$32 Million in Expiring Contracts at the Deadline (Yao, Battier, Jeffries)

Could it be reasonable to assume that it's this same revenue that allow's Morey to get the "whatever's necessary" go-ahead from Les? Paying a luxury-tax is a little easier when your overall bottom line is still growing.

 

Regardless what happens, I hope Yao is out by this off season. I pray to God he won't be resigned.

I hope Yao retires because if he says there is a small chance he could still play, you know Les will resign him in a nano second.

 

Let them expire!!!....sign Yao for 6 mill a year....He makes 4 times more from endorsements anyway.....

 

Troy Murphy
6-11 PF from Notre Dame
4.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.0 apg in 20.4 minutes
Terrence Williams
6-6 SG / SF from Louisville
14.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.0 apg in 22.6 minutes
Outgoing Players
Shane Battier
6-8 SF from Duke
6.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.7 apg in 30.3 minutes
Jared Jeffries
6-11 SF from Indiana
3.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.8 apg in 8.6 minutes

 

At the end of the day this is a business for Les Alexander and the Rockets organization... there is no way Yao gets shipped out ever unless he declares he will retire because of injuries and they trade his contract, which would have to be done before retirement. This would be extremely unprofessional and he would almost certainly be allowed to retire a Rocket.

The Marketing implications of having Yao Ming on your team are too great to ignore from a business standpoint. If he is still having injury issues past the trade deadline, i can almost guarentee Yao will retire for the sake of his own self and the team.

 

Agreed! I think Jeffries and Battier's contracts are obviously tradable assets, but there is no way that Les will allow the marketing goldmine that is Yao to be traded. The exposure Houston gets in the world's second biggest market is too good to let go. In fact, it is a recruiting tool for good talent. Even scrubs on Houston get Chinese shoe deals.

What will be interesting is to see what kind of contract is negotiated beyond this season. Yao's obviously not a max player anymore, but it remains to be seen how much hardball Morey will play in negotiations. Yao has more leverage than any declining player will ever have because of his marketability, and the fact that the NBA is more of a business than anything else.

 

Our make up of a team is just awful. We don't play defense, so you'd expect the run and gun offense. But with Yao (if he's ever on the court) slows us down. Makes us focus on him as the tip of the triangle offense, slow developing etc. And yet, after all these years Yao's biggest weakness is still taken advantage of....the fronting, which seems it'll never end because the poor guy is just too big slow.

I'd be excited to watch this team, even if they continue to lose if they and turn around some of these aging players of ours and become much younger and quicker.

I'm done with the Yao era, just like I was done with the TMAC era. It's really starting to look like it's time to move on from it, love the guy's offensive skills, but his lack of speed and a durable body is killing this team. When he's off the floor, we suck because he's an integral part of the scheme....when he's on the floor....we suck too.

It would kill me to see Yao in another jersey, but man. It's time to let go if this season continue on this downward spiral. In all honesty, I hope the guy retires due to injuries and enjoys the rest of his life away from the court with his wife.

There's a decision to be made this season.....is Alexander still focused on winning and the $$$ it can bring....or is he satisfied with just money alone (Yao Ming effect).

 

So basically your saying that out of all the other 28 teams in the league, none of them will offer something better than a scrub player with an expiring contract and MAYBE a pick? Fail on your part. Get some perspective.

 

I think i'd let him walk under those circumstances. Perhaps a more interesting question is, would Yao walk over contract money? It may not be a motivating factor for him the way it is for others. It is not out of the rhelm of possibilities that Yao takes less to stay in Houston.

 

No team will offer him the max based on what he can do on the court. He'll never be a full time player again. But there are teams that covert those lucrative business opportunities that come with having Yao on your team.