I don't think Wang is right, as I said many times, and I made an example in this thread. I don't think CBA is right if they hold up Yao Ming b/c of the Wang situation. Yao has so far demonstrated he's way a more mature person than Wang. Then again, I won't jump on CBA before I actually see Yao can not sign in time, and they back out of their words.
Was Houston Chronicle or one of the local TV stations the media through which Rockets lawyer and GM told Houston public that Yao Ming would sign the contract during WBC??? You are quoting them because you heard from/read the paper/TV??? As far as Texas bashing is concerned, see my post above, I simply do not trust any non-impact news meda, as far as the accuracy is concernd, whether it be a US paper or a Chinese paper. Talkijng about respect, that is a two way street. I have hardly seen a post from you that respect other poster. How can you expect your post be respected by others?
Wait a minute. You are not bashing! Did you call CBA officials liers without providing evidence? Did you say "Shame on China?" If those quotes are not considered "China bashing" or "CBA bashing" whatever, they will have to be regarded as "Texas Hospitality", sacastically, or more appropriately, "Heypartner Hospitality."
This has nothing to do with Mark Cuban. Wang Zhi Zhi is not even a Dallas Maverick at this point. Cuban met the obligations of his agreement with the CBA and released Wang at the end of each NBA season. It would be illegal for Cuban to put a gun to Wang's head and force him back to China. Wang is in the good ole USA right now and is exercising his rights and it has nothing to do with Cuban. It looks like Wang will not even be playing with the Mavs this year.
HEYPARTNER:- You are WRONG Wang Zhi Zhi is not a Free Agent he is a Restricted Free Agent and the Mavs are certainly involved in a commitment, they even have forwarded papers to Wang Zhi Zhi,thus ensuring him of their relationship and interest. This was done to indicate to the CBA that they have not abandened Wang Zhi Zhi to complete freedom and also to let people and teams know the exact status of Wang Zhi Zhi!
patience grasshoppers.. patience (sorry if thats not PC) i know its the offseason and everyones gettin a little unsettled.. but ming will sign, and if chinas holding him back for a little more.. so be it, what manager/team doesnt do the same..
Yetti, a restricted free agent is a free agent. He is not a Dallas Maverick right now. FIBA and Stern cannot punish the Mavericks for Wang's lack of appearance, and Cuban has no control over him. The "papers" you are referring to is the standard "Qualifying Offer" required to make someone a restricted free agent and to retain first right of refusal. What's happening is Wang's marketability is severely dropping, and Chinese BBall officials are just shooting themselves in the foot if they are concerned with taxing his income. He is becoming almost unemployable. Don't blame this on Cuban, that is so June '02. fwang, You never answered my question...."What would Yao do?" Would he blame Wang? bashing CBA officials and negotiators of Yao's release is not bashing your country. I bash Stern, too. I bash Phil Jackson. I bash Hakeem's agent. You just read it as bashing China in general. Like you say, "relax like an expectent mother" and try to be an NBA fan and Houston Rockets fan, and not just a Yao Ming fan. You will enjoy basketball better and this BBS more. "Shame on China" is so tongue and cheek and aimed at guys like michecon who know I don't bash China. btw: you indeed are unjustly bashing Wang...though. Blaming Wang for a mere formality of Yao's release becoming troubling is misguided. That type of stuff is feeding right into the reasons Yao's release is being withheld longer than promised. If people wouldn't blame Wang, there would be no leverage in withholding Yao. There should be no leverage.
Would you guys please stop bashing eachother and this and that Org. Ming's contract would be alittle different then your eveyday contract(you can think why),and also what if he gets badly injured during a national-team game,who would take the responsibility of a G-contract? Plus don't you enjoy being at the edge right through the very last minute??I thought that was a very big part of sports,but maybe thats just me and a couple of others. Everything will be just fine!Lets just hope he doesn't get injured.
Hetpartner:- I feel sure you just want to spout on the BBS. You are spouting with a lot of guess work and assuming things you dont have any idead about the Truth of the matter. If you are Mark Cubans Secretary or first hand lackey then your words might be worth considering! As you are not any of these persons its about time for you just to calm down a realise that you are just a Rox fan,like us all, spouting your humble feeling on the matter! QED
HP: You are making yourself harder to be understood Here's another Tongue and cheek for you: "The Rockets have been lied to."
China does have a glorious past and magnificent people. The issue is the dictatorship that rules the country. Remove the dictator and let the people of China rule themselves. If a Chinese man wants to escape the oppressive, lethal, men currently oppressing the people of China, he is not fleeing China or being Chinese. All men are endowed by God to basic rights as men (er, women too). All men have the right not to be slaves. China will never achieve its proper destiny until all Chinese men are free and able to live their lives as they see fit. If Yao comes to America and denounces the Chinese dictators he will not be renouncing his being Chinese. He will be fighting for the right to be Chinese.
