Yao Lost his Best Friend Not since the parting of Sonny and Cher has there been a more heartwrenching breakup. boo hoo sadSAGE
I understand, and you are correct in that. Your sentence, however, implied that Yao might want to pick another team to play on. That was what I wanted to correct and it came out a bit off.
Yes, Yao will have to start over since the 3 players traded was 3 of the 4 guys he started with last year. JJ came in last year so he is not as close as Steve and Cat to Yao. This may be just business to the owners and fans, it's also a job for the players and Yao is sad all the guys he played with is gone now. It's not a shock but he is sad, and sorta scared that he might be traded. However, he is a professional and from what I can reep from what T-Mac was saying, they should get along pretty well. Also, he has a strong desire to win. I just hope he doesn't lose the light heartness that is part of him because of this trade. BTW, he is very dominate on the CNT Team. He wants the ball AND he will pass back out if a better shot is available to his teammates. It's going to be fun watching him play next season. Hopefully, T-Mac will be VERY hungry and team YaoMac will give the Rockets that 1 2 punch all contenders need. I was watching the Rome show and one of the guest blasted the trade for the Rockets. Basically saying T-Mac is selfish and Yao is meek. I sure hope the Rockets prove him wrong. He also said JVG is way over rated and the Rockets need to bring in Phil Jackson.
sure Yao will get over it. If he can't get over leaving his teammates, he wouldn't even consider coming to america to join NBA! Just want to let you know Yao is a loyal person, who cherishs friendship. Actually I believe Yao would never demand a trade (he doesn't care about huge money, he doesn't care about media attention, he only wants to win with his friends) unless rockets want to get rid of him (unlikely though).
He will like his new teammates b/c he likes to win. Yao is a realist. IMO, T-mac suits Yao more than Francis on the court. BTW, I like Francis too. Good luck to him.
do not worry. it is just the virgin complex. he will get over it. the biggest thing right now CD/JVG/Alex need to do is to let yao know that he is 'the man'. the team is built around him, for him. and it takes sacrifice to reach championship. I hope yao has the heart to shoulder the responsibility. otherwise, he is just another star, but will never be successfull at the leve of nba greats.
Well, sorry for being misleading . I will try to clarify what he meant. Reading his last line and taking into context what he had been saying before. He talks about how these players were like family to him and that is why Houston would be "his choice, without hesitation". I think when he says start over, he means start over in getting Houston to feel like home again.
Time heals wounds. The question is how much time and how deep the wound is. I think those who think Yao will get over this quickly are going to be in for a rude suprise. You just gave away the heart and soul of the team - very different from trading Moochie. More than any star in the NBA Yao is a consumate team player and will be affected by this. Some people forget that people motivated by different things and my gut says that Yao is motivated a lot by the comeraderie he has with his team-mates. And that comeraderie is not as easy to come by as some may imagine.
Getting the ball passed to you when you are ready for it will cure all. Winning also is a great healer, notice that Yao doesnt miss Francis as a Basketball Player!!
I don't get what the hell McGrady has ever done that makes some of you think he will pass Yao the ball?
