Teams would do anything to get a hand of Yao that's if he becames a free agent in 2006 but you think is more because of his marketing value? I mean dont get me wrong he's still a good player but he's marketing makes him MORE than what he is. If he was lets say (white, 7'6) and playing the way he's playing he would be dealt easier. I would compare him more towards ALONZO who avg. 20pt 10reb for his career than the GREAT ONES like HAKEEM, but I think he's better than BIG Z.
From what I know about NBA revenue sharing, the Rockets don't exactly make piles of cash by having Yao. The two main non-shared income for the Rockets are ticket sales and local TV contracts. Both of which are really more tied to winning than having Yao. Personally, I don't see Yao ever getting traded because it's so hard to find a deal that can match up against someone of Yao's calibur. Unless, of course, Yao will not sign an extension and force the Rockets hands next season.
They make money off the 20+ nationally televised TNT, ESPN, and ABC games. Without Yao, I doubt that we would be on national television that much. Not to mention the 100 million or so watching the games in China.
The team I think that can really take advantage of Yao's presence is the Lakers. I've looked at census reports for Harris County, and the Asian population is 250k. The Asian population for Los Angeles county is 1.3 million. That directly impacts local revenues via greater ticket demand. I fully expect the Lakers to come hard at the Rockets with a trade offer either before the deadline or before Les has to deal with Yao getting max contract or not.
Doesn't the NBA share the national and international TV contracts equally among its teams? That's always been my impression.
Yao is the reason that Chinese fans cannot watch more of the Suns, Kings, mavs, bobcats' game, but JVG's bald boring head and offense.
Oh, the above post was in response to glad_ken. Knew I should've used the "reply to this post" option. To Charvo: I also feel that Yao would contribute more economically to teams like the Lakers or Warriors. I just don't feel like that's the case here in Houston. In which case, economics shouldn't be a major factor in dealing him. That said, I still don't think the Rockets will ever get a good enough offer for Yao. So he's likely a Rocket lifer. Which I'm certainly glad is the case.
All the sales of his jerseys are shared equally. The stuff Les gets to keep is the money from corporate sponsorship deals like the Chinese beer company.
I look at the attendance at Rockets' games. Yao makes a minimal impact on attendance of Rockets' games. A player's impact on attendance is guided tremendously by his racial background compared to the racial background of the ticket buyer. This is why Ginobli may be more popular than Duncan in San Antonio. The same can be said for Wally Szerbiak in Minnesota. There are a lot of white guys in Minnesota. This is why Larry Bird suggested that there needed to be more star white basketball players. If Jeff Bagwell and Biggio were black, they would probably have been traded by now. That's just reality. Sport franchises are businesses too. This is why I think Yao would be best with the Lakers. I think Yao's days as a Rocket are numbered. That's just my honest assessment. Only guy that would want Yao to stay in Houston is Yao. Everyone from his agent to entourage wants to maximize endorsement dollars for Yao which would mean a move to LA. Warriors are trash. Lakers are like the Yankees of basketball. I think all the ties of loyalty to the Rockets have been broken. Rudy T got canned. Steve got traded. I look at the Lakers with their roster. I notice Rudy T has created an environment that almost leads me to believe they are grooming the team for Yao to go there. They have a half-court offense with isolations and plenty of 3 pointer shooters being developed. I don't know how Rudy does it, but he can make guys into some damn good 3 point shooters. Brian Cook wasn't a 3 point shooter with Phil Jackson. He is now. Jumaine Jones wasn't a killer 3 point shooter before. He is now. Even Chucky Atkins is shooting the 3 ball above his career average. You put that all together, and the components of a strong half-court offense are there except the big man in the middle.
Toyota outbid everyone else to name the Rockets new home because the China market. YanJing Beer sponsor the Rockets millions for the China market. Two sold out games in pre-season (ridiculous price) because of Yao Ming. We got T-Mac (with his marketing value) because of Yao Ming. Contract from the Fox Sports because of Yao & T-Mac. national televiced games, Asian fans, potential revenue from China.
What?????????? Havent been at the Toyota Center before but you bet i would never ever set foot on it. Just watching every rockets game and seeing how many empty seats and are there, its like a ghost town, sometimes you can hear players on the sidelines talk. Yeah, thats how silent toyota center is. It is one of the newest arenas but yet the rockets even with a walking marketing in yao ming and tmac cant get it fully packed. Rockets suck and yao and tmac suck. They can go to hell. JVG too. He should be the first one to go there.
I feel your pain, man. Just don't throw in the towel yet...not on Yao and T-Mac. Better days are ahead as soon as we get rid of Gundy. I know it will hurt when we lose to the Hawks tomorrow, but a bright shinny day comes after the rain.
The irony is that the Rockets had one of the most under appreciated superstars in the history of sports because his wasn't very marketable.
China has/had multiple 7'6 guys or even taller playing basketball. Yao is special. You guys see the reebok/kodak/bud ads in chinese, those rolling ones underneath the scorer's table? Yeah, they are there because of Yao. I would imagine they are pretty expensive. Look at what other teams have, you'll understand Yao's value. So many benefit from Yao, including this site. I am curious what percentage of this board joined because of Yao. This is the ONLY bbs I know where people actually do tip. I am surprised Clutch hasn't came up with better ways to capitalize on Yao yet. Let me know if you need help Clutch. I personally spent $2500+ on the NBA because of Yao. Tickets/sports bars/jersey/league pass etc. I swear if I keep watching rox games, I'll end up buying a toyota truck.
