anybody ever think about him just refusing to play one summer? Like Wang Zhi Zhi did......they didn't like it...but what could they do? Oh.....he's kicked off the national team...boo hoo. Yall are forgetting who is the star..and who are the benefactors here. Yao runs ****....not China. He brings so much to the table for that country it's ridiculous. They are not going to risk breaking relations with Yao if he decides he doesn't want to play one summer because he wants some rest. I know they are some bastids over there....but they are some money hungry bastids...and why would you risk breaking your good relations with such a big contributor to your country and political cause over one or two summers of baskettball? Yao's no dumb ass....and alot of people discredit him because he happens to love his home. I think once he starts to break his silence and speaking to the media in English more...people will start to realize how smart this guy really is and understand why he goes back to China every summer. It would be different if he didn't want to play for them....but he does. And if he wants to play, and the Rockets try to step in and stop him....how are the Rockets any different from the Chinese Government?
First of all, professional sports is about money. Yao has already reaped unbelievable financial rewards for both himself and the Rockets. So, whether he lasts three more years or thirty is irrelevant to Les Alexander from a career perspective. It's about two things: 1. Toyota paid HUGE cash for naming rights. 2. Yao has put the Rockets on the international radar. Now, I think Yao should defect, just for the reason of showing protest against the Chinese government, which, let's not forget, is basically a communist dicatorship (at the very best it is an oligarchy of a very few priveleged Communist party cronies). Yao does sacrifice a lot of personal freedoms to do the things he does. However, there is the point of what Yao thinks about all of this... Yao may actually be very loyal to China, and feel patriotic about contributing his time to the national cause. Contrary to what many think, not all Chinese who come here think America is all that great. I know some Chinese who miss home and still have fond feelings about China. Granted, no country is perfect, just as the U.S. has its problems, so does China. But, the problems we have in our country don't make us any less patriotic about it, generally speaking. Yao is probably the same. I sense that he does feel that he has a mission as a prominent Chinese citizen to help the cause of his fellow citizens. If that be the case, more power to him, because that is worth more than any amount of fame, money or prestige, and transcends any career ambitions to continue to further the cause of the multi-national corporation called the NBA.
You have several great points...........really you do.....but this is YAO's first season playin an NBA grind season and then goin back to China to play all summer long....so there is a difference He may have done this before....but NBA season at center.........and Chinese basketball duties can't happen every summer...PERIOD.......if it does we'll all see something we don't even want to think about
It seems as though this has gotten a little off topic. As I've stated before in other threads "if" Yao is able to work hard at his game and does, perhaps one day he will be as revered as Molone, RudyT, Olajuwon, etc. That day is not yet. Right now he is Ralph Sampson: tremendous upside that may or may not be realized. This is not "Yao City BBS," it is Clutch City and really, from the standpoint of a Rocket fan I care about as much what Yao does in the offseason as the high school basketball coach who lives down the street: NONE! However, if his season mirrors last years when he hit the so-called "wall" we have a serious problem. Neither the CBA nor the Chinese Govt. nor the Chinese Nat'l Team care how Yao performs as a Rocket: what they care about is that he is the one recognizable person who puts a human, sympathetic face on the otherwise dreary world perception of China. I'm very happy for Yao that he is a patriot for his county, but if a govt. mandated work schedule (or endorsment schedule or ANYTHING else, personal choices included) prevents him from being totally ready & commited to the Rockets then we will have a different animal showing up at training camp that is scary in any society: Greg Ostertag. Personally, I hope that Yao and the interested parties can find a solution: I love the guy and would like to root on him for years to come in a Rockets uniform, BUT, if it becomes a distraction to winning, what's the point? 23 or not, athletes need time to reset & reflect: if Yao is not to be afforded that time ever, we have a problem.
Exactly.....but you confuse me........ You say you don't care, and you care all at the same time...... You agree he needs reat though
Bottom Line: if Yao is unable, for whatever reason, to compete at full strength & attention when the season is underway he is a liability. I Love the guy and the Rocket's position as a team that has utilized the best centers in the game for 3 + decades. I don't know Wangs situation that well, but I don't think he has made ANY improvement since he joined the league: our young team MUST have growth and learning or we are doomed: see the last 2 seasons. I dig Yao: I'm proud to have him on our team as a basketball ambassador (sp?) to the world. The Rockets have always been a classy organization & Yao is a classy dude: Hakeem probabaly couldn't have hand picked a more worthy replacement: humble, skilled, athletic & proud. But I Love the Rocks, not so much the players. I want another championship trophy, not an award from the United Nations for diplomacy. I think Yao is strong enough & young enough to be able to handle his rigorous schedule okay FOR A WHILE, but.... if his focus is not on his employer, The Houston Rockets, eventually the Rockets will be the ones with the problem. If Yao decides he is happier at home and able to be a better citizen at home then THAT is where he should be. I know Yao is very proud to be Chinese so the defection idea is ridiculous. I'm proud to have someone with such stong convictions on the team: a lot of the players can probably learn A LOT about character from him....but he's GOTTA BE A ROCKET FIRST! Gooooooo ROCKETS!!!!
