I did misunderstand your first post, but at least Tim cleared it up. As for what they ARE negotiating, I've got to believe that it has to do with no-trade issues. In a way, they aren't just negotiating with Yao in mind, they are also negotiating for China to protect Yao. But, that's just a theory.
No, I don't have any links...it's just what I recall. If it turned out to be something Carroll Dawson said one year, and Rudy T another, or whatever...my point is I've heard this before from this organization, and others actually. It's just marketing. Right now this team has tons and tons of potential. More potential then anything. But potential oftens falls short of expectations. Potential doesn't win championships. Francis is budding superstar, but I don't consider him to be one yet. He's still not the number one point guard in the league or the conference. Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, and perhaps even Mike Bibby...oh Francis is more talented, but these guys get the job done. Mobley is a quality off guard, but then after that, Houston has no proven players (maybe Mo T, but coming of an injury). I remember the last time the Rockets were called the team of the future. No one thought that it meant their next trip to the finals would be in 10 years with only one player remaining from that original team.....
ooo-oooh. I can help with this one. Rookies can't sign no-trade clauses, only 7+yr vets can. As an example, remember when aelliott and mango undressed TroyBaros about this when he said (in a lame backpedaling moment) that Francis was working a no-trade clause with prospective suitors for a trade???
I get the feeling that the Chinese probably already know that but they probably want guarantees from the Rockets that they won't trade him anyway.
What this implies, IMHO, that not just CBA, but Yao Ming is still negotiating with Rockets. We know that CBA issue is Wang ZhiZhi related. But what could be Yao Ming's? The only thing they (Rockets and Yao Ming's agents) agreed upon is Yao Ming's salary for the next three years ( ~~$12 MM, seems to be low compared with other top picks). One possibility (don't know whether it is EXPLICITLY prohibited in NBA contract) is tax gross-up for foreigners. It is not unusual for foreign executives (called expats) in multinational companies to get their companies pay local taxes (in this case, US federal income tax). That means almost additional $ 3 mm for the owner who claimed "Their agents want some things we haven't been willing to deliver." Just a speculation. It could be zillions of other monetary or non-monatary related reasons. Welcome to the real contract negotiation! In the end, I hope both sides will reach a win-win solution.
I don't buy into that. My reading of the original paper from Houston Chronicles is that both Yao Ming and CBA are still negotiating with Rockets. While one may understand CBA may want to have a no-trade clause (not possible, pointed out by Heypartner), what is the incentive for Yao Ming to have a no-trade clause? He does not even know where he will end up after his initial contract with Rockets ends. If he is for real, I am sure all other NBA teams will be willing to offer him the max by then.
fwang, I agree. The quotes seem to imply that Les is dealing with Yao and "his agents." OK, bare with me fwang...I'm going to do a great deal of speculation here. Please don't slap me!!! Maybe,,,,just maybe Les is trying to address the Houston fans who are complaining. For instance, I personally complained to the Sales staff via letter that would have arrived Monday. That is the truth. They called me Monday...left a message. I told them to sign their #1, or I will not be a happy season ticketholder. Sign him now! I don't know how many other season ticketholders have sent such letter or made similar phone calls, but I'm sure all the Ming bandwagoners in the Chinese community are laying down the pressure. So, Les goes public. Yet, he doesn't want to say anything that insults the negotiators on the other side of the sea. Neither does Yao's cousin. So..........what do they do to answer the season-ticketholders/new buyers without upsetting the negotiations. ...easy...they blame it on Yao's cousin/agent....which upsets no one. They continue to not mention the CBA, Sharks or Wang Zhi Zhi....the never have yet, why would they now. So, this is not really news, but Les Alexander realizing that he must speak out to the Houston/Ming fans/ticket buyers.
Maloof from the Kings thinks that already now, they have "one of the greatest teams ever"...compared to that, Les is being very cautious and conservative with his statements . http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2002/0926/1437379.html
Heypartner,I thought that Les made these statements to calm people down becuase with every passing day everyone is becoming worried about the whole situation. I thought that the only thing that was left was getting permission from the CBA and I'm a bit surprised that they are continuing talks with Yao's agents as well. I get the feeling that major work needs to be done before an agreement can be reached and I hope I'm wrong but it seems that we will have to wait upto the last day before the opening of the season to reach an agreement.
