Rockets relieved to complete deal for 7-5 center By MICHAEL A. LUTZ AP Sports Writer June 26, 2002 HOUSTON (AP) -- The Houston Rockets finally got their man. All it took was trips to China, intercontinental phone calls and faxes, and many sleepless nights. With just hours to spare, the Rockets got the paperwork they needed to make the decision they've been wanting to make for weeks: taking Yao Ming with the first pick in Wednesday night's NBA draft. Rockets legal counsel Michael Goldberg received a letter early Wednesday, confirming that all concerns had been addressed and that Yao would be available for the draft. He quickly relayed the pre-dawn news to general manager Carroll Dawson. "I thought I'd scream but I just fell back in bed and looked at the ceiling,'' Dawson said. "I felt such a great relief. The whole franchise wanted this so badly. I just felt that it would all be worked out.'' Dawson took a collective sigh of relief for the entire Rockets organization. They reached their goal by working their way through three days of intricate negotiations in China with several entities, establishing an atmosphere of trust and even capitalizing on the famous face of coach Rudy Tomjanovich. "The assurances we gave each other was that it's a win-win situation,'' Goldberg said. "They know with training in the U.S., Yao Ming will become a much better player and help their national team. "They want what is necessary for the Rockets to win championships here and for China to win championships there.'' Houston's pursuit of China's best-known basketball player started in May, when it parlayed an 8.9 percent chance in the NBA lottery into the No. 1 pick in the draft. They immediately started digging into the confusing maze of getting Yao released from all of his Chinese commitments. Dawson, Tomjanovich and Goldberg spent three days in China negotiating for Yao's services. Dawson thought a key to the process was Tomjanovich's popularity in Beijing. "Rudy is known the world over and they know him in China from the basketball games that are televised over there and from his coaching the U.S. Olympic team,'' Dawson said. "He walked down the street there and it was just like being in the U.S.'' Tomjanovich's presence really paid off when the Rockets visited Yao's parents. "They were getting ready to send their 21-year old son halfway around the world and they were naturally concerned,'' Dawson said. "But I could see the relief in the mother's eyes when she saw Rudy. He was a familiar face.'' Yao will be in the United States with the Chinese national team in August to compete in the World Championships at Indianapolis. He will play in the Asian Games in October and the Rockets anticipate he'll miss only about six days of preseason training camp. "He'll be playing in those games with our blessing,'' Goldberg said. "Between now and then, we have the opportunity to get him ready for the NBA season. Everyone wanted this to work.'' Yao averaged 32.4 points, 18.9 rebounds, 4.5 blocked shots and 1.5 steals per game for the Shanghai Sharks last season. He's a gifted outside shooter, although the Rockets know he must adapt to the rougher play in the NBA. He's convinced the Rockets he's ready for the NBA. Now he has to prove himself to his new teammates. "He'll have to fit in with us,'' Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley said. "He's a very skilled player and that's fun, and he can pass the ball too. We'll feel him out after he gets here. I'm sure everything will work out. ... "He's the No. 1 pick and he has skills, he's not just your average 7-6 dude.'' That's more like it. Can't we all just get along?
already posted: http://bbs.clutchcity.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36504 i've always wanted to do one of these posts! let's keep the # of threads down to a minimum!
<i>Dawson thought a key to the process was Tomjanovich's popularity in Beijing. "Rudy is known the world over and they know him in China from the basketball games that are televised over there and from his coaching the U.S. Olympic team,'' Dawson said. "He walked down the street there and it was just like being in the U.S.'' Tomjanovich's presence really paid off when the Rockets visited Yao's parents. "They were getting ready to send their 21-year old son halfway around the world and they were naturally concerned,'' Dawson said. "But I could see the relief in the mother's eyes when she saw Rudy. He was a familiar face.'' </i> How cool is that? That doesn't look like a man who is one bad year away from being fired! And it's good to see Cat breaking the ice! I think Yao Ming's rebounding and defense alone will put this team into the playoffs. With Griffin, Cato and Ming's shot-blocking, players can relax and play gambling defense.
Mobley, We'll feel him out after he gets here I think they would need to fill him out so that he can take on Shaq some day -G'day-
