I love Yao as a character and his hard work ethics. But his injuries have taken a huge toll on this team for the past couple years. Think of how many years that were a set back because of his injuries. I'm tired of hearing " maybe next season when he's healthy, the Rockets will be back" but it never happen. Like I said before and I say it again, the longer Yao plays on this team and the longer the Rockets believe Yao is the focal point of this team, they will face many more set backs for years to come. I mean he's a good center but he just doesn't dominate games like superstars do. He's a huge impact and will win you a couple of games, but its too risky. Honestly, Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol are two players who are much better than Yao. Yao may be a good scorer but Howard's defense and Gasol's all around game put both of them on top. So is it worth it going through all this trouble for a player that isn't even the best Center in the league? I wished the Rockets would have traded Yao years ago. No superstars in the league wants to come to Houston to play with Yao. Yao Ming when healthy is a good scorer. His size and his touch around the basket is untouchable. But when is the last time that he is healthy? The NBA today is dominated by guards. Yao Ming just doesn't have that great all around game. Dwight Howard who's a better all around player and a much better defender cannot win championships. The Magic are a great team but until they can get a player who is better than Howard, they're not going anywhere. Gasol is probably the best out of Yao and Dwight because of his shooting touch and his all around game. He is agile, a great passer and can score consistently. He wins championships because he has a much more dominate player on his team in Kobe. The point I'm trying to get across is that in todays game, big men need that one great superstar to get them over the top. Tim Duncan is great and he is probably the best all around big men in the league, has two great guards in Parker and Manu. THat's why they were so successful this decade. The Rockets have Brooks and Martin who are good players but both are not a dominant force. They both can score big numbers but they cannot dominate games especially in playoff series. So if the Rockets cannot be successful, I think they should trade some big pieces to acquire a high draft pick so they can draft a young talent they can build around. The Rockets have pieces but they don't have a player they can build the team around. If they were able to draft a star, then they have a better chance of signing big names in the off-season because stars want to play with stars nowadays. Trust me, no stars in the league today wants to play with our big chinese star.
The simple fact is there's no way this team can beat any of the top teams in the league or even make the playoffs without Yao. Let's face it, unless a major trade to bring in another superstar happens, our chances of doing any significant damage this year rides with the big fella.
I hope yao can get back as soon as possible, this team is going nowhere with miller(too old),Hayes(too short) and Hill(too young), manning the middle in turns..... although yao is now the yao several years aga, maybe slower than he was, he should still be valuable to the team. sigh, i thought this year's team should be better than last year....
Exactly, but we can't get Gasol or Howard and are stuck with Yao because of his massive contract. Stop b****ing and enjoy watching the Rockets.
Not to mention if he is forced to retire because of injury isn't he still paid? Don't they have insurance on the players?
who cares if we can't get Gasol or Howard, fans have the right to be b****ing about the supposed "franchise player" who barely contributes while making Lebron James money off of this team. no?
Sorry, but how can anyone question his work ethic or character?? That's just haterade at it's finest.
It's simple, Sit till he is ready, if not then dont bring him back. Disrupting the team on a whim is never a good idea.
A tall center that is a defensive liability is like having a beautiful woman that has you paying child support!
I've felt this way for a long time, regarding all players missing significant time with injury. Transition guys back, don't just through them to the wolves and upset the balance the rest of the team had.
At this point, I would much rather Yao retire from sports and never hear his name ever again. He's an awesome human being, but this **** got old 3 years ago. I would be extremely enraged if Yao resigns with the Rockets, even for a vet minimum. Probably feel the same way about Les, too... although I know Yao's market power is any NBA owner's wet dream.
