Surprised to see interest already being sparked publicly. Not a whole lot here, but worth the discussion. . . At what point do you let Yao walk? (ha!, thats a ten on the unintentional comedy scale) http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/features/rumors Despite Yao Ming's injury problems this year -- and throughout his career -- his past level of play is likely to warrant him at least some interest in free agency this offseason. And might the Celtics or Knicks be interested? The Knicks are said to be in the mix for a center of starting caliber this offseason and the Celtics could look to re-tool at the position post Shaquille O'Neal if he ends up retiring. So at this juncture, it's not out of the question -- even though Yao could be a risky signing. There's also been the suggestion the Warriors could look to acquire Yao because of the Bay Area's sizable Asian community.
Sounds like 100% speculation. And there's no way of knowing what anyone's market will be until we know what the new cap environment will be. If there's a hard cap set around $67M, the market for 80% of free agents will be the league minimum.
I think it would be crazy to think Yao will not garner some attention. If the man can get healthy and play ball all year then a GM would look like a genius if he signed him near the minimum.
I doubt he’s going anywhere. All other teams will see him as a gamble and will low ball the hell out of us. What fans of other teams don’t realize is that he doesn’t even have to step on the court for them to bank in. Revenue from the Chinese market will far surpass what other fans can even begin to fathom. So I’d rather keep him and let the other teams keep thinking he’s worthless, which in all actuality is very far from the truth.
Warriors will still be a bad team with Yao. That's like Shaq being on the Nash-Stoudemire Suns. Just. Doesn't. Mesh. The Celtics would be pretty good with him, I think. WAY better offense than what Perkins and O'Neal brought to the table, and Yao's half-court offense meshes well with the Celtics' style of offense. The Knicks? Yao won't ever see the ball, with Carmelo and Stoudemire on the floor. But if Yao comes off the bench, he could sixth man of the year.
If he goes anywhere, lets get them for their draft picks. Warriors #11, Knicks #17, Celtics #25. Talk to the Warriors 1st.
Yao Ming is not going anywhere but to the Rox, at least this go-around. And that is good. National pundits add 1 + 1 and come up with nada because they do not have a clue about the Yao connection to Houston, the Rox (Alex') connection to Yao etc. I wish the man health. And success in the Toy Shop; but health foremost.
Why are you so sure that he's not going anywhere but here? Yao may or may not get a much superior offer to anything he gets here. The Rockets may or may not resign him, depending on if they find another C they can acquire. Sign-and-trade may be an option depending on new CBA rules.
-The Celtics- After the Shaq experiment in Boston, I doubt they roll the dice on spending more than Houston will to get the Great Wall. They most likely will look to infuse some athleticism to their lineup and play a more uptempo style of play next season. Yao would not be a smart/good fit for them. They would likely take a flyer for the vet min, but I cant see them signing him for more than one season, since the big three are in contract for one more season before they will look to revamp their entire roster. Houston would have the better offer. -The Knicks- no way. Dolan might have an interest but Yao fitting in Mike D'Antoni's style of play is like oil and water. You might as well just play 4 on 5 on offense and tell Yao to just stay on the defensive end. Also with the Knicks looking to sign a third star and better surrounding pieces around Melo/Amare, I doubt they will spend more than the Vet Min to take a flyer on Yao. Houston still would have the better offer. -The Warriors- Now here is a team with some money to burn/nothing to lose/ and in need of some serious exposure that I could see driving up the price for Houston to match. Yao Ming has made a healthy amount of money in his career, but if Golden State throws out some ridiculous number, dont think that Yao's human nature might not peak its head out for that moment. As much as Rockets fans know how loyal Yao is to Houston, he's not an idiot. Golden State could seriously drive up the price to bring Yao back to Houston, and potentially make it impossible to re-sign.
Because I believe the character of Yao Ming is such that he would only leave if rejected by ownership/management and that is not going to happen. I suspect he will receive a minimum contract, perhaps with incentives, and Bird Rights retained. IF the man plays he plays in The Toy Shop. I believe that 99 44/100%!
I like how the Warriors are a possibility just because there are Asians there. The C's or the Knicks would be happy to bring in Yao. Given that there aren't many better options out there, I can see a lot of teams being interested even with the risk.
What doesn't stingy old Leslie Alexander overspend on some big men that can contribute? Why 10 yr past his prime Brad Miller? Heck even poor teams that are about the Rocket's level can get them. Hornets (Aaron Gray) and probably laughing their ass off at our acquisition of Brad Miller.
it all depends but i highly suspect minimum salary will do the job for rox to resign him. we actually have a good example in nba to follow. look at grant hill. after he went to magic, he pretty much played nothing during his stint with magic due to his injury. suns gambled on him with about half of MLE. i believe rox will spend something less than MLE, maybe similar contract grant got. grant's contract (~3mil) is a good example for morey to follow.
I hope Morey stands firm with the team moving forward without Yao as the centerpiece of this team. I wouldn't mind If Yao signed but only for the Vet minimum + incentives. If Yao says no? Well at least we gave him an offer.
signing him doesn't mean we don't move forward. suns got grant hill, a player who used to be a centerpiece on any team. does it mean anything? on a team, there are tons of players who earn more than minimum but are not the centerpiece of a team. if he gets a green light from doctors, i really doubt no team will pay much more than minimum to sign him. yes, it's easy for you to say it now. but later on, if yao can play a backup role in another team with just ~3mil, les will be very well known as a cheap owner around here.
Vet's min will likely be considered an insult to Yao from his standpoint. The best thing for the Rockets front office to do is create a line of communication with Yao's and his agents to try and work out something for this next season that gives the Rockets time to see what his market value is before they just throw out a low-ball figure. Yao's people will require the Rockets to stay competetive with other offers out there and I can tell you flat that every NBA team would take him for the vet-min. He will get offers for much more. However, I think short term contracts will be what other teams offer, even if it is for much more. If the Rockets go lower, but longer I think they still win out. Something like a3 year deal with a team option on the 4th year at around 13 million. That contract would seem like a long term contract, but thats the point here. He could very well get close to 5 Million a year offer from a team like Golden State, but it will most likely be front loaded, and short termed.
Like I've mentioned before, its pretty obvious Yao's lowest bidding price will be the full MLE from multiple teams. But it doesn't mean he wouldn't take less to stay in Houston.
i am against a long term deal. if i were morey, i would use grant's contract to negotiate with yao's agent. both were mega players before. both had injuries, came back, and returned to injury list again and again to the point no one knows they will ever come back. of coz, grant did come back with suns. he has been playing pretty good but not at the level he used to be. he became a good role player. suns spent ~3mil on him. they gained way more than they spent. it was a very good bet with very small loss if it didn't pan out.
