I mean if he plays 35 mins and everything goes well, i would mind them giving him a 3 yr deal for 12m per. My fear is they team playing slow and then projecting him going forward. He handles the last 20 games and not developing enough strain and wear to really see if he would hold up. Put him thru the grinder with back to backs and everything else to get the foot in a responsive condition. If he's dragging it or its swelling, pat him on the back,shake his hand, and tell him thanks.
You start him off with light minutes, of course, and then ramp him up as quickly as his stamina allows it (provided he is producing on the court). If he can't play 35 minutes a night every night without falling apart then you don't tie up franchise money in him. It's beyond ridiculous that we would baby or protect a player who is supposed to the the backbone of the team out on the court.
Why are you trying so hard to make it out like there are hundreds of people here who think Yao deserves the max? I have seen many people say he will get the max because of his marketing value. I have yet to see one person who said he deserves the max. Why is so hard for you guys to tell the difference? It's not really that difficult, right? Maybe there have been 1 or 2 crazy persons who have said he deserves the max before. I might have missed reading the posts because I honestly can't read every single post in this forum. But we have like 50,000 members here. So are you really that surprised that, out of 50,000, a few person's opinion are crazy? Believe it or not, some people enjoy saying crazy stuffs on the internet just to get a kick out of it. I have given this example before. If you make a poll on the internet and ask whether Michael Jordan of Byron Russell was a better player in 1998, rest assured that a few crazy people will vote for Russell. I won't lose any sleep because of it. But please don't try to make it out like there is a contingent of posters here who think Yao deserves the max.
It is most likely that Yao will not play much over 30 mins a game and then only occassionaly. Possibly you might see 35 mins in the playoffs. If Yao is OK the Rockets are going to bring him along slowly with the idea of him reaching the playoffs in good condition and in top form.No games no pack drill.
A lot of good posts, both pro and con. Based on his history of hard work and dedication, I have no doubt that if anyone can come back strong, it is Yao. I won't write him off until we know he can't do it. Regardless of past history, we don't know what the future holds. I believe that Yao has the heart of a champion. We need that here in Houston.
Here's the way to do it. Let Yao fully heal. Once he is fully heal, re-integrate him slowly, but he has to get back to 30+ minutes. There's no way you can use a guy for 20 minutes and have him be a starter and major piece to the team. If Yao wants to reduce his salary to 6 mil a year, then sure, make him a 20 minute per game type of guy. If he can't play 35 minutes again eventually, what's the point?
Bring him along slowly. His health is the most important concern. The Rockets whole strategy for playing in the championship is based on Yao returning. Even if next year is dampened the Rockets need to go all out to protect his health if possible. Get a good backup. Rockets are in for years of being a near lottery team and it would be time to go for deep tanking and stocking lottery picks.
Nice story. Makes me wonder if I missed my calling as a truck driver. It was certainly a possiblity. I drove a school bus, delivery van, transported cars locally and cross county. I definitely would prefer driving to being an employee in a cubicle. However, not applicable to a person returning from a serious injury. Maybe give Yao 33 minutes after 20 to 30 games-- not immediately after the "rebuild".
If it's healed it's healed, if it hasn't healed then he shouldn't come back. It's really that simple. His conditioning and out of NBA practice will limit his minutes inherently. I see no reason to bring him along cautiously because of the injury though. If there's any risk of re-injury he shouldn't come back at all.
It depends on what we get this summer? If we get a star I say sit Yao for the first half of the year to be ready for the playoffs.
The point was to keep Tracy from re-injurying himself before we could trade him. In Yao's case, the point will be to keep him from re-injurying himself before he totally screws over the franchise permanently.
For what it's worth, I work at a driver license office in town. Lots of big named people come in there to get their license's renewed. Yesterday Aaron Brooks came in. I didn't know who he was, but I knew it was one of the Rockets because I recognized his body guard. Other Rockets have come it before. Anyway, I asked Mr Brooks if I could shake his hand, and I way 'you the man'. I couldn't think of anything else to say, lol. His reply was, no, Yao's the man. True story. I should of taken a pic, but true story just the same. DB
Yao is a 30 year old big man. He wouldn't even play 36MPG on a bad team, let alone one that thinks itself a contender. Start him slow, then ramp it up to ~32MPG. In important games, he'll play big minutes. In the playoffs, he'll play big minutes. As much as the usual suspects wish it weren't true, Yao will come back strong like he always does and be back to his old self.
He doesn't have to play 36 minutes every night, that I can live with. Especially in blow-outs. But he has to play 36+ minutes on a good chunk of them or he won't be able to do that in the playoffs. The bigger you are, the more conditioning becomes a factor.
Look they can plan on only playing him 20-25 min per game all they want but when the game is close and Yao is the difference maker, you try telling Adelman and Yao to come out because he is 5 minutes over his max minutes per game. My personal opinion is to not bring him along until November and start him on the bench. I believe that if Jordan Hill has improved and is working as hard as reported, we could start the season with him and Scola playing large minutes together and Yao being integrated off the Bench starting around the holidays. That should Yao enough time to be in the grove when we are making a playoff push. Because that is when it matters most that he is healthy.
