I heard on ESPN yesterday that Wang Zhi-Zhi's status as a Dallas Maverick was in jeopardy. They were saying something to the extent of that China was possibly going to just completely revoke his permission to play in the NBA for some reason. I can't find anything on espn.com to elaborate on this, but that is the gist of what they said. The reason I'm posting this on a Rockets website is that if Houston were to draft Yao Ming, talent alone wouldn't be the only iffy situation. Say we do draft Ming, and he does turn out to be a stud; what happens when China says, "Oh sorry Yao, you're being drafted into the army (or something absurd like that)" and we're stuck with Cato and Collier FOREVER!!?? I don't like it.
<a name="here"> Yao will play in the US. China wants to prepare him for the Beijing Olympics. I'm convinced that all this other stuff is classic Chinese posturing trying to use Yao as some bargaining chip for something. We will bend over for Yao. Some of you guys might have pride that prevents you to bow to Chinese posturing, but I don't. And I doubt Stern has much pride, either.
dtown, can you post a link to the Wang situation? I looked on ESPN and NBA.com, but didn't see anything.
I think Wang liked being in Dallas and liked the NBA life. He probably said this out loud and China is now posturing as a warning. Yoa is a huge gamble in my opinion. I don't want a player that might have to leave purely political reasons. "Your spy plane went down on our shores! We're taking Yao and Wang back!" ..or something like that.
I've been saying this now for weeks! We will probably never see Yoa in a traning camp. Yao must have at least 9 signatures on his contract. Yao will have in his contract that the Chinese government can recall Yao at any time. In this link read the part about contract, future and availability: http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/katz_andy/1374371.html This article is mainly about Wang but it gives some idea of what teams can expect from Yao: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/basketball/mavs/stories/050202dnspomavswang.bad29.html Donnine Nelson was on the Radio (sports radio 1310 the ticket) here in Dallas just a couple of days ago and did confirm that it is possible that the Chinese government might not let Wang play next year due to some dissagreements that Wang has with some Chinese officials. Donnie also said that any team that drafts Yao will be in for a rough ride with the Chinese government. Things to understand about Yao before he is drafted: 1. He will not be available for any off season work including training camp. 2. He will miss the first part of the season due to obligations in his country. 3. The Chinese government can pull him back to China when ever they feel is neccesary. 4. When Yao becomes a free agent who do you think will decide which team Yao signs with? In other words if China wants Yao in NYC then Yao will end up in NYC. Remember that if Yao does turn out to be the real deal then the Chinese government is probably going to send him to the team that can market him the best. Why? Because there is potentially more money in endorsments than in the actuall NBA contract. Please Rudy stay away from Yao!
Really, how is this any different than a single person making that decision? That person being the free agent? And what does a city matter in national endorsements. Vince Carter is the most marketed player next to Kobe/Shaq right now. Is Philly a really big marketing city for Iverson? All this "I'm scared of Yao and China" stuff is feeding right into NYC propoganda, imo. Don't BUY INTO IT. Don't just fall over and let the Knicks trade Camby straight up for Yao. Come on, guys. Snap out of it. This is as much NY media propoganda as it is China posturing. Take the damn player. The CBA is very well defined. Yao is going nowhere for 5 yrs once drafted. Nowhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If we can't win a championship in 5 yrs with him, Steve, Cat, and Griffin, then trade him. What is the big deal????
If Yao is drafted by the Rockets he will develope a personall relationship with the franchise, players and the community. Maybe Yao likes the direction of the team and believes he can be apart of something great. Guess what all of that does not matter because now the Rockets have to contend with the Chinese government. All of those other little intangibles no longer count so please don't tell me that this situation is no different than that of any other free agent. You know better than that. Can you give me one reason not to believe that China will not limit Yao's time with what ever team drafts him? Be honest and tell me how you will feel if Yao only gets to be with the Rockets from December to May? To say that Yao is going nowhere for 5 years is totally nieve. The CBA also clearly defines the rules of player contracts but it is already obvious that those rules will not apply to Yao. On top of it all suppose Yao decides he likes America a little too much and the Chinese officials decide to bring Yao back to China. The CBA can not protect against that. How can you deny that there are huge obsticles that could prevent Yao from ever becoming an effective NBA player that has nothing to do with his skill. Why would you want to waste what might be the highest draft pick we will have over the next decade on someone with so many question marks? BTW are you really serious when you say that where a player plays has nothing to do with his marketability? Do you really think that Vince would not benifit from playing for LA, NYC or Chi? Thats a load of crap.
