Speaking for myself, I have no issues with league minimum in fact I would give him 3 yrs 9 million with a 4th yr option. My issue is EXPECTING anything from the guy, I wouldn't even hope or dream about getting 70% Yao back. He can be a backup center who plays 15 minutes a night, with a possible spot start here or there. I don't want the Rockets to even start thinking of a possible return to glory or attracting stars by building longterm with Yao in mind...nope...nada. He's a backup center at best and if he goes down again, oh well, no really damage done to the cap or the development of anyone else who is on the roster.
Yao got his fan and fortune, his only goal is a championship ring now. If he is to play for vet. minimum, it will be teams with championship potential that can use a center like: Heat/Chicago/OKC instead of Houston.
Do they give you a ring if you play 5 minutes then spend the rest of the year in rehab/playing video games?
Will some of you guys explain why you wouldn't want to resign Yao for the vet min? I'd like to hear some of your responses.
There is a hope for Yao to play again. Grant Hill is still playing because he never gives up. I really hope that Yao is not going to Heat to seek his ring.
Emotionally fragile fans and fans with heart conditions may not survive another year of Yao. For a more detailed explanation, see Bon Jovi song: It's My Life.
Totally agree, it would be silly not to do this. I guess some people just don't want to be disappointed again, others are simply hateful (Sam Fisher).
I'd be more than happy to give him a much smaller contract and have him come off the bench for limited minutes. Why not let the man try? It's nice to see loyalty in the NBA these days.
Personally, I think if Yao is going to come back he has to come back full-bore starter. I wouldn't bother with any of that 24 minutes or limited minutes crap. If he goes down, then he goes down. Rest him if it's a blowout, okay, but none of this timid crap.
It don't matter how cheap he will resign with this team. Money isn't an issue with Yao. Its just time to move on. It doesn't matter if he resigns for a vets min. Most likely he will re-injures himself again. Right now, I much rather give that roster spot to a young player that can actually play. I love the loyalty and his willingness to return to the court but after so many years of disappointment, its just time to move on. I mean when was the last time this team doesn't have to worry about Yao's injuries? Yao only played like 5 games with very limited minutes and still fracture his foot. Even for Yao to be effective or somewhat productive on the court, he will have to play a good amount of games for him to get back into Nba basketball shape. Yao can't just rehab himself back into shape and then go out onto the court hoping to be productive if he's playing very limited minutes. This team cannot get into rhythm if they constantly trying to work Yao back in and out of the lineup. As much as I would love for Yao to return, its just time to let go. Its time for this team to go a different direction and start a new era. The longer they try to work things out with Yao, the longer the rebuilding process is. If Yao returns, most likely he's not going to resign as a vet's min and most likely he will return to his 25-30 mins a game. Yao's going to want to play and we have to make room for him. So when he re-injures himself again, its just another set back. It is better for the organization to not have to worry about Yao's situation anymore (his injuries and rehab) and just move on.
First of all, I doubt Yao would resign a vet's min. An MLE is more reasonable considering Yao Ming. Second, I rather give a roster spot to a young player that can actually play instead of Yao sitting on the bench wearing a nice suit.
One year vet minimum and NO MORE or for all I care he can go to the Heat, Celtics, Lakers or I really don't give a rats ass what team. I'm tired of my favorite basketball team's season being dependent on a guy that has played more than 57 games once since 2004-05. He's a 30 year old with the mileage of a 35 year old. When are folks going to realize that?
When they become a fan of someone other than Yao or become less Asian. Whichever comes first. I would say his mileage is closer to a retired player in their 50s.
Condition #1: Rockets brass moves on like he's not even part of the plans. Basically, we need to be at the point where we're stable and balanced without him and that anything positive he can contribute is a bonus. Condition #2: He's willing to play on a bargain contract. If both of those conditions are satisfied, we would be foolish not to bring him back on board.
hey do you guys want to risk taking on yao again out of loyalty or sign a healthy deandre jordan? keep the cap space open, you never know is dwight howard will change his mind next year and want to leave, its possible to sign him but you cant have yao on the payroll at all. not even 1 million. It would mean losing Hill/twill/yao/thabeet/miller and with Lee being here and Dhoward having Hakeems agent, it might work. But signing average players to mles like yao and miller and keeping thabeet would be big mistakes imo.
