Rockets courting Yao's associates Team hosts get-acquainted session By JOSEPH DUARTE Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson put on his best poker face while trying to downplay the significance of Thursday's first face-to-face meeting with representatives for Chinese star Yao Ming. Nothing out of the ordinary, Dawson explained to a roomful of reporters. Except the Rockets own the No. 1 pick in next month's NBA draft. And Yao is not your run-of-the-mill 7-5 center. "They know they are here for one reason, and that's because we have that first pick," Dawson said at an impromptu news conference at Compaq Center. "We're very interested. That's why you invite people down, to show you're interested. "You go through a process. They had a lot of questions to ask us. We had a lot of questions to ask them. It went very well." Four days after winning the NBA draft lottery, the Rockets immediately turned their attention to Yao, arguably the most intriguing prospect in this year's draft. Dawson invited John Huizinga and Erik Zhang, a distant cousin of Yao, to visit Houston for a preliminary get-acquainted meeting. There were no discussions on what it would take to get Yao to the NBA, Dawson said. "It's not important at this point that we reach an agreement, what's important now is just to know who we are dealing with," said Huizinga, a deputy dean of the University of Chicago business school and professor of economics. Rockets officials took Yao's representatives on a tour of the team's Westside Tennis Club practice facility and downtown arena, which is under construction. The pair also was introduced to leaders in the city's Asian community, most notably City Councilman Gordon Quan and former Councilwoman Martha Wong. "We wanted an opportunity to show off our great city," Rockets chief operating officer George Postolos said. "One of the best things that we heard is Yao Ming is a fan of Houston and his idol growing up was Hakeem Olajuwon. "He likes the idea of playing for the Houston Rockets. That was music to our ears." Zhang, who leaves Saturday for a one-month trip to China, also took with him videotape prepared by the Rockets with messages from Asian business, community and political leaders introducing him to the city. "It's very important for us to learn more about Houston and the team," said Zhang, 28, a University of Chicago business school student. "I think Houston has a lot of positive things going for it." Asked what he thinks Yao's impressions will be of Houston's presentation, Zhang replied: "I think he will be excited. I can honestly say we are impressed." Houston Mayor Lee Brown is in China on a trade mission and is trying to arrange a Monday meeting with Chinese political leaders regarding Yao, Quan said. "It would be like having the Michael Jordan of China playing in Houston," Quan said of the possibility of the Rockets drafting Yao with the top pick. "He can revolutionize this team the same way Hakeem first did when he came out of college." Olajuwon, from Lagos, Nigeria, was the Rockets' No. 1 pick in the 1984 draft. He led them to NBA championships in 1994 and 1995 before his trade to the Toronto Raptors prior to last season. Before the Rockets engage in any serious discussions regarding Yao, a few issues must be resolved. It is uncertain whether Yao, 21, will visit Houston and work out before the draft, although Zhang said that possibility is being discussed. The Rockets saw Yao work out in an NBA-sponsored practice in Chicago on May 1. He's not scheduled to return to the United States until July with the Chinese national team. Another complication facing the Rockets is the involvement of the Chinese government. Half of Yao's NBA salary would go to the Chinese government and his club team, the Shanghai Sharks, which is also believed to want a player in return from the team that drafts Yao. "Our goal and the goal of the Chinese Basketball Association is to do what is best for Yao Ming and in turn what is best for the Houston Rockets," Zhang said. "I don't foresee major problems. "We will try and resolve this issue as quickly as possible. I don't think it's insurmountable." Dawson joked during the informal news conference of the attention surrounding the visit by Yao's representatives. "We aren't doing anything we don't normally do," Dawson said. "It's just who y'all are representing that makes this a lot different. "Agents come in all the time and talk to me and we don't get this much publicity." Also Thursday, the Rockets worked out forward Caron Butler of Connecticut, forward Aaron McGhee of Oklahoma and guard Kareem Rush of Missouri. Forwards Drew Gooden of Kansas and Amare Stoudemire of Cypress Creek (Orlando, Fla.) High School, are scheduled to be at Westside Tennis Club today. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/1424456
