[Chron] Yao mulls contract status, considers free agency

If he opts out, the only way I want him back is if he takes a hefty pay cut.

 

When Jeffries falls off the team salary, the Rockets would have $20 mil available in capspace. If there is a hardcap with no bird exceptions, Rockets have a crack at Carmelo.

 

Depends on where the hard cap is. If the cap is going to be a hard one, it might well be closer to the luxury tax threshhold than the current cap. Anyhow, nobody knows what's happening in 2011, so it's kind of dumb to withhold from doing stuff so you can make 2011 plans.

Besides, Morey doesn't believe in withholding from making moves in order to chase cap space. He didn't do it in a year when Yao was out, not for cap space in 2010 and opportunity to chase a bunch of big names, he probably isn't going to do it next year either when he does hopefully have Yao, Martin and either the current team or some big S&T target (we hope), and just to chase Carmelo Anthony (any other big names in 2011) when we don't even know what the CBA will look like.

 

I'll take the cap space in one year, than the injuries of a brittle play of the past 5 years.

 

Welcome to the world of NY Knicks.

 

With McGrady gone, I expected hope for our team
-All the Yao hate is almost over whelming!
Especially when most posters are taking about conjecture.
Yao has still to find out all the details of any NBA agreement and where he stands with his team.
All this hate is for naught as Yao hasn't said anything definitive yet, only a writer in the Houston Chronicle.
Yao Ming doesn't even know if he will be able to play again, never mind about renewal of his contract!

 

It's just a general practice for a player who wants to maximize his contract value. Nothing more.

 

It's business. It's always about business and China/Chinese people are no different.

He needs to make money.
His Agent needs to make money
Team Yao needs to make money


Be a fool to not insure his life is secure.

It sucks for the Rockets but let's face it with or without him we won't go far without another big name player. At this point I really don't care, unless we magically get LBJ.

 

Leeb, if he opts out and leaves, what do we gain? As others have explained, we won't really have cap room anyways? About the only reason one should want to opt out and leave is if you think we need to plain tank the entire 2010-11 season, but I see zero reason to do this given New York's draft pick and the fact that we can rebuild just as easily in the aftermath of next season, when we would have draft picks and cap space which would happen regardless of Yao sticking around or not. God knows you've prattled so much about rebuilding, but we're in prime position to do it next year if things do go wrong, regardless of Yao sticking around or not, so we might as well keep him.

The best case scenario is Yao executes the option, next is renegotiating a longer contract, and worst would be Yao opting out and leaving us, at which point he would join the ranks of Boozer and Nowitzki in NBA scumbags, which I don't think he is.

 

Everyone hating on Yao needs to step back and see things from his perspective. After the Portland series last year, everything was looking great for Yao. He had played almost 80 regular season games, he was back to being a 20-10 player, and the Rox had advanced past the first round. Surely he and his Agent had to believe the plan was to finish that playoff run, repeat the same thing or better this year, opt out and look for another 100+ million max contract.

Then he breaks his foot, it doesnt heal, he has surgery and loses this entire season. Now no matter how good the prognosis is, Yao has to be concerned. What if he plays this next season and suffers another devastating injury. You would have to assume his career is over and the 17 million is the last NBA paycheck he gets. Thats a potential loss of 100 million dollars. Of course there is also the issue of waiting until a new CBA comes in and again the potential loss for Yao could be in the tens of millions.

So now Yao has to at least research what kind of contract he could land if he did opt out. If another team offers him a max deal, albeit less then what the Rox could have offered had Yao not had this latest injury he has to at least consider it. There are many more teams that have max salary space then there are players deserving of max money. Someone is going to get grossly overpaid this summer and maybe its an often injured 7'6 center. I dont get why people would get mad at Yao about this. LBJ, DWade, Bosh and all the rest have had a chance to resign with their teams and havent. Yao is no different in wanting to see whats out there before making a decision.

In an ideal world, Yao plays next season and finishes his contract. Either he returns to top form and helps the Rox win proving his foot is now healthy and earns another big contract. Or he plays a more limited role and helps the Rox win and settles on a smaller cap friendly contract. Either way, millions of dollars are at stake for him and he has every right to explore which option works best for him.

