Does anyone care about how Yao feels about the trade?

Yeah I mean it's not like he's already idolized by BILLIONS of people in China. Those few hundreds of thousands in LA will definitely entice him to go there.

 

Yao can't realistically leave the team for 4 more years. Can we please postpone this Free Agency crap already.

 

I care, he is after all our future "franchise" so I do care.

 

Besides, I do think the Rockets would have run it by him, because they know he's the future of our franchise. My impression of Yao is that he's less given to knee-jerk, foot in the mouth reactions than most, if not all other NBA players (especially Francis), so he will most likely keep an open mind and see how things go.

plus he knows it's a business, he's a team player, blah blah etc..

 

If he decline the extension next year then Rox would have to trade him .
Just like the T-Mac trade. You won't get equal value unless you trade to
the place he is willing to sign the extension.

 

Wrong. He'll be a restricted free agent. The Rockets can match any offer by another team and retain him for 3 more years.

 

He might take the qualifying salary and become a free agent a year after that.
That's a big loss. At least with him you can get a top 15 player at least.

 

No because if Yao turns down the extension, he'll be a RESTRICTED FREE AGENT in 2007. In that case since the Rox have his Bird Rights, they can match any offer for Yao.

The difference between Yao and T-Mac is that T-Mac can threaten to sign with another team next year, but in Yao's case the Rox will match any offer so Yao's leverage is next to nothing until 2008 IF he signs a 1 year deal in 2007. And that would happen only if he absolutely can't stand Houston and want to do everything in his power to leave. Nobody turns down a fat extention for a 1 year deal unless they are desparate to leave. Somehow I doubt Yao will ever get to that stage.

 

then are you also worried about our ist round pick in the 2007 draft

lets start a topic on that !

 

Yao will get over it.

When he realizes that with a real point guard he'll get the ball when and where he wants it, there won't be anything to complain about... except maybe Cato.

 

Yao will go to LA in 3 years time, mark my words(or not).

 

This is ridiculous.

Yao is a grown man. He has his own interests and ideas.
Why do people assume he is so attached to one player or one coach?
He played with the Shanghai Sharks for years without being so attached so that he could leave to pursue better opportunity in NBA.

If things work out well for him and the team, he will stayed in Houston. His decision will not be dependant on his relationship with a coach he had for one year and a player he played with for two years.

 

Yao is the smartest guy in the Rockets. He knows it is all about winning and the NBA is a business.

I still expect him to be the number 1 option even though T-Mac would be a great addition, he aint gonna be the franchise player Yao is gonna be.

If Yao goes to LA in 3 years, its over for us. I hope he doesnt.

 

None of us have any idea on what YM thinks of SF.

And we really need to quit fixating on Yao's public comments. He's always going to say the "right" thing.

 

Actually, Dallas may be also positioning themselves for Yao... all the relation building with Chinese National team can not be all that innocent.

 

The Asian population in Minny went up 42% and I hear the Wolves are positioning themselves for Yao also

 

Yao is a professional he will play his best regardless and will stay with Houston because of his moral character.

 

yeah right from totally 100 to 142

compared to golden state, up 1% from 10M Asian to 10.1M...

but I think Yao will stay in Houston.

 

Yao Ming is a smart guy. But he also knows loyality. I'm sure he will feel sadness for losing 3 of his friends. It will be a while before he is comfortable with T-Mac.

However, if T-Mac and Yao Ming mesh and become the monster combo that we all expect them to be, he will stay, especially if they are poise to take it all in 2 years. But if T-Mac become Mr. greedy and hogs the ball even more than Steve and Mobley, then Ming is gone and probably to LA with a chance to play with Kobe (assuming he's not in jail). And if Rudy is there, even better.

But all this is speculation. Let us hope that T-Mac has seen the light (why else would he want to come to Houston???). If Yao gets the ball and passes back to T-Mac for easy shots or drives to the basket, why wouldn't T-Mac want to pass to Yao as much as possible? And if T-Mac demands so much defense that Yao is getting single coverage, Yao will kill people.

One more thing, if T-Mac of old with the great defense returns, making him a more balance player instead of scoring champ, then it's going to be ugly playing the Rockets. That's all I know..... at least until Yao wants to be traded away. Rockets would not trade him because he is the MAIN reason Steve had to be traded away. It was either Yao or Steve and Yao is a 7'5" Center with UP Side AND a monsterous following in China. Can you say $$$$$ in chinese?

 

Yao seems like a stoic fellow. I think he'll go along with whatever move we make without a fuss. Having said that, I wouldn't blame him for being worried about us trading his backup, especially seeing as how Yao knows better than anyone else what kind of minutes he can play and how he wears down as the season progresses. Cato morphed himself into one of the top backup centers in the league, without question, shocking the hell out of most of us. Losing him without getting a decent replacement hurts us and affects Yao.

I think we'll get a decent replacement if we move Cato. Yao can relax.