FWIW, I'm skeptical Houston would actually trade him. I have a feeling they are gauging his value to try to figure out what Yao's worth is in the open market when they have to pay him again. I think they ultimately want to keep him, but if it becomes clear that certain teams will pay more than Houston is willing to pay, then they mind as well trade him to get some value in return. Worst case scenario for Houston is Yao gets offered a lot of money to play elsewhere and the Rockets are left with no Yao and no compensation. I know everyone says Yao is loyal, but without him signing on the dotted line for a reduced contract that doesn't mean much and anytime an agent is involved you really can't trust a player's best intentions(See the Boozer/Cavs/Jazz fiasco).
Verbal Agreement Between Yao and Rox ? It seems to me like Yao has agreed to be traded so the Rox can get some Picks or quality players for him and the Rockets in return can resign him to a more manageable contract next season. Yao should do this for the team,, I mean they have Paid him millions to wear an orthopedic boot for 2 years now plus other previous injuries.. I honestly would love to see Yao back here if indeed he's traded. I don't believe Les Alexander is going to trade Yao without some kind of understanding that the Rockets and Yao are going to agree on a new contract next year.. Yao represents way too much money for Les..
Nahh Daryl Morey is one cold motha trucker! & now he has worked his magic on Les telling him we don't need the $ Yao brings in anymore! Kiddin
There is no reason for him to be back. Our coach has proven he cannot deal with Yao so if he does come back there better be some agreement he does not ever play.
I may not be biggest fan of Yao as a player... But I have a lot of respect for the man with his humility, honesty, caring and work ethic. T_Man
Can someone explain how trading an unplayable player to a team that wants an unplayable player works? Like honestly, how does this whole scheme work? On top of that we give yao to a team that knows he can't play, take some of their players, and them buy yao back...wtf.
it's sad to see Yao's career come to an end this way. We all know that this guy is far from being soft when dealing with his injuries. Hopefully he can comeback from them, he's still young in basketball millage terms. If he plays again whether is for the rockets of somewhere else and can play 20 min coming off the bench I think he would be a great asset to a team. I still wanna see the guy finish his career as a rocket because you can see it in his eyes that he wants to play, he wants to win and win that championship here even if he is not the centerpiece of the team. Yao is an unselfish excellent teammate ,, I'm sure he wouldn't mind a lesser role once he comes back from his injuries..
I remember reading somewhere that Yao only brings in about 4 million dollars from the Chinese markets per year. If this is true, why are so many people under the impression that he's a cash cow for us? I say trade the big guy, get the best possible package for him, and call it a F-ing day. Yao's been my favorite Rocket for a while, but we need a more reliable C if we intend to actaully compete for a championship any time soon!!!!
Isn't that a violation of league tampering rules if Yao agrees to sign back with his former team after a trade with the purpose of gaining draft picks. I don't like the sound of that.
They get cap relief in the form of an expiring contract. more money for them to spend in free Agency this summer without being penalized. Plus insurance has paid 1/2 of yao's salary, so they are only on the hook for the amount left owed. I think this sums it up. I tried explaining this to my wife this morning.
The thing is, Yao Ming the player has no value. Yao Ming the contract + the insurance's $8 million is where the value lies. I don't think shopping Yao would give Morey a better idea of what Yao would command this summer. Teams are trading for his expiring contract, not for the player.
Yes, but it is basically impossible for the NBA to enforce that. It happened last year with the Cavs and Big Z and happens almost every year.
whatever team trading for Yao is trading for cash relief purposes, they are not trading for the player... Yao might even retire once traded but if he wants to comeback and play why couldn't he sign with the rockets next or following season ?? The Hornets are owned by the NBA, the NBA make the rules so to relieve the hornets of those 2 contracts of CP3 and Okafur they might actually have to trade them to Houston for Yao, Brooks and Budinger to make contracts work. Stern is the Rules, Stern is the NBA , Stern owns the Hornets ...
Yao at 50% is better than 3/4 of the backup Cs in this league, if Yao comes back in the off season for pocket change and plays as the backup the Rockets would be stupid to say no.
exactly! and we're in WIN NOW mode (regardless of what our current roster looks like). Yao this year is useless on the court. If we can turn his contract into a 1st Tier player, why not make the trade? If we happen to lose Yao in the offseason because another team offered him more, then so be it. with all the talks abt Les being all about the money and keeping yao for the Chinese connections - i think those Chinese connections will still be there. But Les is a smart business man and knows that if his team WINS, he'll be banking that much more.
I don't think it should be against the rules. We'd be trading that insurance money for a draft pick. If another team willingly agrees to it, what's unfair about it? Yao is a free agent and he can sign with whatever team he likes in the summer. The Rockets happened to have invested quite a lot into him and he's a loyal guy, so naturally we'll have an advantage.
The value really lies in Yao Ming's expiring deal + $8 million in insurance savings + good young talent like Aaron Brooks + draft picks.
