I'm not here to label anyone. I don't care who the rockets put in a uniform as long as the organization is committed to winning a ring. That makes me a rockets fan. Why can't people have a open non biased discussion about the welfare of the Rockets and its players? As a organization the goal is the ring. If you win rings, you make profits. Right now the rockets are the 6th most valuable nba franchise. They are right in front of Dallas. The teams above them are Knicks, Lakers,Pistons, Cavs, and Bulls. None of those teams have a "cash cow" , yet they are high revenue teams. If those teams can generate more revenue than the rockets and are worth more than the rockets despite the rockets having Yao, why would u as a owner overspend to keep a guy if he has serious medical issues? Its not a knock on yao or any of his followers that think people don't appreciate what he brings on the basketball court, but the notion that he should be here no matter what isn't a winning idea long term. If management thinks Yao can produce like this , free of injury, then they should give him the max for X amount of yrs, but if there is doubt and a offer comes along, they should make the best decision that relates to winning a ring. I never said yao couldn't be part of a championship team, I merely said if he's the number 1 option you won't win a ring. I would be more worried about his lower leg injuries than his on court performance.
Well Shaq did miss that one season due to a sprained ankle so those weren't injuries that any random player could play with. Shaq's injuries may not be as severe as Yao's recent injuries, but I think Yao's injuries are treatable as long as we get a backup Center, limit his minutes and Yao stops playing in the off-season. That's not too much to ask for and I think Yao will be healthy for next 5 seasons hopefully. All said and done, Yao Ming is the best center in the NBA.
You should put that in your signature Leebz, I see you post that quite often when you get slack for criticizing Yao.
If anyone care to look past their obsessions, its not hard to see that has always been my stance. Maybe I make it known too much, but its crazy that some people think a player shouldn't ever be traded or discussed in a trade. I was 12 when the best player in the league was traded to philly. We're talking about a guy that had just taken a .500 team to the finals and was capping his 2nd campaign in his prime. Traded for really nothing. The team tanked for 2 yrs, but in yr 3, wound up in the finals again. Now if I can witness that and see the end result with the rockets getting Dream, why would I ever think Yao is untradeable? I mean, shaq and kidd has been traded multiple times. I've said it too many times, in houston, if your faking it, the fans will find something else to do. If the fans don't feel as though the team isn't committed to winning a ring, u will see empty seat, which equals less hot dogs,beer,popcorn, and parking which equals the owner losing the money he doesn't have to share. I say we as in houston fans don't care if Homey the Clown is knocking down jumpers as long as the team is winning a ring, but the moment people sense the rockets are in houston astro's mode, people will stop coming.
If you don't win rings, you can still make profits, just by putting fans in a fantasy that the moment will come soon. The question is, unfortunately, LES is such a guy caring only about money. The ring, if any, is only a bonus to him. As long as he makes money from the club, he will be fine. Otherwise, he will be going mad. And he has done nothing wrong on all this to be a businessman. The current market can give you nobody equal back by trading yao who could have such a calling to get LES richer. So there is no chance to trade yao, by all means. This is just the same case of T-Mac whom LES has repeatedly said to be a big fan of - a fan of his market calling capacity, IMO. ROX would be luckier if we have a boss like Cuban who is a real fan of basketball, despite the fact I personally dislike him.
very interesting point. Yao's injuries are a lot scarier sounding than Shaq's were. Rockets should look for a good backup center and try to keep everyone for one more run. Things have got to start going our way. What team loses both of their centers in the playoffs? One injury free playoff run is all I ask.
The tanking happened to work. But I am not proud of it. And it took some very good luck to get both Sampson and Hakeem. We could have gotten neither of those players. Dream was a coin flip away from going to another team. That's too much of a gamble to me. You waste away TWO seasons for a 50/50 chance of getting a raw player who has not been fully developed. Not to mention the shame of tanking. I understand your irritation of some fans who are obsessed with certain players. But it goes both ways. Sometimes I try to defend a player, be it McGrady or Yao, I am quickly labeled XOF.
Why would be lucky to have Cuban, who only cares about money. He traded away Devin Harris to get Kidd, so he could sell more tickets by having a big name player who will retire instead of a young player who will ask for big extension eventually. They won only 1 game in the Nuggets series.
Not to say i can not remember a single PO series when Shaq dissapeared asside from the 2004 Finals when he was covered by the Wallaces.
You have to be kidding. You do realize he is one of the biggest spenders in the game? The trade for Kidd INCREASED their payroll because Cuban foolishly thought Kidd was the missing piece. The Mavs have been paying the lux tax for a while now because Cuban always spends a lot of money to improve his team.
Wade carried Shaq on his shoulders against the Mavs to win a championship but for the most part Shaq has been a beast in the playoffs. That's why besides Hakeem, Shaq has been the best big man in this era. However Shaq was just as injury prone as Yao in years 4-7, which is the reason for this thread. Yao played in roughly the same number of games as Shaq in their first 7 years in the NBA no matter how you slice it. Yao has played more games than Amare and they both entered the NBA the same year. Both will get max contracts. And if the Lakers traded Shaq after year 7 as some Lakers fans wanted and even some members of the LA media they would have missed out on 3 titles.
Really? I thought the purpose of this thread was to show that Shaq and Yao have similar durability issues?
Yes but from year 4 through 7, Shaq's team made it to the conference finals every season, and Shaq played in all the playoff games. The same cannot be said for Yao.
Why can't people have a open non biased discussion about the welfare of the Rockets and its players? true, the what's the best for a NBA organization? $$$ for its players? $$$ ring is nothing if no $$$ comes, and as long as $$$ comes, no-ring is totally fine. if not, please tell me which team and players play for ring without $? As a organization the goal is the ring. wrong. a ring is part of the game. comparing to $, a minor role actually. if ring is everything, only thing to be considered, a 10b $ budget per year for a NBA organization should get a ring 9 out of 10 years, maybe way less. is that you look for? can rocket buy over 1st team as start line, and 2nd team as backup? or is there any hope for rocket get Kobe, James, Wade, DH or even KG by kicking out TMac and Yao? running business is so simple? sounds like if you run rocket, you would expect have the right to pay the players only after each game, and can pick any players for next game to ensure every $ you pay would please yourself. come on, this is not the NBA alive! please wake up and come back to the earth.
