Chinese star seems certain to be No.1 pick Doug Smith SPORTS REPORTER Yao Ming is a question mark, a 7-foot-5 question mark, a nimble-footed, 280-pound question mark. Tomorrow night, at least one answer about the mystery man will be provided when Yao makes basketball history. Barring a last-minute snag, a possibility that will exist until the big moment, the Houston Rockets will make Yao the first Chinese-born to be chosen No. 1 in the NBA draft; the first basketball player trained outside of the U.S. to be selected first and the poster boy for the dawning of a new era in league recruitment. So, who is this guy? Is he the next great big man? Or is he Shawn Bradley? Does he have the unique combination of passing and shooting skills that will make him an inside-outside threat? Or is he Manute Bol? Is he the best first overall draft pick to come down the pike since Tim Duncan? Or is he Joe Barry Carroll? "He's legitimate," Raptors assistant GM Bob Zuffelato said. "Is he going to be a superstar the minute he walks in? No. It's going to take some time, but he's a legitimate player, no doubt." The Rockets have exhausted much money and even more time in assuring themselves that Yao will in fact be available to play in the NBA next season. But after protracted negotiations with his team, the Shanghai Sharks, and officials of the China Basketball Association, Houston officials are sure he will be in uniform in November and able to stay for the entire regular season and into the playoffs should the Rockets get that far. At issue was how much it would cost Yao to buy out his contract (NBA teams are limited to only $300,000) and how much the Chinese basketball federation would take of the three-year, $10.3 million (U.S.) contract he would get as the No. 1 selection. Those issues were resolved through long and tense negotiations, although nothing can be absolutely guaranteed until NBA commissioner David Stern calls Yao's name. It is Yao's overall package that has general managers excited. In a workout in Chicago last month attended by every NBA team, he showed a deft shooting touch to about 15 feet, good footwork around the basket and an ability to pass that should make teammates better. "Skills and size, that's a lethal combination," Indiana Pacers president Donnie Walsh said. "Skills and size make (Yao) a special player. It may take him one or two years to acclimate himself and to get to where he understands his position in the NBA and the challenge of the players he's playing every day. I think that once he goes through that period, which almost every rookie — even the great ones — must go through, I think he'll be a great player." Yao's certainty as the No. 1 pick seems to have provided some clarity at the top of the draft. The Chicago Bulls, despite some second thoughts they planted on the weekend, are fully expected to draft Duke point guard Jay Williams with the second selection and the Golden State Warriors are a deadbolt cinch to take Duke forward Mike Dunleavy third.
