When Yao's Contract Expiers, there isnt any other team in the NBA who can offer him more money than we can. Kind of like this offseason with Koby and the Lakers, it'll be the same situation because we have his bird rights. As far as the Asian population i really dont think that will be a big factor, last time i checked Houston had its own China Town! Plus by the time his contract expieres the ROX will have become a great team that is centered around Yao. Why in the world would he want to leave a team that is allready in place surrounded around him & ready to make a run for the Ring?
i wish i could get on the main warriors forum and tell them they should quit thinking yao is going to gs, its not going to happen!!
Aren't rookies drafted in the first round effectively bound to teams for 5 years (with the last 1 or 2 years being at the team's option)? If so, that would ensure that the Rockets' control Yao through 2006-2007.
Though Yao moving to GS would make more sense. * hehe make more sense for me. (I could watch the games on Local TV and not order stupid league pass) J
Moses Ralph(before being moved from center and subsequent injuries) Dream Yao ..ahh...the symmetry. Yao is where he's supposed to be.
Don't be hard on the thread starter. He just wants to ask a few questions to clarify what he heard. Blame it on the idiotic Warrior fans who spread the rumor.
First a correction about rookie contracts, since some people don't have it quite right: The rookie contract is 3 years. Then, a 4th year at the team's option (the Rockets will certainly pick that up). Then, in his 5th year, he's a restricted free agent and the Rox have his Bird Rights. Whatever contract he might sign with GS can be matched by the Rockets automatically bringing him back into the fold for the length of that contract. His only escape is to take the 1-year deal with the Rockets to get rid of his restricted status. Then, in his 6th year, he would be free to sign with GS unfettered. That's the 2007-08 season. Can GS wait that long? Besides that, if you've been following Yao, you can see that he's very uncomfortable with the American ease of changing teams. It was a shock to him when we traded Moochie midseason. Unless he gets seriously jaded between now and free agency, I think he'd consider leaving the Rockets to be a disloyal and unpalatable thing to do. He's really not the sort of person to do something like that. The only realistic way I see him leaving is if he doesn't live up to expectations and the Rockets don't want to give him max money. At this point, that seems unlikely.
I don't think that Yao will ever leave to GS. However, any team becomes markedly better with Yao. Either way, he ain't going anywhere.
This theme has been repeated in numerous threads and it is going no where. Lock the thread please, Clutch.
freaking awesome. another paranoid rockets fan bringing up the question of yao leaving us. why does he hate houston so much again? is it because we center our team around him? or trying to surround him with good role players? maybe because we bring in superstar tmac to help him out...
Let me clarify this. The bay area Chinese population mainly consists of immigrants from Canton and Hongkong. What they speak is not Chinese. Yao is a Shanghainese. Catonese and Shanghanese dont get along.
You got it. Though I want to see more local games of Yao ( I am in CA) , I don't want him become a laker or clipper because I don't like either of these two teams. IMO, Rockets' red and blue jersey fits best for Yao Ming.