Hopefully Yao will postpone becoming the Chinese George Washington until his Rocket career is over. Cordially,
I don't really see why the Chinese NT is so intent on having Yao Ming play in the Asian games since they were so inept at using him during the WBC. If the Chinese NT coach and guards don't get their act together and get Yao more touches during the Asian games then what use is it to have in on the NT team? It is just nuts to think that instead of having Yao in Houston for the pre-season, getting to know the players and game strategy, bulking up, etc; he is going to have to suffer through another frustrating tournament. I don't think the NT coaching staff will learn from their experience in the WBC in time to change their game strategy and GET THE BALL TO YAO during the Asian games. Let the boy come to Houston now and let him get some kind of head start before he has to start banging with Shaq and company. China BB fans will forget about the terrible WBC performance and the NT once they see Yao, Franchise and company pilling up the wins and challenging LA, SA, and SAC for the western conference championship. The NBA all that counts in the world of BB. The other stuff is all distraction.
Very well analyzed post. After reading many posts, my perception about the image of Houstonians are they are a bunch of conservative southerners who are narrow-minded. Anything and everything they can not understand they will attribute to olddie communisms. Have they acquired any knowledge about modern civilization of other countries and culture? That being said, I am raising an concern which is sure to irritate some of the posters: should Yao Ming be developed under this kind of conservative environment? Is he be better off drafted by a coastal team such as Knicks/Goldern State and maybe even Lakers? At least people living in the Northeast or California are open minded. I have talked to many foreigners (not just Chinese or other Asians) living in US who told me that they can't tolerate mide-West or the South of US and now I understand why. Maybe there is a reason why the centers of the commerce and politics of America lie in Washington-New York-Boston corridor, and the centers of innovation (Silicon Valley) and popular culture (Hollywood) lie in San Fran and LA.
himself, Allow me to splice two sentences from your post together... <i>Would you guys please stop bashing ... this and that Org. I thought that was a very big part of sports,but maybe thats just me and a couple of others. </i> LOL! fwang, the Rockets give out Official News to Jonathan Feigen, the beat writer at the Chronicle, and other local news outlets. They do phone interviews on the radio and speak to TV. The Chronicle and local news is the #1 source of accurate Rockets news. Feigen has a long reputation of accurate reporting and accurate quoting. <blockquote>Originally posted by fwang Was Houston Chronicle or one of the local TV stations the media through which Rockets lawyer and GM told Houston public that Yao Ming would sign the contract during WBC??? You are quoting them because you heard from/read the paper/TV???</blockquote>On July 24th, the Rockets got the release from the Sharks and were told the rest is just a formality now that the CBA had the Sharks release. At that point, all negotiations of salary and compensation were done. They were told further discussions were not necessary and a "hopeful" signing would occur at the WBC. This was from the mouth of Carrol Dawson on television, radio and the paper. Goldberg said it too, and I believe Les did. The promise was that everything was in order. In their most diplomatic fashion, the Rockets said everything was a go, and it would be done by WBC. Yesterday, Goldberg had to send them another letter. He doesn't do that to just to say "hi, just touching base here." He does that because he expected a release by now. Goldberg is a top lawyer at one of the top law firms in town. He has a reputation of not speaking too soon. I believe he expected to have it signed by now and asked. In writing? No. Did someone lie during negotiations to make him believe that there would be no hang-ups? That's an accusation of mine, for sure, but it is pretty obvious they were expecting it over by now and NOT after the Asian Games as reported by windandsea. I agree for sure that the only thing in writing is that they assure he'll be available for the entire regular season. I also agree that he will be release. I still say this is all unacceptable, because it is useless. There is nothing that can be accomplished by the rules of the NBA. The only thing they can achieve is bashing Wang.
fwang, So you would rather have some other NBA coach than Rudy T. teach Yao how to play better basketball? It's not about where the Rockets are located, it's not about Houston vs. LA vs. NY, it's about basketball. Everyone in this post should just step back from the China/Houston bashing and get back to what is best for Yao. If you know anything about Rudy T's basketball career and commitment to his players, and you really love basketball and want what is best for Yao - then you would realize there is no better place for Yao than on the Rockets. BTW, he will love Houston and come to find that it beats the hell out of living in Shanghai, LA and NY.
You better check your stats on the third largest city in the U.S. and the commerce generated by technology companies like Dell, Motorola, Compaq, the major oil companies, the port etc.. Downtown Houston has probably one of the best supported and diverse arts centers in the U.S..
Here's a clue: The guards on other Asian NTs are not as aggressive or competent in pressure defence as Teams China lose to in WBC. It's better for Yao to join Rockets early, it's reassuring for China's Title hope (tied to Olympics) to have Yao Ming play.
I, like most fans, would also like to see Yao Ming join ROckets early so that he can bulk up and develop as quickly as possible. BUt there is a reason why he needs to participate in the Asian Games. I have outlined this in another thread and let me repeat that again. Asian Games are quarlifers for 2004 Olympics. China needs to win the gold or perhaps siler (some one correct me if I am wrong) to advance to the Olympics. The mood of the current Chinese NT is really bad. They should have won # 8 spot at WBC based on the skill levels even without Wang. However, they blew it in a big time. Yao Ming has in fact gratiously acknowledged that his foul problems in the first game (China vs. Germany) may have contributed a great deal to the morale of team. Similarly, do you honestly think that the US team was inferior to Team Spain or simply that the morale of the US team players were down? China will need Yao Ming this time to make sure that they will advance. Simlilarly, due to the poor performance of DREAM TEAM V at WBC, US will have to send a better team to next year's Pan American Games to qualifer for 2004, something you guys have taken for granted up till this year.
