From today's Chinese media: Eric Zhang interview: 1. They are still talking with the Rockets about Ming's salary. Ming will not be the lowest paid #1 pick. On the contrary, he probably is the highest paid #1 pick. Ming doesn't care about money. So he asked his agents to do everything about the contract. Their talking with Rockets is going on "very smoothly". 2. They are still finding the "foster" family for Ming. They want to put Ming in a "pure American environment". 3. They are still finding the interpreter for Ming. He should be an American graduate student who can speak good Chinese. 4. Ming will play the open game at October 29th. Whether he will start or not depends on his performance at training camp. 5. Ming will carry out his commitment to his National Team unconditionally. (because of Wang's case). http://sports.sina.com.cn/k/2002-07-21/21288832.shtml
Thanks for the news WindAndSea. I figured that the Rockets would give him a higher salary. I can't wait to see him dominate Brad Miller on opening night .
I thought rookie salaries were slotted? Doesn't the number 1 pick automatically make more than any other first round selection.
#3... hey, that's me! just finished an MA in Chinese history... Houston native... big Rockets fan... too bad, I have low ceilings in my apartment... and what's with this foster family thing... the perfect American household?!? Can we film it and call it Leave it to Ming?
Scary...looks like we know where is priorities will be...lets just hope he doesn't "save himself" from injuries during the NBA season instead of his National team
As a general rule, I suggest paying the higer amount just to foster good will. After all it is only money. By the way, I'm a season ticket holder and I constantly whine about having to pay (full ******* price) for three preseason games. However, in this case I say go the 80%. We may be looking at making major changes in our play book. Not saying it will happen this year, but we have to consider the possibility of moving from the guards breaking down the defense as our bread and butter to the high pick and roll as the lynch pin. That play is supposed to work because Ming is here. A fundamental change like that requires a lot of practice to implement. While Ming is out taking care of his first priority, we are learning a new offense with Collier playing his position. That should help our players build confidence in the new system. AS long as Ming treats us like number two, I say pay him in kind.
Why? 120% of a rookie scale salary is squat compared to NBA contracts for 100 million plus. The only reason anyone would support that would be purely symbollic. Maybe you want to show him who's boss. Yes bossman.
I have high enough ceilings, but I don't think Ming really wants to commute from Austin everyday. The interpreter might be necessary. Depends on Mings ability to understand english.
Virtually every raise is a percentage of the first contract. So the difference between 80 and 120 can compound to a lot over a lifetime of contracts. Maybe I am being the big boss man, but I'm not willing to throw money at a guy who is telling us he has other priorites. Call me weird but I expect my wife to love me and I expect an employee that I am paying millions of dollars to, to at least show up. At best, I expect his development to take years. That is generally true of all rookies, but since Yao is not participating in the summer leagues and less than 100% of pre-seasons, I expect his development to be slower than the average rookie. He may still be great, but I expect him to hit full maturity a step behind of where it could have been. Everybody who has a professional opinion says he will need time to develope. All I'm saying is get on it. To me max contracts, even rookie ones, are for people giving the max. I know this is a complicated situation, and we choose Ming well aware of his situation. But so far I am not seeing max effort directed to the Rockets. Heck, if this was Cato not showing up because he had to play for some other team, everybody on this board would whine their ass's off for about three years. I'm just saying tit for tat.
