To be fair, neither Miami nor Shaq expect him to last 5 seasons. If I am correct, this was simply a tricky way to get a little bit of near-term financial flexibility. Option 1: Extend Shaq by 3 years and 100 mill (using his former cap number of 33 mill as a starting point) Option 2: Extend him by 5 years and 100 mill, and pay him the final 2 or 3 years as a retirement buyout. Shaq gets his money either way, but by going with option 1, Miami's cap number stays a little more reasonable and allows them to bring in a better supporting cast. The tradeoff is that he stays on their cap after he's gone. And on the Dirk point, it would also be funny to see how Bryant reacts to a teammate that offers mediocore D and rebounding while needing his 20 shots per game to be effective. Evan
Since when is Yao a guy who uses all his endorsement opportunities? He's been turning down endorsements on a daily basis since we've gotten him. He took a huge amount less from Reebok than he could have gotten from Nike. If he wanted more endorsements, he could start by accepting the offers that he has previously turned down.
I am convinced that the Lakers hired Rudy for one reason, and one reason only. I am also convinced that it was for that exact same reason that he stepped down from the coaching position with LA. I believe they hired him because they felt it gave them a better shot at landing Yao down the line. I also believe that the Lakers organization has come to understand, at least privately, that they are NEVER going to land Yao, and when that became clear, Rudy decided it was no longer necessary for him to stay, and keep up with that awful grind. The Lakers are on their way to becoming the Clippers Pt 2.
Lakers don't need Yao, they have Bynum. Predictions for bynum this year: 22ppg 11rpg 3.5bpg 1.2 spg roy mvp all-star starter finals appearance And he's only 18 or something!!! Sick@@!!
there was a time when anyone who thought that Yao should shoot more or get more ref respect was branded as a chinese YOF. back then - i too thought that Yao would go to the Lakers but it seems like the fans and YOF's (myself included) have come together and that Yao will be an integral part of the team. A max contract seems like a foregone conclusion now.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Yao going to be a restricted free agent next summer assuming we don't sign an extension? Why not just let someone else offer him the max, and we wait a week or however long we have to respond, which buys us time to sign another blockbuster free agent in the meantime before Yao's new contract goes on the books.
I've said it before, but the only way that Yao doesn't sign a max contract with the Rockets is if Les puts on a cowboy hat and hits on Yao's mom with a, "I'm hunting for big Chinese girls" line.
All of this will be said and done when they sign him soon enough...they aren't going to let it get anywhere close to time where he is a free agent.
Call it whatever, Shaq left an up and coming team in Orl only just removed from a finals appearance to go to LA, the precedence is there. I have faith Yao will resign I'm just saying the sooner the better, get it done.
Shaq always wanted to be a Laker and was into making crappy movies and CD's. LA was the prefect place for him. Bad comparison....
No, the Lakers will still need Yao because my source told me Cleveland will trade Lebron for this Bynum kid who is destined to become the Wilt Chamberlian of the 21 century.
Yao signing anywhere else is a joke. He was afraid of getting traded when steve francis got traded. He just got settled and open up a business. Unless the rockets insult him by offering anything less than a max contract, i think he'll stay here for sure. In China, once u join a team you stick with that team your whole career. Yao was confused about that until he saw steve get traded. But he knows where he wants to be.
maybe a more appropriate thread should read "do the lakers really think they're getting derek anderson?" oops. i guess not.
That's a story that is shrouded in mystery. Supposedly, Nike first offered him a nice sized deal. However, Yao found some clause in the contract that he found disrespectful, and told Nike that he would not sign with them. Nike then offered him something like $120 million, but Yao still signed with Reebok. As far as the insulting clause, no one to this day seems to know anything about it...
All of these arrogant teams like New York and LA makes me sick. They sucked and the New York / LA media still talks up the team like they are one of the best team in the league. Pity for Knicks/ Lakers fans, they have no chance in hell to get Yao.
Am I the only one tired of this subject? Who cares how many Laker fans think they will sign Yao (or Amare) in 2007? He will sign an extension with us before the beginning of the season. If there were any problems, such as Yao indicating a reluctance to re-sign, somebody would have posted something in this forum already. This dead horse has been beaten and mutilated. If you agree with Yao being signed to a max contract, don't worry, be happy!
