ming guy be? He's not Shaq. Who is? But he may be the center that Shaq passes the torch to. Yes folks, that good.
Tell me about it, some of these posts are pure comedy. He may eventually be better than Duncan, and he may even revolutionize the way 7'6 centers play. However, Unless 7'6 centers begin to grow on trees, he will not revolutionize the way the game is played. At least let him play a couple of games before you start making ridiculous statements like that
<i>Yao Ming has the goods, and the process of trying to keep Yao around, in Houston, past his initial five year contract may already be underway. It's no wonder Rudy Tomjanovich has been following around Yao like a college coach who has landed the top high school recruit. </i> 5 year contract? I thought it was only 4.
Can someone answer my question? In the article it implies that Yao will be signing a 5-year contract with the Rockets. I thought the maximum contract for a rookie is 4 years. Can someone please explain this? Thanks in advance.
A rookie contract is 3 years, plus a team option, plus the player is a restricted free agent in the fifth year. So the team could hold onto Yao for a maximum of 5 years, but the contract is really 3 years plus a team option for one year.
