And also his image IMO had a lot to do with it too. Had he opted out everybody from Dick, Solman to the people in Espn would be bashing him cause he got paid doing nothing last year.
"I keep saying after I came here after 2002, I said this community gave me a very warm feeling, almost like home and the people here treat, not just me, treat this team so nice, supporting us whether we are losing or we are winning," Yao said. "I feel we are very strong in the city." ______ What a great thing to say -- thanks, Yao.
Do you think he'd get a long term deal better than the $17.6 million he'd be paid next year plus future potential? How much would any team, including Houston risk on Yao? Maybe 7 million for 3 years? Would he even command 10 million knowing that he's a stress fracture away from retiring?
A message to ALL free agents out there!!! We will treat you the same! Unless you are Tmac, then we will kill you.
Good to hear the big fella is staying, but the best thing for the Rockets would have been to get him to agree to a reasonable extension. I wonder how close the two sides got to agreeing to one.
I think Yao definitely wanted an extension, but considering he is just coming off of surgery, management is a being a bit cautious. I think its a good thing he didnt sign an extension because if Yao does not come back full health or is injured again, then the Rockets are not stuck with his contract. Yao knows this and being the great person he is, doesn't want to put the Rockets in a hole like that for the next couple of years. This is all speculation of course. I'm all for him playing out his last year and seeing where it goes.
You probably have watched this over rockets.com already. Yao's interview after the announcement. <embed src="http://player.youku.com/player.php/sid/XMTg1NzQzNjM2/v.swf" quality="high" width="480" height="400" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed> Courtesy purlong of hoopchina.com http://bbs.hoopchina.com/1387643.html
