$120 MILLION!? What was Yao thinking? Does Yao still have to give the Chinese government part of his endorsement money?
Lakers fans are just a group of lunatics. Many of them believe that lakers can make WCF this coming season and win another ring in 2-3 years. I've never seen worse homerism, even from the noctorious knicks fans.
He is with Adidas now. Don't think Adidas wasn't paying the money partly for him. Anyways, it was reported by his royal reporter Yang Yi that Yao was pissed off by the fact Nike tried to cheat in the contract they gave to him and turned around signed with Reebok.
I thought I have read somewhere that the clause was related to Nike’s right to void the contract unilaterally if Yao gets hurt, and I guess the language was rather hidden?
If Dirk is a UFA I don't see why he WOULDN'T go to the Lakers. I mean, his buddy Nash is gone, Finley is now gone and he basically alienated (or they should feel angry) some of his teammates, he'd be the 2nd banana he was always meant to be. Dirk and Kobe, I think that would be a good pairing
Here's the typical LA fan's way of thinking. I got this from another board: So our friends over at nbasource.com posted a nice article today listing the top 30 free agents in 2006. No Lakers made it-- thank goodness. Actually, Slava Medvedenko, Devean George, and Jumaine Jones made the 'best of the rest' list-- oh darn! Now I'm not the biggest fan of Yao, but I'm also not the slightest opposed to signing the guy as has been rumored. These guys don't seem to think it's plauisble-- ****************************************************** "Expect the Yao to LA rumors to heat up this season, although they appear to be pretty far-fetched. What impression has Yao given that he wants out of Houston? He has an enormous fan base there, his parents just opened a restaurant nearby, the team is on the rise, they'll ultimately pay him whatever it takes to keep him, and he just seems to be happy in Houston." *************************************************** C'mon! Houston or LA?! Basketball anonymity or basketball heaven? The shadows or the spotlight? A chance to play with the 2nd best (T-Mac) or the best (Kobe obviously)? A couple endorsements or a lot of endorsements? Some chinese people or a LOT of chinese people? The writing is on the wall Yao, just follow the lead...
Everyone seems to be focus only on the names of Yao, Amare, and/or Dirk when it comes down to the Lakers' 14M or so cap space. I have different view and I think that's smart business decision - Whether the Lakers can get Yao or Amare or Dirk or not, that's not the main point. The main point is to have 14M cap space on their disposal. It's call financial flexibility. That's plain and simple.
I believe they hit it on the nose earlier when it was suggested that LA puts rumors out for business purposes It keeps people interested to hear "LA" being mentioned and to be perfectly honest LA itself likes to hear its own name. Truth is Yao Ming is not going anywhere. He is happy, humble, and loyal to his fans here in Houston, and I dont think he would even entertain the idea of ever playing for another team for a long while. He already had to endure a barage of media attention during his first two year here, and its just starting to calm down a bit. Now tht he can focus more on basketball, I dont see him begging to return to a media circus that is LA. I understand that LA is just being LA by rumoring to be after the likes of Yao, but they need to get off that dudes fortune cookies.
If you're waiting on Yao to sign soon you may want to order some pizzas and grab a few cases of brew because I seriously doubt they would announce his signing while he is not in Houston. Re-signing Yao is a big big deal. They will have a big press conference for him when its announced. When does he come back to Houston? I would expect him to be resigned in the immediate days following his arrival back.
That was before the work stoppage of 1998 and the new agreement that changed all the salary rules. The Lakers were able to throw a ridiculous amout of money at Shaq. Orlando came close with its offer, but couldn't match LA's financial resources. That can't happen with Yao. Under the current rules, no team can offer a free agent more than his current team. If the Rockets offer Yao the max -- and there's no reason not to -- he would be accepting a lesser offer to go somewhere else. The rules are totally different. As many have said, it's a dead issue. Yao's staying in Houston.
Ha ha ha, this really cracked me up. Thanks for the laugh. I just pictured Les talking with Karl Malone's southern drawl saying that.
Even though adidas bought Reebok, the two companies aren't merging so Yao is still with the Reebok brand.
