Which teams are the most desperate to cut costs? New Orleans? http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=5831504&postcount=1986
Ugh can the Rockets really not go one player to play on this team for their entire career? I don't care even if Yao resigns for 1 million and is the 10 th man, I want to see Yao spend his whole career in Houston.
they'd be trading his contract + insurance, not really him, he probably won't suit up for whoever he goes to, and its not like bird rights would matter, he's not going to be extending to $19.5m i don't think...
Chris Kaman????? i'm sure the clip factory would love to cut costs. it would be eating a bad contract for a center but would provide us a starter. same vein different name -- Biedrens? (insert do not want picture here)
Hakeem didnt finish as a Rocket and it doesnt seem to matter(and he wont us championships). Either way, its great for us, he won't do much for any other team. I see this as a move to help us get better now and possibly bring him back on a short term deal next year. Love it. Morey is a genius. :grin:
I'm skeptical since I did not think they would deal Yao, but the insurance angle is interesting. Maybe Yao has said privately he doesn't want to go through it all again (pure speculation on my part). Also, if the Rockets find someone who is in it for strictly the cap relief, then perhaps the Rockets feel they can re-sign Yao in the summer.
I wouldnt be surprised at all if Yao gave his consent to this. The guy has a lot of team pride and knows he has done nothing to help his team the last season and this season (though not his fault of course) and still got paid for it. The only way Yao can help the Rockets this year is to be traded so that the 17 million in street clothes can be 17million on the bench and court. He is a FA in the summer and if he is able to play basketball again I really doubt he would sign anywhere else but in Houston, he really wants to win, but more importantly he really wants to win in Houston. its a win-win for everyone. Yao still gets his money and rehabs...the rockets get back a few players that help them now and the team that receives Yao gets to save 8-9 million instantly via Yao's insured contract AND then gets 17million off their cap this summer. Also this could mean that Yao feels he cannot play anymore and wants to help the Rockets one last time before he officially retires. That would be really sad for me to see but something I have accepted
Smart move by the Rockets. Remember this is a business, and you can't let emotional ties to a player prevent you from moving forward
Thank you! Yao is great and all, but it's time to move on. We still have a good chunk of season to play.
This tells me one of two things is going on. Either: A) Yao feels like he is done, and since he will not be suiting up again in the NBA, he wants to do whatever he can to help the team acquire somebody that can turn this team into a contender. It would suck to not have him OFFICIALLY retire as a Rocket, but I'm willing to bet they would sign him to a 10-day contract or something next season, and let that be the last contract he signs. B) He's going to rehab, get back to "full strength", and re-sign with us next season for the veteran's minimum or something similar, all while allowing us to get some pieces right now. I don't see Yao ever donning another team's jersey, unless he really, truly wants to return, but the Rockets don't want him. Out of the two scenarios, I really couldn't say which one is more likely, but I'd be leaning towards B right now. That might just be denial on my part, but I don't think the big fella is COMPLETELY done with basketball.
Since there was talk previously of the Rockets considering an extension, the ideal scenario would be if the Rockets and Yao's people had already agreed to an extension and then the Rockets proposed trading him as an expiring and re-signing him to a MLE type deal.
Just because the Rockets trade Yao doesn't mean he won't be a Rocket next year if he is able to recover. If he does, the Rockets will resign him.
