[The Daily Texan] Rockets center puts team first, contract comes second

fluff.

Yao did not put the team first by signing his extension. Unless a player is unhappy with the situation they are in, there is no downside for a player to sign a max contract extension as soon as possible. It's a stupid gamble passing on boatloads of guaranteed money just to get "wined and dined".

 

As if Yao needs to put on more weight

 

Exactly. Nobody has ever turned down a max extension to their rookie deal. Not Gasol, Randolf, Kirilenko, SAR, Kobe etc (Duncan was the closest. He signed for max salary, but not for max years.), and I didn't see any articles talking about how self-less they were.

I love Yao. He's a commendable guy in any number of ways. But this isn't one of them.

 

He may or may not. But from what I have seen, Yao is a team first guy. Maybe too much of it.

 

I think the point of the article is that Yao does it before the preseason starts in a low key way in order to focus on basketball rather than money.

But, yeah, we'll see how loyal he really is in 2011.

 

Wow, except for Kobe, I never realized those guys you mentioned had max deals. I sure don't think they are worth it. Other than Kobe, they simply aren't the caliber of players that deserve a max deal.

 

This is another reminder that many in the media don't understand the rules that apply to NBA salaries. This isn't baseball where the teams in New York and L.A. can outbid smaller market teams for star players.
The NBA system encourages players to remain with their teams. With Bird rights, the Rockets are allowed to offer Yao more than any other team can. Yao would have had to accept a lesser offer from the Knicks or Lakers with the hope that those ambiguous "marketing opportunities" would make up the difference.

 

Again, as one poster pointed out, the article just says Yao could wait one more season like Kobe did and utilize the situation to set himself up as the #1 guy on the team. This is very common in the NBA clutrure. The artictle says Yao however doesnt think like that.

 

kobe did throw out to the media that he was keeping his options open. and that means just that. there was never any option with yao. thats the loyalty.

 

I agree it's pointless to give yao any praise for taking the MAX extension but without question he has shown himself as a humble/loyal person and player which is probably the main point of the article.

 

I think the author does understand the NBA salary rule and that he knows the deal that Yao has signed is the most money he can possibly get.

I think his main point is that Yao could have refused to sign now and play out his option year. In this way he could set himself up as a prized free agent next year with the solicitation from every major NBA franchise for his service. He could be under the spotlight for the whole season because the media would be keep speculating whether he is heading for Los Angeles or New York. That would also give Yao a chance to market himself on a more national and international scale, like what the author has said.

But what the author doesn't know is that the attention, the spotlight, the drama, etc, are what Yao has been trying to avoid since the very first day he came to the NBA.

 

Indeed. The article may be "fluff" but it points out that most all-stars prefer to draw as much attention to themselves as possible. The economic realities have nothing to do with it - unless they're really serious about wanting out.

I don't think Yao needs more press, but I bet Stern smiles every time an article is written about him.

 

Loyalty just doesn't exist in sports anymore, we need more Reggie Millers.

 

The author of this Daily Texan article should be ashamed of himself. He basically paraphased what Ric Bucher of ESPN wrote last week on this very same topic. Yesterday there was a headline in the UT newspaper saying that there would be an article about Yao in today's paper. I was very disappointed when I picked up The Daily Texan today and read exactly what I read last week in the ESPN article.

 

It seems a lot of writers have a misconception about how the rookie contract works. If Yao wants to leave the Rockets, he'll have to play out TWO more years before he becomes an unrestricted FA. This is different from most FA defections, where the player is usually already an UFA or in the last year of his contract.

If Yao had been an UFA this offseason, and he signs the max extension without touring other teams, then it would truly show his loyalty.

 

How did Shaq get away from the Magic? Did he turn down their max offer?

 

That was in the previous CBA when they didn't have rookie scale contracts and restricted free agency.

 

So um, how long have you followed the NBA