Not sure about 2nd part. Yao's minutes will be up in playoffs. As long as Yao has great playoff performence and stay healthy, he'll get max.
I think that would be a huge mistake. I believe they have to find out if his foot is going to hold up or not, and need to find out if he can play 30+ minutes a night. Not right away, but by Feb/March, he should be a full time player. DD
I think Yao is doing this for several reasons: 1) He's loyal to the Rockets org, Houston and the fans 2) If he opts out, there's no guarantee he will get the kind of contract that pays him what he will make in 2010-2011 3) He may decide after this year to hang it up, either because of his new family, his commitments in China or his health 4) I doubt he wants to start over again somewhere else, especially if it's less money and possibly not a long-term deal. Where else would he want to go? For Yao, this is the end of the line in the NBA as a player, whether this is his final year or he stays healthy enough to convince himself and management he's worth a new contract.
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I was hoping he would opt out and then sign for less. somewhere here metion 12 mil would be nice. wasnt tmac making 20 mil last year??? that makes yaos 17 seem like a bargain
The important thing is that he'll be playing for the Rockets this year. With all the talk of Bosh, free agents and upgrading the team, it's easy to forget just what a massive upgrade to the team getting Yao back will be. It's akin to signing one of the top elite free agents and adding them to the team we had at the end of last season. And on top of that, add Patterson and whoever Morey snags this summer. The Rockets are going to be championship contenders. I can't wait for this season to start!
http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2010/06/29/ZOOM0008MOV-1361471/index.html Video Description: "The Rockets GM on Yao's decison to return to the Rockets in 2010-11."
Yao on returning to the Rockets for the 2010-2011 Season: http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2010/06/29/ZOOM0008MOV-1361471/index.html Sorry about double post.
At least we know he won't be playing for someone else this year. it remains to be seen whether he'll play for us and to what capacity. Exactly how long did it take for Ilgauskas to play reg season games after this surgery? I'm asking 'cause I don't know.
Exactly...why would he? he sat out a year and is still making $17MM/year...plus, if he performs well, we'll get a max contract...quote me...
he got injuried Dec 2000. don't know when he had the surgery. he came back to play as a backup in Dec 2001 for average 21 minutes/per game. i assume he played 2/3 of that season. in the next season, he started in all 82 games, average 30 minutes. he played very well. yao had the surgery in July. if following big Z recover track, yao should be able to practice on the court next month. i guess it was the reason morey said he expects yao will play at full speed at the end of the regular season.
I would be ok with 20-25 min/gm this season even though that's ~$9600 per min if he played all 82 games. We need his defense and his ability to draw doubleteams.
