http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/stein/1401883.html Sorry if this has already been posted. Here's the section on the Rockets: Houston Rockets Actually get Yao to Houston. After all the fretting and nailbiting, the draft couldn't have unfolded any more smoothly for Houston's problem children. In the end, they scored Yao Ming and the small forward they wanted (Bostjan Nachbar) and an intriguing guard prospect from the second round (Tito Maddox) as a bonus. The challenge now is sweating out the summer, even harder than usual in Clutch City, praying Yao doesn't get hurt playing for China in the World Championships and then coming to an agreement with the Chinese authorities on an October arrival date for the 7-foot-5 giant. China's national team (or its many regional all-star teams) always has some sort of October competition to conflict with training camp. So Yao will almost certainly miss part of his first training camp, if not all of it, and he obviously needs the first one badly given the sort of scrutiny he'll be shouldering as a rookie. Which doesn't even begin to address how fresh Yao will be when he gets here, after playing all summer. Get Steve Francis healthy … and signed, too. For the immediate future, in their quest to get back to the playoffs, this one could probably stand as 1A for the Rockettes. Francis' "minor" shoulder surgery on May 30 turned out to be considerably more major than expected, with Houston doctors now forecasting a rehabilitation period of 14 to 16 weeks instead of the expected four to six. Which naturally isn't what the Rockets hoped to hear after migraines and plantar fasciitis dribbled all over Francis' season, in which he made his All-Star breakthrough -- but on the strength of the fans' vote. Just when changes in his diet had begun to cut into the frequency of the migraines, and when the foot had started to cooperate, Francis injured the shoulder trying to dunk over Golden State's Erick Dampier on March 8. He insisted on playing in pain for the rest of the season because he missed so much of the first half, but the only thing the Rockets want to see from Francis this summer is his signature on a long-term contract extension. Get Mo Taylor in shape. Taylor will miss the first five games of the season serving out a drug suspension, but the Rockets will deal with it if his torn Achilles' has sufficiently healed by that point. Hopes to have him at least practicing with Houston's summer-league team in early July have been endangered by Taylor's struggles shedding weight. At last report, Taylor was down to 290 pounds, roughly 20 pounds away from being cleared to join the summer fun. The Rockets are counting on a full-strength Taylor and a more experienced Eddie Griffin -- and, yes, even some good minutes from Kelvin Cato -- to lessen the first-year burden on Yao. _____________________________________ Sometimes I wonder if journalists just want Yao to fail. Every single detail about him is a problem. The fact that he plays for his country isn't a plus since he stays in shape- no, he'll be too tired to play. I didn't know Steve insisted on playing through pain, in the second half of a hopeless season. I admire his heart. I had forgotten about MoTay's suspension- I guess that answers questions as to whether or not he'll start in the beginning week of the season.