There is no loyalty in sports. Successful teams do what is best for their team. Players need to do what is best for themselves. In this case, you wish it could be beneficial to the Rox and Yao to continue forward. Maybe it still will be. But dont blame Yao for taking more money elsewhere, just like you wouldnt blame the Rox for kicking him to the curb if it meant landing someone better.

 

To me this is all a matter of "risk assessment." As fans, most of us really love Yao the player and the person. The central issues are physics and statistics; what is the probability that Yao, because of his unique body physics, will be injured again? I would say, very high. What is the probability that he will remain uninjured for a complete season? My guess, very low. Should you offer a long term max contract to him based on these considerations; no. Could he play a supporting role for less money for a shorter term, yes. I rest my case. Thank you, and good night.

 

Koj, i'm not banging on because some quotes from the chronicle, i just think its time for him to go. Alot of posters are talking about yao influencing free agent to come here which is false. I've never witness the highest paod player being linited to 25 mins. i think the process will lead to nothing for the rox.

 

Too many damn YOFs. You're either in complete denial or you're looking out for Yao's interests before the teams.

It appalls me when I hear posters on this board say that Yao deserves the max and if he doesn't he should leave.

 

If he opts out, and gets more money from someone else, how is he a scumbag?

He would join the ranks human beings exercising logic.

 

The problem here is what exactly do you mean by... go?

If you mean, let Yao not pick up his player option and let him join another team, it has already been discussed how Houston aside from savings for Les, gains absolutely nothing basketball-wise, unless you are convinced this team is actually superior without the guy, which is simply ridiculous. If Yao goes, there is no way under salary cap rules that we can get a player whom is even remotely close to his capabilities.
Maybe you're right that Yao won't be very good or that injury problems will continue to occur, though I would disagree. That is completely irrelevant. Yao, when it comes down to it, will be a positive to the Rockets to some degree. Letting him walk brings nothing positive. Logically, you keep him around for one more year and see what happens.

If you mean, not resign the guy after next year, then that's all well and good, but that should not be a decision which we should reach now, but rather upon examination of his playing ability during next season.

If you mean, trade the guy, then that is possible. No one is untradable. However, I think that if we were to trade him, that again is something that can wait, as I doubt Yao's value can get worse from what it is now and there is always the whole "Wait till February when his expiring becomes more valuable" which Morey has used for excellent results.

I am extremely iffy about signing the guy to a long-term deal and would prefer to see how he plays before reaching such an agreement. However, if Morey can reach a good deal with Yao for a smaller contract, then we will see how it works out. (I will agree that signing Yao to the max would cause me to wonder just what the priority of the Houston Rockets truly are, but obviously nothing is certain as both sides test the waters.) The bottom line is that since dumping the guy by letting him walk gives us absolutely nothing, there is no reason to do so. That simple.

 

I just dont know how many times the rockets need to be burned before they learn their lesson. The 88 Hyundai they keep pouring money into dont show mercy.

 

Nice analogy

 

No, it's a rather glib response to a nice long post by the fellow who's moniker I can't spell. (damn iPhone!)

 

It's all business. It won't be too personal when tens of millions of $ is at stake.

FromYao's perspective, how to maximize his future income with least uncertainty is the most important, especially considering his injury history. Every move, including response to any reporter's questions, will be part of the negotiation to achieve its goal. Sometimes, his words/actions might not sound/look like the Yao we know. We, fans, don't need to be mad at Yao. He has to step up for himself. No one would say sorry for him if Rockets organization played hard ball on him and got the better deal from him.

From Rocket's organization's point of view, the goal is the same. Rockets has been one of the most profittable NBA team in the few years even without a championship. Having Yao is one of the reasons. But if Yao can't play well enough in near future to hype the chammpionship home or attact more business from China, Yao is expendable. Rockets won't show much sympathy to his injury.

For some reasons, we, fans, analyse the Rocket's situations like Rockets owners. Pure business. No one seemed to sympathize Landry's situation when Rockets played hard ball on him. But when a player plays the business game, some fans seem not to have the stomach to see the drama. A player is the GM of his own business.

So take it as business don't be personal.