Ming's Financial Impact

Reading through the thread that posts Mr. Yao's potential financial boon to the Rocket organization, one thing occurs to me that I have not seen discussed is how this fiduciary boost will affect the Rocket's roster-making capabilities in the future. If Ming's (since we're so close, I can refer to him as his first, er last, uh, second-proper-once-removed-from-given name) presumed popularity in the People's Republic wil enable Les & Co. to sell, without hyperbole, a bazillion Rocket jerseys in China, does this move allow Rudy & CD significantly more (internal) cap-space to resign Francis, Griffin, & others when the time comes. In other words, are the marketing numbers going to be great enough that the dreaded Salary Tax can be exceepded?

Now, I don't expect Alexander to become like Paul Allen or Mark Cuban, but hopefully he'll be able to keep the roster more stable than say, I don't know, the guy @ Enron/Astros/Minute Maid Park.

On another note, do you think having Ming here will enhance our celeb factor at our venue? Perhaps we can get television shots of Chow Yun Fat in a space analagous to Nicholson's at Staples? :

 

Yes, of course I realize basketball has a cap, but it's a "soft" cap that can be exceeded, previously to no penalties. With the enaction of the tax, there will be teams that will choose not to sign their own free agents because the penalty will be certainly more than the reward for such an action. The question I had was that Les will now (possibly) have the ability to exceed the tax with knowledge that he might be able to recoup those losses with a new revenue avenue opening. I remember before the draft there was talk that the Rockets might move the #15 because they didn't want to get near the tax. If that was truly the case, I have some concerns that we would not be as willing to sign some of our own free agents when the time comes.

PS.

I was kind of thinking that Lucy Liu would be Houston's Dyann Canon (sp?)