Yao Ming: I wouldn't want Francis to leave, and I would still choose the Rockets ... Here is my translation of http://sports.sina.com.cn/k/2004-07-02/0915973197.shtml 9:15 2004-07-02 Yao Ming: I wouldn't want Francis to leave, and I would still choose the Rockets without any hesitation. [By reporter Chen Wenja] Dallas of June lacks the usual hotness of the summers before, and the dark clouds cover the sky of the grassland of the Texas. The dark and cloudy weather provides maybe a perfect time for persons who like to sleep. In 9 am of morning of July 1st, when I called Yao Ming, he was stilling sleeping in his King-sized bed in the hotel, enjoying the sweet dream of his own. To the disturbance of the reporter, after a little complaint, Yao showed more of the tolerance. "My sweat dream was interrupted by you. But I am getting up soon, and we will start to train in about a hour". Yao had no intention of talking more about Chinese national team, instead he talked more about the recent trade made by the Rockets. TITAN: I heard that your ankle was hurt in last warm-up game, how is it now? Yao: No problem at all. It does not bother my practice now. There few days we all trained very hard, everyone does not want to be one of the last three to be cut. From the yelling sound in the training gym you can know about everyone's attitude to the training. The yelling has reached the level of howling. TITAN: There are some new faces in the national team. You are an old team member now, and also the vice leader of the team, so what's your opinion about their performance? Yao: Yi Jianlian has made great progress. I have seen his performance in the Nike Competition game in San Antonio this past April, he did not play well then, but after two months of training with the national team, his progress is very obvious. TITAN: Did you see the televised Draft of this year? Yao: I only care about the Rockets, nothing else. (Laugh) Oh, Ha Seung-Jin has been selected by Trail Blazers, I know about that, but I didn't expect he would have fallen down that much. I thought he would be selected in last few selections of the first round. TITAN: Do you know the trade between McGrady and the Rockets becomes effective now? Yao: I know you would ask me about this. (Tone becomes a little agitated) Now no matter it is Chinese media, or American media, they always ask me by starting with: "Yao Ming, what about that you and T-Mac will play together?" I talked about that many times, in NBA, players are commodities. It is perfectly normal there are trades between teams. Maybe tomorrow when I woke up in the morning, CD (the general manager of the Rockets Dawson) could call me to inform me that I have been dealt to the BobCats. Since I have chosen NBA, so I have to face the reality, to accommodate myself to all those unpredictable rules. TITAN: Even though some media always feel that they didn't pass enough balls to you, but do you really feel that you would like them to leave? Yao: I have to admit, I really would not want the leave of Francis, Cat, and Cato. I still remember when I first came to Houston, it was Cat and Francis passed the No. 11 shirt to me at the Compaq Center. Especially Francis, he gave great help in last two years, and he is my best fellow brother in NBA, and also my best friend. His leave gave me the exact feeling of leaving of a family member. Just like the time when I left Shanghai Sharks. TITAN: This is just like when Norris was dealt to New York last season ... Yao: Then Francis felt sad for about a week, my feeling now is no difference than his then. I said once after the NBA Draft: If given a chance that I could choose a NBA team again, I would still choose the Houston Rockets without any hesitation. Well, there is a new start here now ... Yao Ming: I wouldn't want Francis to leave, but I would still choose the Rockets without any hesitation.
That is never ever ever said in this version of the transcript. That is the title. Taking pieces of text out of context and placing them in the title is shady journalism. Don't be misleading please. I want Yao to be 100% dedicated to Houston as much as anyone but....
This is really misleading... I believe he said: [...] ***right after my rookie season*** I said, "I would still choose rockets without hesitation". but now everything has to start over... [...] Basically Yao quoted what he said a year ago.
Your right, he did say that after rookie season. I changed the original traslation. Any idea what he compared losing a family to? I would like to know, since I'm really stumped. I hate simplified Chinese.
He seems got along with Steve really well. Obviously Steve helped him on and off court in the past 2 years. I would not dig these interviews too much really. What do you expect Yao to say? "I love T-mac, He fits houston better"?! Being a top international pitch-man, Yao knows the basic of diplomacy.
Ming is not a robot. He has feelings and I'm sure he will miss the guys that showned him the ropes in the NBA. Just like the way he felt when he left the Sharks and the guys who helped him in the CBA. He will likely keep contact with Steve since he is fellow warrior and a good friend. I wish Francis was a better fit but it wasn't the case. He was a good friend to Yao and for that I will miss him. However, wasn't Steve not OK with Ming as the #1 pick for the Rockets? He didn't want Ming but warmed up to him because I think Ming is one of those guys that you can be friends with easily. And remember Steve standing up to Amare when he pushed Ming around. That is something that I'm sure Ming remembers. Fellow warrior was watching his back. It's a warrior's mentality. Let's hope Yao and McGrady mesh so that they wil be close on the floor and off. Not like the way things are in LA with Shaq and Kobe-both wanting to be the man and the spotlight. I think Yao doesn't want the spotlight but will take it for the team. And I do think McGrady also doesn't want the spotlight but will if he had to. With these 2 guys and the non-selfishness that I think exist between the 2. It will be fun to watch. Now the Rockets need to get the role players that will complement these 2 stars in Houston.
