They're in a good situation to give Yao a respectable extension contract but not necessarily have to max him out. Yao's not a selfish or egotistical man but he knows he'll still be a good player when he comes back. He also knows that Houston has been his home ever since he came over here and has quite a following/support here. I highly doubt that he'll uproot his family and sign with another team if both teams' (Rockets and other teams) are close in numbers. Giving him an extension at about 36 mil for 4 years is not out of the question, IMO, because Yao still earns quite a bit of money and gives the Rockets more cap room flexibility to pursue other players.
I've read Les most of Les's wealth has been re-invested into China nowadays. One supposed major business manufactures Rockets merchandise, ie Yao merchandise... Looking at attendance records and the signage at the TC perhaps the Rockets rely more on sposorship than patronage which the other teams you mentioned have an advantage? Last season's attendance:
Maybe a mistake to you, but not to Rockets. Les makes more money by signing Yao even if he doesn't play, for those endorsements from China. Bottom line: If Rockets don't sign Yao a max contract, somebody else will. Tons of money available next summer. And if Yao leaves, the chance of Rockets sign a big time FA is still very remote, no matter how much cap space they have.
I agree, if the organization does that, then for sure they can not sign McGrady because having one star player that is injury prone is risky enough. But two is horrible. DD
36 mil for 4 years would be an insult to Yao after so many years service. Why should Yao stuch with 9 mil per year, which is only average for a decent NBA big man, to play in Houston, instead of getting bigger contracts and much better championship chance in some other city to play with guys like Lebron James?
Tmac will ge gone regardless. From what they are doing last season and this season, they appeared ready to say goodbye to Tmac. They already embarassed him by not letting him play at this moment. Rockets will keep Yao and try to add another important piece.
Yao is probably worth 18 million, but he only plays half the time.... If another team wants to invest that much, more power to them, but this organization has to take a serous look at a cost benefit analysis. Regarding his money making ability, I enjoy the Rockets for the product they put on the court, not for how much money they.
I can agree with that too a point, but when you sign an injury prone Yao to a max length, max amount deal, you might be crossing a threshhold there.
That's because you are not the owner and GM. To them, money making is just as important ad the product on the court. Besides, the product on court may not be better without Yao, because there is no incentive for big time FAs to come here with a bunch of role players. They get more money in bigger markets, and they have better chance winning by playing in other cities. In the end, if Rockets don't sign him, it's quite possible than Rockets lost Yao and got nothing that significant in return, stuck in mediocore forever. To let Yao go for nothing is worse than trade him, because when you trade a player of Yao's caliber, you certainly wouldn't get empty handed.
Theres plenty of incentive for players to come here. Owners whose primary business is thier team are a disaster waiting to happen (see NO), nba franchises are toys. Stuck in mediocrity? Are you serious? The Rockets were fine before Yao got here and will be fine after he leaves.
The Rockets are mediocre like KG's Timberwolves, before they got Cassell and Sprewell. They are only good enough to get in the playoffs and get bounced. However, they aren't bad enough to get a lottery pick that can make them a playoff contender or win a ring around like Cleveland(LeBron), Denver(Carmelo), Orlando(DHoward), Miami(D-Wade) and Portland(Roy & Oden).
Before Battier is mentioned, yes we did suck enough for a lottery pick, but it was a lottery pick in the bottom half.
How the hell does Detroit manage to nab the stop spot with 16.7%unemployment rate? http://www.detnews.com/article/20091201/BIZ/912010436/1361/Michigan-jobless-rate-falls-slightly
Those numbers don't tell the whole story. We are averaging 95 percent capacity for our home games. Which is a very good percentage. The stats you linked are not always straightforward due to the available seats in certain stadiums.
If I was Les or Morey and Yao or his representatives came to me like this I would reply: If you can get a 4 year $40 mil deal anywhere I would highly suggest you take it, Yao. Good luck, and Godspeed. If Yao comes back and gets back to 20/10 form next season I can see why offering him more than $9 mil a year would be smart but he's damaged goods, sorry to say.
Great. Now what's the followup plan? I'm not against dumping Yao for the betterment of the team. But anyone knows HOW the Rockets can improve by getting rid of the guy?
Therein lies the problem. I've supported Yao, still supporting him, and will continue to do so as long as he's in Houston. If Yao wants to leave the team, there's no hard feelings. BUT, just like you said, there's a problem of trying to build this team back up. 1. If you let Yao walk as a free agent, you don't get anything back. Players, draft picks, Chinese endorsements...nothing. 2. If you let Yao walk as a free agent, what are the lures of playing in Houston within nothing but a roster full of overachievers? Basically, it's just going back to square one. I'm willing to go through rebuilding again though I don't think many here are ready to do that since the Rockets have always had at least one star on the team during transition periods. The one thing I'm not willing to do, though, is overpay for Yao and his history of injuries.
That's why you are not Morey.You have no idea how big man is paid in NBA. Every team will give Yao more than 4 year $40 mil with their eyes closed, that's the salary for a decent NBA big man without money making ability. Freaking Eddie Curry , Eric Dampier, Nene(who had cancer) all made at least that kind of money. Again, Rockets might lose both Yao/Tmac without anything in return if Morey is like you. Fortunately is Morey is smart, so that won't happen.