AGREED.. that is like true.. I really hope Yao can survive the NBA the next couple of years becuz the way he is being tortured it seems like he might be with us like 4 more years... Not even enough for him to get a max contract
All these talk about defection is ridiculous. China's economy is booming, if he is burnt out, Yao will go straight back to China and make a lot of money one way or another.
Playing a few easy games in Asia will not burn out Yao, rest assured. China's national team is by far the best in Asia. If other NBA players are allowed to represent their own countries in Olympics qualifying games, so should Yao.
Great players always want to represent their countries, like Ginobilli, Nowitski, Steve Nash, Duncan, and many others. Others like Rick Fox, or Wang zhizhi refused but they are not so great.
As I have said, if he cause too much problem now, just trade him! I am serious. The working satisfaction have to be both way, the employer and the employee. If Yao's love for his country and his commitment bother the employer. They can always give him the option of staying with the Rocket or to be traded. There may be another employer that would take the risk and put up with him. What is the point of speculating and complaining if no one want to do or can do anything now?
I must aggree with almost all of what you said, I haven't seen pics of Yao, but stamina? I'm not sure what kind of stamina can be built without REST in between workouts. The body needs time to repair and recover, and let's not all forget that our american atheletes use "AIDS" in their training to gear up for the season...somehow I doubt Yao is juicing up with anything other than green tea and berry juice. Maybe he needs other methods to improve but the fact remains, nothing can and will be done before the season starts, nothing will be known until the 1st couple of months get underway; and we can really tell how his conditioning and timing has gotten underway. So let's stop tripping out in the off-season about hapless speculaltions, defections, racist generalizations, and things that just plain aren't going to happen this season. We cannot change the Chinese gov't, as I have seen some of you don't understand the choices aren't the same for non-democratic atheletes; we can only negotiate with them and their nations, and Les and JVG are the only ones who can do that on Yao's behalf, Stern isn't getting involved because the Lakers are his franchise, not the Rockets. Let's deal with what we can first...
Exactly.......but he's got to be a Rocket first......like you said Its his job......we all have jobs........every one of us And at your job you have to show up on time, and perform your tasks (whatever they may be) up to your employers standards....if you slack at work, and don't perfrom your job well you can be terminated....plain and simple......your Boss is not tryin to hear that you're tired because you worked a second job all weekend....thats irrelevent to them....they don't care about that.....you just better be able to perform up to your standards on Monday Why should Yao be any different???? It is very honorable to represent your country......but you still have to go to work everyday and perform Look YAO made a decision to come here to the NBA.........if National team was all this and that, and chinese economy makes so much money...then he wouldn't want to come to America and play nba ball... He applied for the NBA draft to get a job in the NBA because he and the Gov't know that YAO will be Rich beyond his wildest dreams and go further than any Asian game or National team can carry him here in the states playin NBA balll.......that is a fact So why should we as fans, who pay the salary by attendin these games (you guys don't realize how important we are, without fans, there is no NBA, NFL, or any other organization) be cheated by YAO bein tired and not performin up to his ability because of what he did on his personal time??? Granted we can't tell YAO what to do in his personal life....thats a given...he can do whatever he chooses to do...national team, etc. but he should still be responsible to us to perform up to his standards regardless in my opinion, only my humble opinion...which is only that......AN OPINION....and last I checked nobody could tell you your opinon is wrong or right A little further than that is that the Rockets are his employer.....not somebody who he plays recreational ball durin the summer for.....so why should they not have something to say about all this in the end if he performs under his ability because he's worn out....and not
You forgot one thing! To Yao, The national team and his country may be like his family. He has the responsibility toward them too. It is not that he is going there for a hobby. Cheated? The rocket have known about this commitment before he signed the contract. Your analogy is right that Yao should have full responsibility on his job. Didn't he do that the last season? How can you know that he will be a bust this season when the season hasn't started? I do not think that an employer can force an employee to choose between job an family. Actually they can but I think all normal people would choose their family first and change the job. That was I suggested. If the thought of him playing for China is unberable, trade the guy to the team that will except his situation. Otherwise, i think we have to live with it.
Cheat? I dont see any cheating. When they signed the contract last summer, everyone knew Yao Ming would have committment to his national team, he would have a terribly busy schedule during the off seasons and he might not be able to attend part of the training camp every year. So rather than keep whinning and complaining, what do you think we should do? I have a few suggestions: (1) Trade Yao Ming. (2) Release Yao Ming. (3) Force a contract renegotiation. Make sure that the statement: "Yao Ming has to be in training camp from day 1 each year and he needs to give himself enough rest during the off seasons" is on the contract this time. (4) Take a deep breathe. Tell yourself to accept the reality. (5) Other. Please explain. What do you choose?
