http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/7466892.html Spoiler Rockets center Yao Ming can’t know whether he will ever play again, but he was certain that he is not ready for his career to be over yet. Facing the possibility that his inability to play without injury would end his career or simply lead him to choose to retire, Yao said for the first time since his injury that he hopes to come back from the stress fracture that ended his season in November. “I’ll try continuing. I’ll try continuing,” Yao said on Wednesday. “A lot will depend on this foot.” Asked if he believes he will play again, Yao said, “That’s the direction. That’s the direction.” In the final season of his contract, Yao added that he hopes to be back with the Rockets. “I like it here. I’m used to playing here. I’m comfortable, really, really comfortable to play here, and I have my family here. I’m not really planning to leave.” Told of Yao’s comments, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey would not discuss the team’s plans, but he was clear about his preference. “I hope Yao Ming comes back to play again,” Morey said, “and I hope that it’s here.” An eight-time All-Star, including this season after playing in just five games, Yao said he has not had any conversations with the Rockets about his plans. Morey said he did not know that Yao hoped to resume his career until Yao said it prior to the team’s annual Tux & Tennies Gala at Toyota Center on Wednesday. “I think right now, it’s more focused on my injury, how I’m going to come back,” Yao said. “About the future, I think it will all depend on this foot.” Yao had said last offseason that if he could not stay healthy after the series of bone injuries that had ended or interrupted five-consecutive seasons that he would have to retire. He played just five games before suffering another stress fracture Nov. 10, undergoing surgery in December. In statements at the time, he was non-committal about his plans. The injury and surgery were not as serious as the previous injury and subsequent reconstructive surgery to alter the operation of his left foot. Though the latest injury was to the same foot, it was not considered a career-ending injury and no complications from the previous procedure were found. Yao had quickly returned to the weight room after his surgery, working as if he hoped to play again. Still wearing a protective boot and walking with crutches, he said Wednesday that he was still 10 weeks away from moving to on-court rehab that will go a long way toward determining his ability to come back. “I cannot tell you now because I am still in very limited workouts,” he said. “I still cannot walk on my full weight. I have to try on the court running up and down and then see how it’s going. We need to go into workout, rehab, and this sort of thing. Let’s go step-by-step.” Yao said he thought his career might be over “when everybody started to ask that question. Then, I started to think about it. “It’s never an end. Even when it’s an end, it’s a new start, a new beginning.” Despondent in the months that followed the injury in the 2009 playoffs, Yao said he has unfortunately learned how to deal with the disappointment and the rigors of rehabilitation. “When you lay on a bed and eat hamburgers and drink soda, actually your day is pretty easy, not too hard,” Yao said. “One day, you realize you already gained 20 pounds. The tough part is always come back, always slowly start the engine again. The good side is I have experience. The bad side is I know how hard it is. I know how painful it is ahead of me.” Though he said there is “a possibility” his career is over, for the first time he left little doubt about his intentions. “While I believe this ‘if’ is a possibility I will not be able to come back and play, I will always tell myself I always did everything I could.”
Wait till the summer to get a sense of his health. If it's plausible that he can come back, sign him up for the vet minimum with performance incentives for staying on the court and a team/player option in the second year. That would be a win-win for the Rox and Yao. If he comes back, we got the size at the 5 that we need on the cheap that is probably more than offset by ad revenues from China. If he doesn't, we lose very little. All upside to my mind. With Yao on the cheap, Morey can build the team without the burden of his max contract and if Yao get's back somehow, then we've got a stacked team.
Why people just can't appreciate that fighting spirit? Even if Yao comes back, we are talking about minimum salary. People make it sound like Yao's come back is going to destroy the Rockets franchise.
Here is a video of Yao talking about the subject from today: http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2011/03/10/ZOOM0001MOV-1586697/index.html
I don't mind him coming back and giving it a shot. It's his life and his body, and we can certainly use someone to log at least 15 minutes and help Thabeet's development. What I am more concerned about is how much Morey plans to pay him.
go away yao. you're like a hot ex gf that keeps bugging the guy to get back together, but inevitably ruining both lives because of chick’s innate, scandalous tendencies. (innate scandalous tendencies = prone to injuries, for those who aren't very analogically inclined)
I do as well and don't mind if Yao comes back for a small salary and tries to play again. Yao has been a class act as long as he has been with the Rockets and is always giving his best effort at everything.
My head tells me it's probably better for everyone if he retires now. My heart tells me I hope he doesn't quit. I admire the heck out of the guy. He's a true warrior.
One more go, I like it. If he comes back and can still play some, helps our D, and scoring. Mostly, could use some D, though. If he can't play, things stay the same as they are. As long as you aren't some psycho who hangs all of the teams hope on the guy, what's the big deal if he wants to try and play again.
Yao should come back on a low salary and low term deal (i.e. 2 years). Rockets should bring him up slowly as a backup center and we'll see how things go from there.
I don't hope that he retires at all. I think it's obvious that we aren't counting on him any more, so if he comes back at a reasonable price and can contribute in any way it is a bonus. It's clear that we no longer expect him to be the best player - we just traded away two guys that fit extremely well with a low post player.
lol a little out there on a limb, I know. I used "hot gf" as an analogy because Yao is, well Yao. A one of a kind player. Then I used the "relationship" analogy because I figured that some guys (such as myself) would understand how being let down from your team, over and over and over again can hurt just as much as a effed up relationship. Ultimately, I finished the analogy w/o a no homo, being as that I felt the analogy itself warranted that claim...but just for the record, no homo.
