Realistically, what can we get out of a Yao trade? A franchise player? An expiring contract? Or a young upcomer? How bout Yao + Battier + Jeffries + Budinger + Brooks for Melo + Billups Sign Haywood for the MLE and draft a Center. Billups/Lowry Martin/Taylor or MLE Melo/Ariza Scola/Hill Haywood/14th pick?
honestly, i have no idea. i think that's pretty telling, actually. maybe it's better to let the contract expire.
Theyre going to baby him back into the rotation just like they did T-Mac, which is what they should do until he can prove he is back at 100%. As much as we all want him to go as hard as he can when he comes back he hasn't played in over a year so he's going to have to build up that stamina in the first 10 or so games he plays anyways, plus i don't think the Rockets would want to risk 18 million dollars riding the bench another season by pushing him too hard, too soon
i would ask the doctors, "what's the most he can do, without over-doing it?" then i would strictly keep him playing as close to that number as possible without ever exceeding it. you wont do any damage as long as you don't go over the recommended minutes. if you are worried about yao's longevity then you play him very few minutes until he gets back to 100%. this also would be a good negotiation standpoint for the rockets when trying to resign him. 24 minutes per game doesn't prove max salary worth. however, i think yao will get the max regardless. the only thing to debate might be the years on the contract... but that's another topic.
I still remember 2 years ago when we said we were going to limit his minutes but we didn't do that at all. Then Rockets said game minutes don't matter when you're not practicing which puts the real wear and tear on a player.. Right... I fully expect that to happen next year. We will say lets limit Yao.. but we wont.. we are going to ride him until he beaks again I'm sorry to say.
And watch Billups get older and older as Melo opts out after the season and signs with the Knicks. Boo.
With Yao, Battier, and Jeffries expiring you would have a ton of caproom next year even with resigning Scola and Lowry this year. Of course this is probably moot since Bosh or someone is coming in a sign and trade this year. 20-25 minutes during the regular season. The Rockets will pick up someone in the offseason and draft. Whiteside and Brad Miller, Bosh, etc. and you still have Hill. I can't see a need to play the guy 35 minutes a game with the current roster. Back when it was Yao, T-mac, Rafer, Head, Battier yeah 35 minutes was needed. Now Yao is surrounded by a ton more talent.
25 minutes max per game during the majority of the regular season. Bump it up to 35 minutes in the last 20 games of the season. In the Playoffs, play as needed.
Bingo! I've echoed this sentiment in a previous post in this thread. As you said, we'll say all the right things and we'll limit him and what not, though we won't.
We limited Stacy's minutes pretty well up to the point he protested. I'm certain Adelman can do the same for Yao.
Sure we did. While they certainly could limit his minutes, I'm not sure they will. We'll see. Just hope it all works out for the best in the end.
I don't think that is the same, the Rockets had no intention of ever signing Tracy, a decision with Yao is forthcoming at the end of the year. DD
We don't need him to carry the offense anymore like it past years. So during the regular season don't wear him out by throwing it in to him on the post. Not until the last few minutes of a close game at least. Otherwise, his value to this team should be on the defensive end. No more countless easy layups in the paint like this past season with Yao clogging the paint.
U mean like our management? Either u can play 30-35 mins or u cant. What happens when you're in a tight playoff game on the road and you need your best players to play 40+ mins? I guess the rockets are good enough,right?
Me too. Remember how tough is the west and we could hardly make the playoff with a healthy yao. When competition heats up, everybody will ride yao as much as possible to keep us in the playoff picture. Also there's a conflict of interest here. Coach/GM are often get praised if they can get a fine record with the stars injured. Remember all the talks about 'With X,Y,Z injured and their record, he should be a candidate for coach/gm of the year'? Sure they won't intentionally injure the players, but with yao playing the expectation is a lot higher and their jobs/salaries are tied to a higher standard. So it's not to their best interest to baby yao all along especially in the tough west conference.
No really, draft two big men. I'm thinking if you strike out on Cousins and Monroe you could still get Whiteside and another 2nd rounder like Omar Samhan.
By the end of the 2011 season, I agree. Two years out from the injury, they have to know whether to commit a big investment to him moving forward.
