well, just to clear things up a bit, the shanghai team that's wanting yao to go back, is the shanghai city team, not the shanghai shark club. since it's not a professional club, it won't need CIBA clearance for yao to play for them...
That's a pretty good idea and very plausible too. Didn't the Chinese NT spend a good amount of time training in Dallas last summer? Maybe the Rockets organization can invite the Chinese NT to come over to Houston for a month or so in the summer and do their training at the Rockets' facilities which I'm sure is a lot better than anything available in China. This way Yao can work out with both the national team and the Rockets trainers. Other than offering the facilities, maybe the Rockets can also offer the Chinese NT some of the Rockets coaches and trainers to sweeten the deal. IIRC, the Chinese NT was very happy with the work that the Rockets strength training coach did with them last summer. If anyone from Team Yao is reading this, please suggest it to the Rockets management and the CBA! BTW, is Del Harris still going to be coaching the Chinese NT this summer?
Actually I was just going to ask you that very question, other than your insistence that the "Chinese political bureaucrats" are playing political games. It's actually quite simple. If them Chicoms are doing nothing more than play political games, OK. Prove it.
Please, you couldn't tell what reality was if it hit you in the face. You even have the balls to say that stats is more biased than people's opinions. That pretty much shows your credibility. You essentially claimed to be able to predict future and read minds. I don't think I need to say anything more than that.
Back to the topic...I heard an ugly rumor (sorry, no link) that Yao has just been told he needs to go back to China to play in a FIBA tournament (not the official world championships, but that's what people are calling it) PRIOR to the Asian Championships. If so, this is really disappointing to hear...when is this guy ever going to get a break...he'll play up to end of May (roughly speaking)...then he'll play in this tourney at the end of July...so MAYBE there's hope that he'll get a month and a half off. If that's the case, then maybe he will get that break we've all been hoping for, and just maybe China will not force him to play in the subsequent Asian games...I believe they have enough talent win that tourney without Yao.
Thank you for the breaking 'news'. Honestly though, what's the point to bring up a 'rumor' which you might have read on another bbs like the ESPN board? It will only bring out a group of people who enjoy bashing the CBA 'beureacrats' and another group of people defending them. Subsequently, we will have another 5 pages of posts in which people yelling at one another over a rumor which may not even be true in the first place.
In Yao's shoe for a minute, with all those hornors he is getting in China, the flag carrier in olympics, the worker's model, the image of Shanghai on and on, it's hard for him to say no. It's really up to the Rox oganization to sit down with CBA to talk about this.
I wish everyone read JuanValdez's post before put up anything here. Everyone here believes he/she knows what's in Yao's mind, but you don't. I know it's hard for many of you to understand, but manybe playing in NBA is just a business, not as important to Yao as playing for his country. That's what he said before came over here, that's what the original intend from Chinese basketball, using NBA to improve his skill, so he can better prepare himself in the international competition for China. I know that's what most Chinese fans expect.
I am not sure Yao wanted to play against Austrlia tigers or never-made-it NBA all star retired team. China can crush any teams in Asia, except maybe in the semi-final and final.
I think many people here are misunderstanding the main argument: Yao is MORE than welcome (in fact, expected) to play and compete for the Chinese National Team. That, I believe, was the original agreement between the Rockets and the CNT. However, my ONLY objection is if he goes back to play for some other club while he is getting paid by the Rockets. Yao's commitment to the Rockets, I think, should exclude any possibility of him commiting to another club, be it the Sharks or any other team.
