This is the main reason not to pick Ming: Inside Dish: Wang's days in Dallas could be numbered By Sean Deveney - The Sporting News We may have seen the last of Mavericks center Wang Zhizhi in the NBA, which is unfortunate because he made great strides during the playoffs. Wang is a member of the Chinese army, and the army's agreement to allow him to play in the NBA covered only the length of his contract, which is up this year. Though Dallas would like to re-sign him, it appears Wang might be kept in China. "It is getting more and more complicated by the day," says Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
Why is this so hard for ppl to understand?? Wang is a member of the Red Army, and therefor subject to their demands. Ming is NOT a member of any government agency except for maybe his obligation to play for the Chinese national team. Its like comparing apples to oranges.
Rocket2k...finally simply stated.... it does bring into play that he could get pulled into the army at anytime, because they do not draft there...you either volunteer or they can volunteer you at any time..
Im not sure about that aspect of Chinese life..maybe one of our new overseas posters can answer. If true, that would be a concern. Tho considering how much the government appears to want him in the league, I would think that they wouldn't want him drafted into the army unless there was a war. All things considered, I do believe that we should take the chance. Nothing ventured, nothing gained....
Except for maybe his obligation to play for the Chinese national team?? Apples to oranges?? How so?? The Chinese gov't and the Sharks have already made it very clear that Ming's basketball focus will remain in China. They need to understand that this is not a trip to summer camp. Ming will be playing with the most elite basketball players in the world, thus demanding his full attention for training camp, practice and 82(and possibly as many as 108) games a season, not to mention rookie camps like the RMR. China and the Sharks want Ming in the NBA, want him to go #1 and want him in a city with a large Chinese population. Fine, we can handle that, but in return we want Yao Ming to be available from the moment he is drafted. If China and the Sharks also want Ming to be a the great player in the NBA they are predicting him to be, they need to be cooperative in giving Ming and the team that selects him flexibility to do the things that will help both parties succeed. Anything less will be a waste of time for everyone.
true Pimp, I agree with the bottom part of your post. I want him to be here for all the games and practices. but koutzer was sayin that we shouldn't get Ming because of Wang's situation. or didja miss that? Since Ming is not in the army, there really is no comparison. I was not sayin that Ming will be here all we want him. I don't know that to be the case. But I do know that just because Wang may have to go back when his contract expires, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't get Ming. Wang: under contract to the Chinese Army----apples Ming: NOT under contract to Chinese Army-----oranges
I logged on to the FIBA web site and it appears that important international basketball events do not occur during the course of the NBA regular season. For example, the 14th World Championship for Men is 29th August-8th September 2002 in Indianapolis. As far as regional championships (the Asian games for example), neither Wang Zhi Zhi nor Mengke Batter (to my knowlegde) has been recalled for these type of events. The Chinese want Yao to succeed. The Chinese want international basketball recognition. The Chinese want more of their players in the NBA (regarded by the world as the highest level of competition). The Chinese are hosting the 2008 Olympics. Having Yao Ming on a tight leash defeats all of their goals and ambitions.
The Chinese Gov also wanted Wang to succeed in the NBA, and they wanted him to be a star in the NBA. In China there is not much of a difference between Yao, and Wang as far as popularity goes. Both are SuperStars over there. They expected Nellie to just put Wang in the game and give him a ton of minutes without him actually earning those minutes. That's part of what's causing the whole problem now. They want Wang to get huge minutes, and Nellie wants wang to get better before getting those minutes. Wang wants to stay in the US and work on his game in summer league, and training camp. China wants him to go back. China is basically preventing Wang from becomming a star in the NBA, and they're upset at the Mavs blaming it all on Nellie because he won't play him. There's no denying that Yao has a ton of potential but buyer beware, China's Gov. may not let him be what the Rockets envision him becomming.
Wang did not get many minutes to play, Chinese Army Club is very unhappy about it, I heard of the Army Club is talking to a team in east conf. to let Wang play there.
