AP: Yao's agent expects to hear Friday from Sharks

http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/story?id=1396781

Updated: Thursday, June 20, 11:42 AM ET

Yao's agent expects to hear Friday from Sharks
Associated Press

HOUSTON -- Yao Ming and his agent made their final offer Thursday on how the 7-foot-5 Chinese center would compensate the Shanghai Sharks if the Houston Rockets make him their No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

Yao must reach agreement with the Sharks, his team in China, before he can get clearance from the Sharks and the China Basketball Association to leave his country and play in the NBA.

"We have made our final offer today to the Shanghai Sharks," Erik Zhang, Yao's agent, told Houston television station KRIV. "We had a very good talk about our offer. We expect to hear back from the club tomorrow."

The Rockets need to know if the Sharks will release Yao from his commitments in China before they make their selection in the NBA draft Wednesday.

"If it goes beyond Saturday, I don't think Houston will be in the position to draft or take the risk to draft Yao," Zhang said. "I would expect Houston to trade the pick or draft someone else."

The Sharks and Rockets have agreed on their mutual concerns and now it's up to Yao to reach agreement with his old team.

"I've got confidence that all the parties, the Sharks, the CBA and Yao's representatives are acting in good faith and their share in the desire to have Yao play in the NBA," said Michael Goldberg, attorney for the Rockets. "Given the discussions with all parties, I'm optimistic they'll be able to get it done."

Team physician Dr. Walter Lowe accompanied Goldberg to Beijing and performed a complete physical examination of Yao. He found no health problems that would affect his playing.

"This is something that we do with all players," Lowe said. "We couldn't get a complete examination of him at the workouts in Chicago. We wanted this to be a basketball decision and not about health."

Lowe said he was satisfied with results of the examination.

"He's a very tall guy. He's very engaging and he's healthy," Lowe said.

"There were things that worried me on paper that didn't worry me after we saw him in person," Lowe said. "The Chinese medical system is super. They allowed me to make a complete examination."

Lowe said Yao had normal injuries and fractures that were related to playing basketball.

Yao and his agent John Hizuinga have been in separate talks with the Sharks over compensation Yao must agree to pay the Sharks for his departure.

"We are actively exploring every possible creative solution that we can to try to get this deal completed," Hizuinga said. "Each side is looking for things from their own perspective. What we are doing is trying to find something that will work for both sides."

 

48 Hours notice would make it Monday afternoon Central Standard Time... I think that Saturday is a reasonable time period as far as the negotiations between Yao & the Shanghai Sharks. This was nothing new really, just an update.

Absolutely nothing new here to get worried about, except for a little overly dramatic narrative by the author of the article to add some drama.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=hou

Yao camp makes final offer-

Key Sentence: "Erik Zhang, Yao's agent, told Houston television station KRIV that he expects an answer from the Sharks on June 21."

Yao awaits word from the Sharks about being released from his contract with them.
Chinese center Yao Ming and his agent made their final offer June 20 on how they would compensate the Shanghai Sharks if the Rockets make him their No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. The 7-foot-5 Yao must reach an agreement with the Sharks, his team in China, before he can get clearance from the Sharks and the China Basketball Association to leave his country and play in the NBA. Erik Zhang, Yao's agent, told Houston television station KRIV that he expects an answer from the Sharks on June 21. Yao would be able to play the entire season and playoffs in the NBA if the Rockets select him, team attorney Michael Goldberg said June 19 after returning from China. In his mock draft published June 20, ESPN's David Aldridge examines some of the Rockets'