Just thought you guys might find this interesting. From today's ESPN.com Marc Stein chat: Ron (Houston): What do you think is going to happen with Wang Zhi Zhi this season & will that have any effect on the Yao Ming negotiations with the Rockets? Marc Stein: LOTS of Wang Zhizhi questions here. The situation with Wang has definitely had an effect on Yao. The Chinese authorities are not pleased that Wang defied multiple orders to come home this summer and then refused to play in the Asian Games in October, which knocked him off the national team for the Worlds. The government isn't in a real rush to promise Yao to a league that is about to employ an AWOL soldier. And Wang is going to end up in the league this season. The Mavs are working hard to move him. Miami, Toronto, Golden State and New York are the primary suitors -- problem is, Mavs want a first-round pick in return and none of those teams really want to part with one. Toronto just used a future first in the Lamond Murray deal, so that probably takes the Raps out of the Wang derby. Yao is going to get here eventually, but it won't surprise anyone if he misses all of camp. Various parties in the league office have told me on multiple occasions that Wang is welcome to sign with a new NBA team no matter how that impacts Yao's timetable, so this story isn't going away.
So Stein is saying, get Wang and try to screw the Rockets is the new collective scheme of the league offices.
yao will be here this season. all reports from the rockets side say that there is no hard feelings on their side about yao. they have some concerns. thats fine. the rockets will ease thier mind and bring in yao.
Hopefully Yao will be here, but I would prefer he at least played a few preseason games. Of course, we should know that this is the first of many headaches that we should expect from the Chinese Govt. By the way, where have all the Chinese posters gone? I wonder if the Chinese Thought Police nabbed some of them for saying things that don't go with party doctrine on the board?
Or, maybe the Chinese posters just got tired of the silly rhetorical pejoratives comments made by fans like Oski2005! I know I'm getting there.
