I don't see Yao Ming chasing the last dollar. He is not like the typical global athlete-star; that's (part of) why I love the guy!
I don't think Yao can sign a MLE-level contract before the CBA expires. Specifically, I think Yao's contract exipires on July 1 just like the CBA, so the only way the Rockets sign him before the CBA expires is via an "extension" of his current deal. Such extension, I believe, is also under the same rule limiting the amount of increase and decrease in salaries. So, if he is extended, his salary next year can decrease by no more than 10.5% from his current salary, well above the MLE-level and clearly ridiculous given his injury status. So, I think the only way he signs any contract with the Rockets at any price even around the MLE or less is after the CBA expires and that will be under the new CBA.
xiki, I hope you're right. That's certainly what I'm HOPING for, but I would not at all be surprised to find out that Yao gets re-signed to a figure that is higher than most of us were expecting. Not really. I don't think you can sign a player to a veteran's minimum contract that increases above the minimum based on incentives. And even if the Rockets signed him to a contract that only "happened" to start at the veteran's minimum, I think there is a cap on the percentage of total compensation that can be based on incentives.
I don't see the point in Yao Ming bartering for extra money on his contract and leaving Houston because someone offered him more. First, his suspect health probably means no one was gonna offer him a huge contract. Also, I don' think he lacks money-- he's probably made well over $100 mil on salary + endorsements already and probably has potential to earn more in endorsements in China even after he's done playing hoops. So, sure, I can see maybe someone giving him, say, $4-5 mil a year for 2 years but what's can he do with a few extra million dollars that he can't already do? I see the situation being similar to Shaq's situation as a FA this past offseason-- No one was gonna give Shaq huge money, but I think there was at least one team (Hawks?) offering close to $5 mil a year, but Shaq ended up choosing location over salary and signed a minimum deal wit Boston. Anyhow, whatever Yao end up doing, I doubt money is that big a factor.
I'm not worried about Yao bartering for money. I was wondering if we could create some flexibility and trade ability by using Yao and his contract. IF his contract could be front-loaded, let's say they agreed for $10 mill for 3 years....If that could be structured as $7 million year 1 and minimum salary yrs 2 and 3, then that could conceivably come in handy in a trade and subsequent buyout or in flatout giving us cap space after year one of his deal to use on other players. Presti did the front-loaded contract with Nick Collison last season. I thought it was a great idea. The other thing I'm wondering about with Yao.....several years ago, Keith Van Horne was re-signed by the Mavs and traded because they had his Bird rights. I think he ended up getting bought out for a few hundred thousand dollars and his contract helped the Mavs acquire..........was it Caron.....can't remember who, but it was somebody that they acquired using a re-signed Van Horne, who was all but retired, and I don't think he ever even suited up for the team he was traded to. If Yao indeed hangs them up and if Birds' rights continue in the new agreement, he still could have value as a trade chip to match salaries. So, apparently the front-loading only works when the team is under the cap....which we are not.
I really hope you are right. In Yao's most recent interview with 610 Sports, he said something along the lines of -If Houston offers me anything close to what another team does, of course I would rather be in Houston-. So in saying that, he isnt totally going to not pay attention to the almighty dollar. The major risk there is a team just throwing insane money at him. I understand Yao has made tons of money through his career, but I always doubt the human element in finances. If there ever was a human I think would take less, it certainly would be Yao though. However, to just assume that he would pass up Millions of dollars wouldn't be wise to do on Houston's part.
Do you think it's possible that the new cap is actually higher than the current one, if it is a hard cap? It'd seem to me that if they were to nix all exceptions, they'd probably give more space to operate under the hard cap. If they did, we could have enough space to go after someone significant with cap space.
Good question. My thought has been for awhile that if there is a hard cap, it will take several years to work down to it. I can see a hard cap being higher and progressing lower each year to account for old contracts. Either that or there is going to be some exemptions on trades for old contracts until everyone is able to operate at the same team salary. There's too much variance in current contracts to implement a hard cap without doing it over several years. If it is a hard cap starting next year, there will either be some sort of amnesty for teams over the cap or it could be a higher cap number to allow for high salaried teams like Orlando, etc.
I don't see teams throwing insane money at him. They didn't throw insane money at Shaq in an offseason with tons of teams having cap room and he wasn't coming off 2 years of inactivity.
That statement kills me... This is still a business and players are still trying to get s much as they can... Yao may be from China and he may very humble, but he's been in America long enuff to understand this is a business and how things work. T_Man
If I were Yao, I would look into the direction of the team in the short future. If Rockets were going into full tank mode for a couple seasons, I might rather sign cheap with another title contender.
In addition, his clout was helping the Rockets and associates make money during his downtime with Chinese advertisers and sports companies.
Yes, I actually think that is a distinct possibility that is being tossed around by the owners/league. However, when it's all said and done, I just don't see the league going to a pure hard cap. If they keep any sort of soft cap system in place, I cannot envision the salary cap going up high enough to give the Rockets as much as $8 million in cap room AFTER re-signing Yao and Hayes. And jopatmc, I don't think a "Nick Collison" type of deal for Yao is a possibility for the Rockets. I posted that earlier, but I guess you missed it.
No, I got it. We're not under the cap. Collison deal was a product of being under the cap. So, on to the next question. Is it legal to get a player to commit to a low buyout (Van Horn deal) before you sign him to a big money contract to use his contract to match salaries?
Hayes deserves to be paid. Considering all of the games Yao did not play due to injury and the salary he recieved, Yao should play with the Rockets for the minimum or close to it- that's the least he can do to appease Rocket Fans many of whom are also Yao fans including myself. I think a one year or a short term contract makes a lot of sense because if Yao Ming can contribute then he can get rewarded the next year accordingly. Obviously not all of the salary cap/roster flexibility and limitations are because of Yao's circumstances considering that the Rockets have been reimbursed from Insurance money, which leaves rocket fans wondering why hasn't most of that money been spent these past several years on getting the team to contend without Yao? (Brad Miller is not receiving anything close to max dollars)
