Because sentimentalism has no place in professional sports - especially if you want to build a championship. Accepting the fact that Yao and/or Tracy are too injury prone to build a team around is not some Shakespearean act of betrayal, as you suggest. It's simply acknowledging the fact that your team is going nowhere if your two two highest paid players keep bouncing in and out of the lineup, because of season ending injuries. Soon, both of these two players will be up for contract extensions, and presumably both will expect maximum contract extensions. Given their history of health problems, the Rockets would be certifiably insane to resign either player. This is even more obvious when you take into account how quickly a full rebuild can be accomplished with 1. a smart and gusty owner, and 2. a shrewed general manager, and 3. a nice free agent market this Summer and a spectacular free agent market in 2010. How anyone can not see this is beyond me.
I started to like Rockets after they drafted Yao. I wouldn't say i am a YOF because i have felt in love with the attitude and work ethic that each of the rockets shown in the past couple of years. From Tracy's ecstatic 13 pts in 35 second to Bobby Sura when he threw someone on the ground. From the many times when Jon Barry threw a pass behind his back to Landry's "GTFO" kind of flushes. Many of these Rockets were not superstars when they were with the rockets but they their effort nights in and out. When the media ruled out the rockets from time to time during the season when one of the superstar got a severe injury, this team has shown me that they can make that up with effort. They have shown me what it means by having a heart of a champion. Tracy, without a doubt, is the most athletic and talent player on the roster for the past couple of years. Yao, without a doubt, is the most hard work & leader for this team. Combine these two with the role players who has terrific work ethic and efforts that they gave every night, we can definitely hunt down that O'Brien Trophy in May sometime in the future. As a fan, i would love to keep both T-mac and Yao if the price is right and these two will be the first two i would give the an evaluation on next year rather they advance further or not this season. First of all, i would definitely try to resign Yao because he's one of the best big man in the current league. Also, the primary reason why i would resign him is because he leads this team by example. Like Artest said, Yao is always the first guy to show up in the gym and the last guy to walk out. He might not be the most dominant center like Shaq or Hakeem but he can bring the best out of everyone around him. Landry developed a nice looking Jay from the elbow RATHER QUICKLY and EFFICIENTLY in just a summer. Also, part of the reason why Artest came to the Rockets was because of YAO. If you want to have a shot at the trophy, having a guy that other players look up to and follow his example is very important. Give me one reason why this team has rarely fail even one or both of their superstar has felt due to numbers of injuries. It's probably because everyone understands that they can make up with hard work for what they don't have. They can get better at the things they are good at like shooting threes or team defense. I feel that Yao is part of the reason why our bench has always step up in times when our starters are having an off night. They might not work as hard as Yao does but they probably practiced more often than other players in the nba because they have learned from Yao that you can get better and be more efficient if you practice. You always want a guy from the team who leads by setting example. Secondly, i will sign Tracy if he shows he can play at 80% - 90% of what he used to be capable of. He's one of the better guy on the team that fits with Yao in an half court offensive set. If T-mac's playing, Yao will DEFINITELY has a lower rate of getting injure because the other team can't only focus their defense on Yao. Given the ULTIMATE role players we have on the team, ones like SHANE, LUIS SCOLA, LANDRY, AB, KYLE, CHUCK WAGGGGGON, VON WAFER, and a combination of healthy YAO & 90% T-MAC, I dare to say that the championship ring is within our pocket for the next season. Ones need to go through many hardships before they achieve their goal. This is the Rockets for the last couple of years. When either Yao or Tracy went down, role players stepped up and acknowledge both for themselves and us that hard work is the major ingredient for achieve their ultimate goals. Yao's Hardwork + T-mac's talent + a group of guys that work their ass off to follow Yao's example and give their best effort every night = a champion next year. That's my formula for next year. Whether they go to the finals or go fishing somewhere off the pacific ocean in a couple of weeks, I still love this Rockets team because they have shown me that effort is not too far off from talent. The Rockets should definitely try to train Joey Dorsey to become at least a serviceable 5 to back up Yao since we are without our best backup center in the HISTORY OF THE ORGANIZATION. In Deke we trust. In Yao we trust. In T-mac (not very much this year but the previous years) we trust. In Rockets! We trust! Bring home the trophy Rockets!
So, how about to have a fake injury each seaon like Shaq? It may help. But which one would you like, a hard working man or ? Man! He is so tall and heavy and doesn't have an enough break.
