Gater, I agree with taking the risk. If we get a chance at Ming, we should grab him. However, that does not preclude being concerned with his government's involvement. I hope there is a way a "non-interference" clause can be negotiated so that, if the Red Chinese pull him out, there will be a satisfactory "compensation" agreement worked out in advance.
This idea has been squashed by others on the bbs. We have diplomatic relations with China. We cannot give asylum to anyone who is from a country with whom we have relations.
The only way to keep the Red Chinese in line is for the NBA to require a surety bond from the Red Chinese government of, let's say $100M, to be paid to the team that loses his services due to Red Chinese interference. If they balk, everybody loses. If they agree, everybody wins.
What are my regards to human rights you ask? 1. Families whose children died in the Jiangxi explosion have told of how they complained repeatedly that their children were being forced to assemble fireworks in school, but that local authorities did nothing. Indeed some reports have suggested the local Communist party secretary was in cahoots with the school and that money from the fireworks went to line their own pockets. Such blatant exploitation may be hard to comprehend, but it is far from uncommon in China's raw and uncontrolled young market. http://iso.hrichina.org:8151/iso/article.adp?article_id=1920&category_id=28 2. Yu Zhudi, 42, a Christian jailed in January for smuggling Bibles is reportedly being forced to work more than 20 hours a day at a labor camp in Baisha, Fujian Province. On May 1, Yu?s son, Yu Huiming, 22, reported his father had asked wardens for time to rest but was told that they would "make him work until he died". http://iso.hrichina.org:8151/iso/news_item.adp?news_id=800 Internal affairs or external affairs does not change the fact. Human rights are not just a matter of culture...perticularly when the culture is forced upon you. If you don't understand the basics of human rights then maybe you should avoid the topic all together. To get back to the topic of Yao, all I have been trying to say is that China has a track record. Until you can give me some sort of evidence other than your gut feeling that China needs the NBA I will continue to believe that China will continue its business as usual. Now just answer me this one question: How will you feel if we get high enough in the draft to get Yao and he does not get to attend any summer camps, training camps, off season programs and does not even join the team until December? Now go ahead and answer that question honestly.
Crash, whereas no rational person can forgive the Red Chinese for their blatant human rights violations, we cannot control their internal policies. The question at hand should be constrained to the boundaries of how all this affects the draft rights to one rather tall gentleman named Ming Yao. That is why I suggested a surety bond of some sort. If the Red Chinese damage an NBA team's ability to compete, they should pay the consequences. A bond of $100M will not damage their economy, but it will make them think about it. Also, the affected NBA team will receive enough "insurance" money to balm the wound. I realize this is a simplistic solution. However, all final solutions start with a simple premise.
Let someone else roll the dice with Yao and China. We should be able to parlay the number 1 pick into a few picks , maybe unload some contracts and pick up a decent proven player. Heck of a deal.
We cannot predict the outcome of what a high-profile Chinese player in the NBA will do to the NBA or to China. We cannot know that China will remain communist forever. Hell, the world could end tomorrow. I have no doubt the Rockets will weigh, very carefully, all the issues involved. This is a big decision and they aren't going into this lightly. Probably no one in the league understands the nature of emerging markets and expanded trade better than Les Alexander (a financier) and George Postolos (once David Stern's right hand man). If there are two more compitent people to handle this job, I'd like to meet them. This isn't some amateur operation. This is serious business and NO ONE with the Rockets will take this one lightly. Count on that.