Heres a story from the sportingnews: Rockets meet with Yao's representatives You can't beat Eastern society when it comes to presenting mankind with deep, meaningful questions and anecdotes on which to meditate. You've got one-hand clapping and the tree falling in the woods. There's the case of Chao-chou's dog, Pai-Chang's fox and the gateless gate. And, of course, fortune cookies. Now this little koan: Do the Rockets, who lucked out and won the NBA draft lottery Sunday, take Yao Ming with the top pick? After much contemplation, I will enlighten you with an answer: Yes. For now. Start by taking a look at what the Rockets have. There's the backcourt of Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley, with Moochie Norris as the chief reserve. The forwards are Eddie Griffin, Maurice Taylor, Kenny Thomas, Glen Rice and possibly free agent Walt Williams. The center -- and this is where the red flag goes up -- is Kelvin Cato. Francis, who was the team's representative at the lottery on the suggestion of owner Leslie Alexander, said it best in a television interview immediately following the lottery when he said, "We won't be looking for a point guard." True, and they won't be trading Mobley, the team's leading scorer and a close friend of Francis', to make room for a backcourt of Francis and Duke's Jay Williams, either. So we can start by crossing that off the list. With Taylor and Thomas, the team is stacked at power forward. The Rockets are hoping Griffin, who needs a lot of work on his shot, can develop into a combo 3-4. For now, he is more of a power forward, which leaves the team with only the frequently injured Rice as a small forward. Small forward is a position the team could address in the draft, and that could mean taking a player like Mike Dunleavy, Caron Butler or Qyntel Woods with the top pick. Let's call that Option 1. That leaves center, a position that, for so long, was not a concern for the Rockets. They had Hakeem Olajuwon for 17 years, and the hope was that there would be a smooth transition from Olajuwon to Cato. Eh, not quite. Here are the Rockets, then, sitting on the top pick and in need of a center. There is Yao Ming, one of the most eagerly anticipated players in league history, who happens to play center, such a rare commodity in the NBA. Houston will, of course, work out a variety of players in the next few weeks, and the Rockets are trying to get Yao back in the U.S. for a closer look. The team has scouted Yao in China, though, and Rudy Tomjanovich has coached against him. They saw him at his workout in Chicago and know he is 7-5 and nearly 300 pounds. The Rockets know what Yao has to offer. Chances are, then, the team already has an idea of whether Yao will be its center next season. Now, it is time for some poker. General manager Carroll Dawson says the Rockets would be comfortable with Yao, and he does not foresee potential contract entanglements with the Chinese government and Yao's Chinese team as an insurmountable obstacle. So, the Rockets could simply draft him. That's Option 2. Option 3 is to trade the pick. To do so, some deft poker playing is required, and so far, the Rockets have done it well. First, they have made it clear they are willing to take Yao and that they think he can be a great player for them. Thus, any team making an offer had better come up with something good and, preferably, tall. Second, Dawson has been certain to pump up the value of the No. 1 overall pick, pointing out what a great mental boost it is for any organization and how rare it is for a team to trade the No. 1 choice. That's smart, because it takes the focus off the "to Yao or not to Yao" question, and puts the top pick on a pedestal, surrounded by heavenly beams of light. Again, if you want to trade for this, you better have something good to offer. For now, then it best suits the Rockets to seem perfectly willing to take Yao as their center of the future. Will he actually fill that role? Perhaps we should consult the I-Ching here. Dawson says he had no inkling that luck was going to turn the Rockets' way. After all, the Rockets only had an 8.9 percent chance of winning. But, just to make sure, Dawson did get up and go to church that morning. "Some of the other people there were laughing and saying, 'Oh, great day to come to church, isn't it?'" Dawson says. "I was not going to pray for the lottery, I don't want the Lord to think I am greedy. But I did think I probably should go, just in case." It worked. Not only did the Rockets' ping pong ball come up for the top pick, it came up for the No. 2 pick as well. "I like to say that I am not superstitious, but I think it's bad luck to talk about it," Dawson says.
I didn't notice anything about the Shanghai Sharks. I hope CD does something in public acknowledging them. Otherwise they might become unreasonable.
The Yao's old team (Shanghi Sharks) wants one of the Rocket players in exchange for Mr. Ming's services. Ok, lets give them Langhi or Collier. Can they really do that?