TexasG - Wang was the 36th pick overall. The Chinese want Yao to be drafted number 1. I think there is a big difference in how the Chinese prioritize the two. All of the posters here posting from China have commented that Yao has overtaken Wang in abilities. "Popularity" generally follows success.
rocket 2k : arent you under contract being a chinese citizen? if they (chinese go'vt) decide that you will do labor in a concentration camp then thats what you'll do ... tienamen square anyone? based on my dealings in business with the chinese I doubt highly that the rockets have moved towards anything and that they are a long way from getting anywhere.. simple negotiations with freaking moochie norris took a long time you think we got the deal sealed with the CHINESE it a few weeks?? whats are you on rocket2k ?? china is a repressive..anti human rights govt that places the unit before the individual..except of course the individuals at the top..and how many palms will we have to grease before we get ming?? then ming will basically be slave labor and we can all boo him on top of that when he sucks.. i am hoping this is the biggest smoke screen and the rockets are going to pull of a big one like they always do.. like: francis for dickerson/harrington glen rice last year ( a mistake although not willing to admit that yet) the 3 picks for eddie griffin horry and cassell for barkley.. the deal for drexler etc etc etc i am sure the rockets are getting a taste of what a pain in the ass dealing with the chinese are and will hype this guy up and make another blockbuster trade.. this ming thing is such a bad idea.. but hey i could be wrong
Did China recently enter a war that I'm not aware of that requires Wang's military leadership?? I'm not arguing the fact that their responsibilities to the government are vastly different, but China wants both of these guys to succeed in the NBA otherwise they wouldn't have even let Wang, a prominent military figure, to leave the country to pursue a career in the NBA. Also, what if the reason China is calling back Wang because of playing time or even his lack of personal success(doubtful), why shouldn't we assume they would do the same thing if Yao doesn't pan out?? At this point I see very few positives and too many negatives from drafting Yao. IMO, at this stage in our rebuilding process, he might be too big a risk to take. I'm not saying I'm totally against taking him, although I am leaning more towards taking Jay Williams and/or working out a trade, but if I were in the shoes of Rockets management, I'd need much more of a comfort zone before selecting him in the draft.
Chinese only call ming back to play for National team. Does National team play 365 days/year? against who? When do we need a National team?
Wang is a different story. He is a serviceman, and has obligation. In the contract with Dallas, there is a clause that BAYi Rockets, Wang's team, has right to call hime back. Playering for national team is kind of honor, Ming can refuse it if he doesn't want to play for chinese natioanal team(hehe, I don't think he will). On the other hand, it's interantional STANDARD that player have the right to play for his national team. The detail should be covered in the contract. If Ming has contract with Rockets, there is no way that China can interrupt the contract by simply calling Ming back unless a chinese team want to buy the contract back AND Rokets agree.
All I know is if this were my thread this is how the title would have read. The Chinese Pull out Wang and stick it to Dallas!
That is a little confusing. Every report I have read, states the opposite. Ming can be called back for any reason, at any time. If the drafting team does not agree to this in advance, then he will not be allowed to play in the NBA. Regardless, if the Rockets draft him.
I know that you are very anti-Ming so here are some questions. If this is so obvious a point to casual observers like us, don't you think a team of lawyers would have this ironed well in advance? Is a millionaire businessman like Les Alexander going to risk a once in a generation opportunity (the #1) without knowing what Mings availability is well in advance of draft day? Do you think a highly evolved legal system and/or the Collective Bargaining Agreement and/or the NBA Players Association and/or the NBA itself is going to allow a breach of contract on a casual whim? I have yet to see a verifiable source establish that Yao Ming will not be available for 82 games and playoffs. What I have seen is sports writers with too much time on their hands speculating about something they know next to nothing about. If you (or other posters) question Yao Mings ability, that's fine. But let's not drag unsubstantiated reports into an already difficult player evaluation as means to support personal reasons for not wanting Ming. If anyone has a verifiable source stating that the National Team can pull Yao out of the NBA at their descretion, let's see it. And no - ESPN Insider or the Dallas Morning News are NOT valid authorities.
