If Yao leaves there will be no more buying of 2nd round picks for millions of dollars. Yao means a lot to this franchise and he deserves a chance to come back we know he will put in maximum effort to do so. We are lucky to have him. DD
Yao is a determined man, last year in the playoffs, he showed us how much he'd lose to win(playing with a already injured foot).
I doubt Yao would opt out, I believe he's too loyal to leave. I know I'm dreaming here, but it would be nice if he did opt out and re-signed for less money.
no... kome is too old. dude is losing his athletic ability fast, and will soon become a pure jump shooter. but i got what you're saying. joe johnson ain't good enough (and is kinda old too). come to think of it, kevin durant might be a better (and younger) choice at the 2 for us.
I believe Yao won't leave after this year and I also believe D. Morey won't get his name on the market after this year. Let's see it!
Joe Johnson IS leading a very promising young team. Ever hear of the Hawks? YOF? Lol, I'm just trying to debunk the theory of knee jerk reactions; with this 4-2 (now 4-3) start, people are saying we don't need Yao at all to win. To those people: You mean the days after Olajwon, and before Yao? The Francis-Mobley days? Those were fun days, but we had no shot at a championship. Learn to spell. You say the days are over. Then why is everyone still trying to sign tall people? Why did Portland take Oden over Durant? You don't pass on a 7 footer. There's a reason Gasol, Bynum, Oden, Shaq, and Ilgauskas (to name a few 7 footers) still have a job in the NBA. Wake up! Without Yao or a SUPER big name, this team will need a few years to mold itself into a championship contender.
If Yao opts out then we will not all be wandering when he will go down with an injury EVERY year. We will also have a lot of money to sign free agents in the best free agent year ever.
A: we are not going to have 42M to sign two max contracts B: a lot teams are positioned to sign superstars in 2010 a healthy yao + current role players + one elite wing is the best winning recipe for Rockets in next three years. There are just too many unknowns for all other solutions. For people who brought up Orlando or Portland as rebuilding models: A: they are not significantly better than the Yao-leading team B: the chance to become a new Minny, Philly ... is much higher than becoming a new Portland when you rebuild.
It would be better for the Rockets if he leaves. The only disadvantage is that all the chinese sponsoring guys and stuff will be gone
what it means is that Houston will have to have another reason why guys will want to come here. people outside of Texas dont have a clear vision of Houston outside of it being a little bit hick and a little bit urban so it'll never have the cache of New York, LA, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta or SF but guys wanted to go to Phoenix all those years to run and gun or to Dallas to play for Cuban, Morey needs to make a reason why players would want to play in Houston right now Yao is a quick fix to giving Houston an identity. if Yao leaves that means Les is going to have to lay out some dollars and Morey is going to have to work to make a rep as a good GM who can help careers and win things. in the short term, yes if Yao leaves Houston is ****ed but Yao is going back to China eventually. and he's going to leave eventually whether in 2010, 2012, 2015 or w/e fans have to get ready for that eventuality the true answer is that if Yao leaves in 2010, Houston will pick up another max contract guy to replace him, maybe not a top 10 player but someone who will be the main guy
Opting out after a year of injury? He's gotata be crazy. He'll at least play some and show that he's still an all-star before he does that.
ummm..there's been lots of great players who've played in Houston before Yao...there will be lots of great players who play in Houston after Yao. with or without Yao, Houston, Texas is gonna be just fine.