Heypartner, If you have personally put pressure on Rockets on signing NO. 1, I am sure others have done so and maybe it is simply the PR of the owner, which I can appreciate. But if we take the owners' words at the face value, Rockets and Yao's agents are still negotiating. If I try to correlate the owner's statement with that of Rockets' council that "He wants to play here and he will have to sign it." (reported on the paper several days ago), I do feel that both sides are still negotiating though we do not know what they are negotiating about. From the various reports I have read, it occurs to me that Yao Ming's mother is really the "PG" of the negotiation. She may well be the one who makes demands and let Erik and Prof. John to deal with the negotiation. It is well known that Yao Ming is very naive about money and Yao Ming's father is kind of shy. But Yao Ming's mother is an extrovert, coming from Shanghai (means she is very business savvy). It was her who made the decision to break up the Yao Ming's ties with David Falks' agents three years ago. Otherwise, Yao Ming would have started his NBA career in 2000.
They also signed Matt Maloney, Scottie Pippen, Kelvin Cato, Mo Taylor and Jason Collier to long term contracts. Traded Najera for Kyle,. Drafted Washington and Turcad (or whatever)...... They are not above second guessing! Moochie was a gift to Steve, period. The only way he stays in the rotation this year is because Steve wants it that way. Steve will eventually have to decide between loyalty and a ring. Which choice do you want him to make ?????.
Actually, I was wrong. Alexander made the "many championships" quote after the Pippen trade, not the Barkley trade: "ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, THE HOUSTON ROCKETS ACQUIRED Scottie Pippen in a trade with the Chicago Bulls. Below is a transcript from the press conference introducing Pippen to the city of Houston. Rockets owner Leslie Alexander: Thank you everybody for being here; we really appreciate you waiting. I know it has been a long time, but it was worth it. We have gotten a great player, a future Hall of Famer, a guy who can bring us many championships. He's a guy we wanted very badly. We're in awe of his rings. We want to add more rings to the city of Houston. He's a great player and a great person. He's added value to the city of Houston. It's a great day for the Rockets. Ladies and gentlemen : Scottie Pippen." http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/field/8836/news.html#02 Here's more recent cheerleading from Les: "I feel very confident," Alexander said. "We've got a lot of talent. We're very young. So as this team gets better and better and better, it's not going to be one of these teams that's good for a year or two. It's going to be good for 10 years. People will get very excited about this team. We have almost as much talent as anybody in the league. If we put it together and it stays healthy, it's going to be a very exciting team." . . . . Alexander still believes in the Rockets' more controversial, high-priced signings. He considers Maurice Taylor, whom he signed to a six-year, $48 million contract in August, a key component in the Rockets' future. Taylor has missed the season with a ruptured Achilles' tendon. Alexander said Kelvin Cato, in the second year of a six-year, $42 million deal, has begun to show his value. "I think Mo is a great investment," Alexander said. "I think Mo was close to becoming an All-Star in this league. I can't account for injuries. Cato, who got a lot of knocks in the press, has shown he can be a very good NBA center. How many guys as big as Cato are more athletic? He made plays (Tuesday) only an athlete can make." http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/1234008 Don't get me wrong - I'm not knocking Alexander. I like the fact that he is an optimist, and always speaks positive about the Rockets. I especially like that he is a hands off owner, not a Jerry Jones type. But recognize that even though he lives in Florida, he is a homer. "Not that that's a bad thing!"
Les has got to use the media to try to generate interest in a team that is near last in attendance with a new arena being built for the next season, but his statement that this is one of the great teams assembled doesn't take into account that this current lineup doesn't have good defenders at either guard positions or the 4 (assuming Griffin will play the 3). I agree with the ESPN writer who stated that Alexander is putting too much pressure on such a young and inexperienced team that has very little chemistry and cohesion with regards to the starting five. It takes more than a year to develop enough chemistry to make the playoffs in the Western conference IMO, and with key players having to continue their rehab by learning to cope with the pain of playing after a serious injury, why put so much pressure on a team that is injury prone in the first place? If the fans really believe what Les is saying then why don't they find their way down to the Compaq Center and represent? Les has put his money where his mouth is so why don't the fans in Houston? Walk the walk on down to the arena and score some tickets for the Rockets..... I love the Rockets, but I also don't want to have unrealistically premature projections about this potentially very good team. Give it time and enjoy the infancy stages of their development-it's gonna take a few years IMO (2-3), but Les has a much shorter timeframe because of the arena issue and the poor attendance which translates into a poor return on his personal investment in the team, which many of you could directly effect by simply copping a ticket and filling some of those empty seats.
50 million in payroll, a quality coaching staff, and the quality of our players demands a playoff spot - no excuses. I don't care if they haven't played together. These are professionals, they need to perform and live up to their pay/potential.
