I've been hearing a lot about how the Rockets should continue on building around Yao next season once he comes back. My guess is, I think Morey will continue on to build around Yao once he comes back. But I think the Yao and Tmac era has failed. Tmac is basically gone, and Yao is out for so long that I don't think he would be the same player he once was. I think it is better for the Rockets to move on and find a new superstar to build the team around. Yao would fill in the big hole down the middle once he comes back, but in order for the Rockets to succeed, he no longer should be the main guy but maybe the 3rd or 4th option. But it really depends on the match ups. If Yao has a much smaller guy than him and there isn't a double team, then yea he should be the first option in that possession. But note that they shouldn't keep feeding him the ball. The Rockets are doing very well and they are built to run. The back court consist of Lowry and Brooks, both thrives on the fast pace game. If you inject Yao into the lineup, we will lose that fast pace game. There is no way we can run up and down that fast if Yao is in the line up. Sure I know everyone is saying that once Yao comes back, we would have that half court offense again. That halfcourt offense is very important to this team on certain night. Yao would bring size back to this line up. But this is no longer Yao's team anymore. After this injury, I don't think Yao would be effective anymore. Why continue to risk building this team around him if he faces major injury every single season. I just don't think that it is worth the risk. The Rockets hasn't been very successful under the tenure of Yao Ming. For the past few seasons, he dealt with major injuries and the last injury was serious enough to almost force him into retirement. I think that Yao can still be productive for this team when he comes back, just not as the franchise player or the main guy. Hopefully the Rockets can get their hands on a superstar or an all star player. But as of right now, this team is leaning towards Aaron Brooks. Yao's injuries has hurt this team year after year. Every time when the Rockets look to go in the right direction, Yao goes down again. During that 22-win streak season, the Rockets look like they were on the right path and then Yao goes down. Sure the streak continues but we needed him in the playoffs. Against LA last season, the Rockets look to be doing very well against the Lakers but Yao went down again. I just don't think he is worth the risk. He will go down with another major injury again. His body just cannot handle the brutal NBA 82 games season plus the playoffs including the physical beating. I just cannot stand to see another season where the Rockets look very bright and Yao goes down once more. What are they going to say? Most likely everyone is going to say that well next season the year for us because Yao would recover from his injury and come back strong. But if we went a different path from Yao, find a new star or someone else, and Yao goes down again, we won't suffer as much as having Yao as our main guy. It wouldn't be as hard as losing Yao as our main guy for the rest of the season than losing Yao as a role player for the rest of the season. If Yao does come back healthy and is productive, I believe that Yao's minutes should decrease a lot and his minutes in the 4th quarter should be cut in half. Maybe that will help him last throughout the season. But Yao isn't young anymore. He will be 30 by the start of training camp of next season. If he was in his mid 20s, then maybe the Rockets should give it one more try as in making him the cornerstone for this team. But we did that for so many years and it failed every single season. Either to take that same path again which most of us know the results would be or maybe we should just try a different path with a different player with lots of potential. This current team is very good. Any smart superstar in the summer of 2010 would love to sign with the Houston Rockets because not only are the role players here are good, but they are great, unselfish, and hard working players with a big heart. What we are missing is a guy that can create his own shot and is an all star caliber player with superstar potential. That is the once final piece to the puzzle.
I believe when yao back ,he would also be asked to be adapt to the new system.Considering his huge ability on offensive end,we may design many tactics around yao ,he would be our important option,but not the main one. this team will be asked to play both run gun and half court together.yao is better arranged to play along with lowryto provide the assist and hayes provide the defense ,while brooks still get the fire right when he is on the court,which means brooks will change into the first option ,and yao will act as a pivotal factor for us.
If he makes it back, he'll be diminished and be the best,yet most easily neutralized player on the team and will clog up the middle. Then he'll get hurt again and we can have this thread all over again.
Yao's done as a Rocket. If Adleman can't figure out how to integrate McGrady into this offense, he sure as hell won't be able to integrate Yao, who is twice as slow as McGrady. The only solution is to change the offense to fit around Yao, and I just don't see that happening. I actually expect Yao to get frozen out just like McGrady. I personally hope it doesn't happen, just trying to be realistic.
I think he has to adjust to a high post role with low post mixed in..... I don't think they are building around him any longer.....they are hopeful that he comes back but I doubt they are counting on it. DD
They sort of play different positions. Think Vlade Divac in terms of what Yao's role might be when he comes back. DD, you trying to run Yao out of town now?
They will continue to pay and play Yao. He's a contributor on the court and makes money off the court. Yao and Les will both continue to make tons of money for each other, it's the best kind of relationship you can have in the NBA.
