Agreed completely. Based on the Chinese NT performance at the Asian Games, Yao Ming is really not needed there. He is there for the extra insurance. Had the NT performed well at WBC, I bet that they would've let Yao Ming not to participate in the Asian Games. In the future, I can see that Yao Ming is only needed at WBC and Olympics. For the Asian Games or Asian Championships, China may only need one big man, alternating between Yao Ming and Menke Bateer. China also need to develop other big players quickly so that they may not need to rely on Yao/Bateer for regional games. I can see that the Chinese NT may go to Houston to pratise during offseason in the next few years. The more the NT developed, the less need to Yao Ming to participate in any regional game.
There is insurance that is what Cuban was arguing about when Nowitski and Nash were to play in the World Championships.
<blockquote><hr>Originally posted by fwang It appears that Yao Mingis salary is "guaranteed" whether he is injured or not. In other words, he will be paid $18 MM for the next four years even if he is injured half way. (I have read two reports confirming this point).<hr></blockquote> <b>Every first round rookie contract is guaranteed</b>. But only for 3 years. That is a fact. Veteran contracts must be negotiated for "Lack of Skill" guaranteed provisions. Yao's contract of "Lack of Skill" is mandated by NBA rules.. Now, any reports that say the 4th yr Team Option is guaranteed are misleading. The 4th Yr is guaranteed *only* if the Rockets exercise that 4th Yr option. It is mandated that the 4th yr is a Team Option to exercise. In other words, if Yao gets injured today, and it ends his career, he will get only 3yrs of pay, because the Rockets would not exercise their "Team Option" over the 4th yr. fwang, We need no quotes from any Chinese news agencies to confirm this. All you need to do is download the Collective Bargaining Agreement and Uniform Player Contract of the NBA. Remember, Yao is coming here; he must negotiate rookie contracts like every other rookie in the NBA. There really is no point in arguing this fact based on Chinese news misinterpretations of our NBA rules.
For heyp and others... I think this post hits the nail on the head. The logical explanation is that they've agreed on insurance/guarantees for the NBA contract should anything happen when Yao Ming is playing for the Chinese national team. So shut up with the snotty bickering already.
It might not be so much about the contract being guaranteed or insurance, cause those are always givens. I would be that the CBA was wanting some sort of compensation package for them if Ming is injured (i.e. ......if Ming is hurt and cant play on the national team, then we will lose and well want to be compensated monetarily). Its safe to assume something like that is not a standard contract negotiating point.
