Those of you who have been to business school or have read up on business history may be able to correct me. As I recall, this (TBTF) is the name of a theory according to which a company that attains a certain size or importance to the overall economy can no longer fail, because the government won't let it fail, because too much economic disaster could ensue if that were to happen. I may have the reference wrong, but I know that many economists have held this view about companies like GM or Microsoft. I'm not for drafting Yao Ming just for marketing reasons. If he sucks on the court, we should stay away from him. But if he's pretty good, then the off-court stuff is definitely an important additional reason to go with him. The best argument isn't that he's good for Rockets marketing. The best argument is that he's good for NBA marketing, and therefore, the NBA has a huge stake in propping up his team. Think about it. Chinese phenom goes #1. The NBA is dying to showcase him to China, Asia, and the world. Sure, they have to put him on TV, but that isn't enough. They can't afford to have him look bad. There are all sorts of ways the NBA can help or hurt a team: approving or not approving contracts, trades, or buyouts; inflating incomes of selected players through "star" marketing; determining revenue sharing formulas; changing the official rules (to stop Shaq or iso's or whatever); changing the unofficial rules for calling fouls; etc. I'm sure you can all think of more examples. If you liked the Jordan Rules, you'll love the Yao Rules. He doesn't need to hold his ground. He just needs a whistle.
As far as the L helping the Rox out behind the scenes, I would bank on that.... But there is only so much they can do and if Ming does not deliver on the court people will soon lose interest and hence the L. Re: Microsoft & GM, government intervention will soon lose steam and the inflation policy will implode on itself.
Will, under that scenario Ming will get all the calls from the refs, just like Shaq does now. That alone is reason enough to draft him. I am firmly in the Draft Ming camp, but, as a word of caution to your thread title, just remember: the Philistines laughed and told Goliath, "Dude, you can't fail."
How much has Zhu Zhu helped Dallas's marketing effort? After the first year, his market pull will be substantially equal to his effect on the court. I do remember going to see Manute Bol one time, but only once.
Not to be the pessimist, but AT&T reached TBTF status and the government tore it apart. Now we have Lucent Technologies, AT&T wireless, etc. etc. all strewn about. What if the league decides that this international hype show would be better suited in New York than Houston and pulls some strings for the Knicks after it has put some fake politic-based restrictions on Yao to make the Rockets want to trade him? BTW, I believe that the government assassinated JFK too, so don't ever listen to my conspiracy theory ramblings. YEAH, FREE POST!!!!
If Ming sucks, no amount of managerial red tape or rule modifications are going to change that. That's just part of the risk. If he sucks, he'll fail, no matter how much of a media darling he is. We just have to hope he doesn't suck.
