Chron: Francis/Yao news

Rockets stay on move in pursuit of Francis, Yao

By MICHAEL MURPHY
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

So much for easy summer vacations.

The Rockets have been busy these past few days, piling up frequent flier miles in their efforts to rebuild the franchise.

Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson is in Las Vegas, where he is meeting with Jeff Fried and Rock Newman, who represent Steve Francis. The Rockets are trying to negotiate a six-year contract extension for the All-Star guard that could be worth $100 million.

And while Dawson stuck relatively close to home, team counsel Mike Goldberg had successful meetings in Shanghai, China, and will move on to Beijing in the Rockets' continuing efforts to get No. 1 pick Yao Ming under contract.

Yao, a 7-5 center from China, was taken by the Rockets with the top pick in the June NBA draft. But before the Rockets can get him to sign an NBA contract, they must first secure the necessary written releases from both the Shanghai Sharks, Yao's team in the Chinese Basketball Association, and from the CBA.

Before the draft, the organization got verbal promises that the releases eventually would be granted, so the Rockets now are working to secure those documents.

Friday, Goldberg got the written release from Li Yaomin, the Sharks' general manager, and is traveling to Beijing, where it is expected he will meet Monday with Xin Lancheng, the commissioner of the CBA, to get a similar release from the league that would clear the path for Yao to sign his NBA contract.

"We wouldn't have drafted him if we didn't think we could have gotten the written agreements, which is an ongoing process," said Dawson of Goldberg's trip to China. "We now have to get the other part of that, which means going to Beijing.

"We were always confident we could get the releases. Things went great when we (Dawson, Goldberg, coach Rudy Tomjanovich and director of media relations Nelson Luis) were over there. Everybody was for it (Yao playing in the NBA), so we drafted the guy."

The Yao negotiations are stickier than the norm since the Sharks and the CBA want promises Yao will be free to play for China in the Olympics and World Championships. In return, the Rockets are seeking assurances Yao will play the entire NBA season and postseason, should the Rockets make the playoffs.

With Yao and Francis under contract, the idea of the Rockets making the playoffs doesn't seem that far-fetched.

"We still have a few points to go, but it's nothing really major," Dawson said of Francis. "It's about getting rehab on his shoulder, getting him to the Mayo Clinic (to assess the headaches that plagued Francis last season). Stuff like that. I think the contract stuff is OK. Everything there is going to work out. I don't see any problems with the contract (stipulations).

"It was one of the better meetings you could have."

The exact dollar amount of Francis' extension would be determined next year, when the league's salary cap is again calculated. Francis, who is in the fourth year of his slotted rookie-scale salary, is eligible to receive 25 percent of that future salary-cap number.

The Rockets want Francis, 25, to visit the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., to address the headaches that plagued the 6-3 guard. Francis missed six games last season with the mysterious migraine-like symptoms and played through them in many more.

Francis also will have his surgically repaired right shoulder examined. He underwent surgery in late May to repair the labrum cartilage in his right (shooting) shoulder, but has made rapid progress in his recovery.

"He's looking good on his shoulder rehab, and we have the dates set up with the Mayo Clinic, so it's looking good on that," Dawson said. "We're going to get (Francis) into (the Mayo Clinic) next week, before the end of the month. Everything's looking good."