How Les' obsession with Yao Ming and money will destroy this franchise

As I started reading this thread I got infuriated then I realized the point was cleverly disguised and I totally agreed with it, if that was me then I can only imagine the boiling points it brought to the Yao abolishers out there.

I agree we can’t envision Yao as a centerpiece but it doesn’t make sense to let him go at this stage, at worse he’ll get us an extra mle a year, and letting him walk won’t likely get us a player better than that.

 

Its time to break away. I might change my mind if the Rockets resign him at a real bargain price, but organizationally the Rockets must assume that he'll never play again.

 

still trying to decide if this is sarcasm or r****dation.

I'll just break out my magic 8 ball....it has all the answers!

 

Yeah, Im not usually one for making fun of so called "fans" making horrible threads but this one takes the cake.

-Do you have any idea how unprofessional it would be for Les and Morey to publicly announce they are not interested in Yao being a part of the franchise now, a couple days after he found out he has yet another fracture in his foot??...

-Draft Mike Dunleavey over Yao Ming???... really... not one GM would have drafted him over Yao and still wouldnt. Are you smarter than them?

 

OMG!!!! how could someone be so concerned about makeing more money. That is such an evil thing in this world.

 

Les Alexander has been a business man first and last!! Get that understood!

After the bad business dealt out to McGrady last season Les must be very carefully how he deals with Yao, as if he continues to dirty our reputation then only after the departure of Les, Morey and Head coach will the Rockets will truly be back to recovery.
However most of us expect the management will be on their best behavior and protect the Rockets reputations concerning Yao and his future! Y

 

Completely agree...sucks to see Jay williams flourishing and wondering what could have been!!

 

I think that is not only Les' intention, but Stern and the whole nba league's intention. In fact, If the rockets couldn't handle Yao's situation well, not just the rockets and nba league would be affected, the relationship between usa and china would be affected too. Chinese poeple wouldn't tolerate their hero to be treated as a garbage after he is suffered a potential career ending injury.

 

I sure will, but I was with the rockets in drafting Yao once they jumped up. Had they not moved up, they were in position for amare. Yao was a good player when he played, but he is done. I like the guy and he's been a model citizen, but its over and was over once he limped off the court against la. Its not his fault, he did all he could do, but he's not worth it anymore. Its not like he was stockpiling rings anyway. This is not trading moses after his 2nd mvp either.

 

To the OP: so what you're saying is if Penny Hardaway was Chinese, he'd still be in the league? Is that what you're saying?

 

I pretty much agree with this.

This thread sucks.

 

This isn't about drafting Yao, it's about bringing back a brittle player, for no other reason than outside revenue, a player who's contract would have tremendous trade value, except for the fact Les won't allow the Yao Ming brand to ever be associated with another franchise, even if only temporarily, which means a golden opportunity will be squandered, an opportunity that would not be wasted if Yao weren't a Chinese citizen.

I hope I'm wrong about Les. I hope he really does put winning first, because Yao's contract should be available, not untouchable, as everyone suspects it is.

 

meh...

Agree with durvasa, the Rockets must assume he is done -- for good. And build the team accordingly.

 

I wonder what the folks in China think about posts like this when it comes to Yao and money. I'm in no way calling you out or anything like that.

 

Please go read more about Les.
About his investment and his stocks.
Go read it.

 

A modest proposal?

 

I think the perception of Les having to choose between revenues or wins is too simplistic. There are a number of factors that are going to have to go into deciding whether or not the team should re-sign Yao, and assuming that he heals fully, why wouldnt you re-sign him at a reduced rate?

Yao is not the first big man to suffer from knee/foot ailments. Rik Smits and Zydrunas Ilgauskus are two prominent names that come to mind when thinking of guys who came into this league and sat out for seasons due to injuries. Eventually, their teams learned how to optimize their playing time in order to mitigate the potential for future injuries. If anything, the Rockets were simply too late in recognizing that reality with Yao; that, at 7'6'' and with a history of injuries, it was not wise to consistently put him out there for 40 minutes a game. Whether this last injury was the latest installment in a long line of injuries to come or just a stroke of bad luck is the main question.

There's no question that the revenue stream Yao provides in and of itself provides reasoning enough to strongly consider bringing him back. But even after that, its not as if he's ever been a total liability to this team offensively or defensively, and as a situational backup, he might prove to be very useful. Adelman found a way to use Sabonis in an uptempo offense, and Yao shouldnt be that much harder.

Hypothetically, if we can sign him to a 1-year deal for $3-5 million dollars, why not?

 

Call me out all you like. It's the truth.