If he plays, it won't be more than 20 minutes a game. I can't see him in a "Divac" role either. He just doesn't have the quickness and endurance to get up and down the court. I can see him securing the rebound and tossing the outlet pass to get things going. Then if pushing the ball fails, he should be able to trot down the court and possibly contribute in some kind of half-court offense, but by that time we're out of shot-clock. I really hope Adleman can figure out a way to work him in. If not expect Yao to get "cameo's" of 15 minutes so that Les can cash in. Personally I expect to see what happened with Shaq in Phoenix. He just couldn't keep up with the fast pace.
Yao Ming will continue to be Yao Ming: the most dominant low post field goal shooter in the NBA. Rick Adelman has ample time to devise new offensive schemes to counter the "fronting" strategy that opponents employed, while hampering the Rocket's offence last season.
It certainly is if you're a YOF; if you're a Rockets fan, the handwriting has been on the wall for some time that this is likely not the best course of action towards a winning future. I imagine Morey realizes this. Hopefully he will convince Le$ that winning is it's own Mammon.
I don't know if that's really true, it all depends how much he's actually bringing in. Say you can sign a guy that gives equal production for half of Yao's salary, Is Les actually making or losing money in this scenario? Remember that the Rockets have been spenders in the past few drafts, buying picks left and right, where do you think that 7 mil they spent to buy this year's 3 picks came from? All I know is Yao can be a #2/3 option on a championship team, of course he's being paid like a #1, but maybe that doesn't even matter because he's bringing back so much.
Here is the thing about Yao... if he was healthy he can easily get a max contract with his skillset, despite being easily neutralized, especially on a team that shoots a lot. Problem is, it is virtually guaranteed that Yao will suffer some kind of huge injury and miss a ton of games, which makes a lot of bigs that are less talented more valuable to teams than Yao. Talent is useless when it is not playing. We have seen that with Yao and T-Mac for the last 5 years now.
We don't really know this, and in today's NBA it's looking dubious that an older plodding post player can be - Shaq and LeBron are not successfully recreating Shaq and Wade/Kobe Opportunity cost - what his bringing back on the court? this year he's putting up a 0-0-0-0 stat line. $15 milllion can buy you more. I also don't doubt that the Rockets sponsorship deals (particularly signage at the Toyota Center) are taking a hit - since they are being completely frozen out of national TV for an entire season. Now this is a double edged sword - Yao gets them on TV. Unfortunately his rickety legs get them off of it too.
Shaq is really a terrible player right now, he's old and he's out of shape. Yao can do what Shaq did with Dwade during their run in Miami. It's not the full 15, the Rockets are getting some back from insurance. The thing is the rockets and Yao's team must think out of the box with their next contract. My hope is both sides commit to each other to continue the relationship and find a contract that makes the sense. That contract needs to provide strong insurance coverage due to injury, it needs to be at a fair value and length to the team because of concern due to his injuries, they could put language in that voids certain years if Yao gets injured again, etc. The commitment needs to come from Yao's side as well. I believe that Yao can get a very good deal in the open market or via sign and trade, depending on what happens with teams this season. So Yao will be asked to take a hometown discount.
Against teams like the Lakers where our Run & Gun offence was forced to play a half court game, most of the time, Yao Ming would be in his element. In fact if Yao had been playing at his normal level last night we would have won the game! PS If we trade Yao Ming I know 28 teams who would want him! Yao is so much part of Houston I think he might retire if traded!
He will be another cog in the Adelman offensive machine. Assuming he is 80% of the player he was he will provide this team with the size and another offensive option in close games. The last two games should tell you how bad this team needs size and someone who can rebound amongst the trees and protect the rim. Even if he can't score like he used to his size and shotblocking/intimidation will still be there. I can't understand why having a 7'6" OPTION on your team is a bad thing. Adelman doesn't have to get Yao 30 touches a game or 35 minutes or 18 shots. If Yao is helping the team he stays on the court, if he is not he sits. Sounds like a winning situation to me.
Yao's got 1 more year on the deal. Player option which he has no reason not to pick up. So, his immediate future is back with the Rockets and we'll just have to see about his recovery. After that, physical health will determine everything: Will the Rockets keep or trade him? Will the Rockets re-sign him and how much they will pay? I think it's foolish to assume the Rockets are wedded to giving Yao a big extension as long as he healthy enough to play, even if it's 25 mpg or something. You gotta discount his value if he can't play "full time" (i.e. close to 35 mpg). He is also known injury risk and will be 30+ yearss old. It's foolish not to consider these when offering a contract and Daryl Morey is not foolish. The sponsorship/China income thing is overrated, I think. Yao's popularity is based on the fact that he can play. Wang Zhizhi came from the same country but because he couldn't play, he wasn't exactly a cash cow. So, I'd think the market value for Yao as a FA would not be close to the max.
The biggest problem with this team is size. With him we are a top 5 defensive team w/o him we are like 15 or 16. I think he can be a great #2, but you can't go to him at the end w/o risking a TO or running the shotclock out trying to get him a shot. Therefore you still need tmac type player to be your no 1 option. But his biggest problem is that that most likely he will get hurt.
