Yao should retire; should have retired two years ago, said he would retire if he injured the same ankle again. Yao, love you, retire, please. Save yourself from further misery, save us from more disappointment.
Good to hear. Even better if the Rockets feel they have an inside track to resigning him to a bargain deal. All the same, I think you trade him now. The allure of his insurance-covered contract is an asset in it's own right. Better to "trade" him for something tangible now and worry about his future with us later.
He might, but it is his choice, and if he chooses to play it would be stupid for the Rox not to take a shot. I mean he is now the definition of a Morey move, a low risk potential high return guy. DD
Please retire Yao... if not, come back in 2013. I just want a year where you and your expectations are not attached to the team.... just one....
Trade him and re-sign for the vet min as a free gamble. You get tons of cap room to get some good pieces plus the marketing deals you get from China will more than make up for any salary he signs for, even if he gets more than the vet min.
i kinda agree yao should retire. the chance he gets another injury is way more than not. let's assume yao wants to come back to play. w/ his injury history, it's smart and very common practice for both sides to get low base salary and incentive loaded one year deal. does nba allow incentive loaded contract? yao wants and has to show he can stay healthy to teams including rox so he can get another long term deal after one year play.
Report: "Team" Yao not ready to stop riding gravy train, Eriz Zhang to wrest last few precious drops from any and all participants
Look it is simple really, if Yao was going to retire, then why even have the surgery? The bone would heal on it's own. DD
who doesn't want to continue to play @ age 30? it's understandable he will give another shot. as a fan, i expect he is going to get another injury if he tries to come back. he is too big for his bones to carry.
Here is the problem; as long as the "Yao Effect" continues to hang over the team we are doomed. 1. What first rate center wants to come here with the "possibility" of a Yao return? None. 2. What All Star wants to come here to play with Yao? None. 3. What player wants to come and compliment Yao? None. 4. How many players in the NBA actually believe that Yao is coming back and playing a significant role on the Rockets? None. But the Rockets would start him anyway which determines the answer to question one. I could go on, but in summary the continuing and seemingly never ending drama regarding Yao hangs the Rockets in neutral. It must end. There must be closure so the new direction can be determined. For now, the Rockets are in limbo.
Don't just pin everything on Yao. It has nothing to do with him. Houston is not that attracitve to elite players at this moment with or without Yao. What first rate center wants to play for Rockets without Yao? None. What all Star wants to play for Rockets without Yao? None. Many rebuilding teams were in that situation before and they seemed to be in a rebuilding mode for many years until they drafted a special one, and Yao was not on those teams.
Wow! That is an amazing statement. Of course, I disagree. Les wants him no matter what and that puts the Rockets on hold. As to the "no Yao" Rockets, they represent an excellent group of role players and budding stars that would and could attract a marque player or players. With an elite player or two, the Rockets could be very good. Martin and Brooks are prolific scorers Lee and Lowry are competent defenders Scola is a "solid" and crafty PF, Hayes is an elite defender in that spot SF and C are where we need size and scoring. Bud, Williams, and Lee can fill in.
You'll see what happens after Yao leaves Rockets. It's an mediocre team, and you can find a lot in the league. Many teams can be very good if you put a superstar on it. Even the pathetic Cavs was really good with Lebron. But that doesn't mean they'll get one. At this moment, there is simply no elite centers availabe for Rockets to get, and there is slim to zero chance that Houston would be able to land a superstar via trade any time soon. Best chance is to draft one then develp him. Don't overrate role players. Superstars and big market are the reasons to attract other superstars, not role players.
Maybe these two seasons off will let his feet heal completely and he can help us in a back up role. Give us 2 or 3 good seasons. Hopefully we can get back to being a contender.