In the excellent "trade down" thread, I proposed that we should throw up the white flag and give it to NY, but demand their #7 and a future unprotected #1 from them (or some other lottery-bound team perhaps) in exchange. Don't settle for no Camby, I agree that's too inadequate. I hate being blackmailed like that, but I don't want no Chinese government jerking our chain either. A Memphis or a Denver would be wise to do the same IMHO. In our case, trading down still gets us a very good SF anyhow. Yao may not be all that, and certainly won't be right away, so if it is possible to get NY's 1st-round next year (what exactly is the rule forbidding trading 1st round picks in consecutive years?), that might yield a pretty good pick for us next year to make up for the doldrums we'll be suffering through next summer. I'm sure dreading this time next year when we have no draft pick.
The NY media is not what has me scared. What I am scared of is the same scenario with Yao in Houston that I see with Wang in Dallas. I wan't my top draft pick in uniform for 82 games, training camp and any off season programs that are neccesary to help him achive his potential. Do you believe we can have that with Yao?
That little quote brings up an interesting point. What if Wang or the other guy in Denver decided he did not want to go back to China? Would the Chinese government instantly pull Yao back to China?
How many posters honestly knew who Wang Zhi Zhi was when he was the 36th pick in the 1999 draft? How many posters do not know who Yao Ming is? hp is right. China is so overly concerned about world opinion that it will say or do almost anything in an attempt to guarantee Yao's success. That is why there is so much posturing on their part. The Chinese govenment needs the NBA more than the NBA needs Yao Ming. Stated simplistically, they need the postive press (read "propaganda"). When push comes to shove, they will buckle because ultimately they need the exposure of the NBA. I would not say that I am an expert on China or communism, but common sense should tell us that "contractual negotiations" are not something the Chinese government has much experience with. While China may have "collectives", they are a long way from understanding "collective bargaining". Given that the Chinese government is in unfamiliar territory, they will do as much "sabre rattling" as possible in their attempt to guarantee Ming's success. This is to be expected.
From where in China does Yao hail? Is it a gigantic metropolis such as NY or is he from a large and sprawling major city which is smothered by humidity, marked by mild winters, and infested with insects (mosquitoes, roaches, June bugs, et al)? Recognize that one?! Maybe Houston would keep him from being so homesick....
Since when has the Chinese ever been concerned about world oppinion? They have been getting bad press for years because of human rights issues that include everything from things as bad as child slavery to the simpler basic rights of freedom of speech. To say that China needs the NBA more than the NBA needs China is just not close to being right.
What cave did you crawl out of? As the last "true" bastion of communism, the Chinese are very concerned that the rest of the world views them as successful. Especially in aspects of athletic prowess. If you don't think so, why in the hell do you think they go to remote villages to seek out pre-pubescent girls to train for their gymnastics teams? Rights? Are Mings' rights violated because the Chinese government is going to redistribute his NBA millions? You may think so, but that is the way their society functions. And I'll bet he does not question it. You don't think China needs the NBA more than the NBA needs Ming? Imagine there are contract difficulties and the Chinese say Ming will never play in the NBA. The NBA will continue on as if nothing happened. China on the other hand will suffer a major setback to substantiating the legitamacy of their "world class" basketball program. That is why they want NBA players and execs sent to China as part of Mings' contract. What you may regard as "human rights violations", the communists view as their internal affairs and not any business of the rest of the world. The world opinion is not going to change this any easier than world opinion is going to change 6% of the worlds population from devouring 40% of the worlds natural resources (the USA in case you aren't aware...then again...do you care more about that or whether the Dream Team represents you well?). If you don't understand the basics of propaganda, you are not worth having a discussion with.
Gater, whereas I agree with you, aren't you being way harsh with Crash? Personally, in a good many of my posts regarding Ming Yao, I have voiced my concern over the Red Chinese government's interference. I can't speak for Crash, but my concern is not winning or losing the propaganda war. Rather, my concern is with the Rockets and how much PT Ming will lose by not being allowed to show up for camps, etc.
The Rockets need Ming avaiable to play 82 games this season, and the next season, and the next season, and so on. If this can not be guaranteed, then the Rockets should pass. I think it's as simple as that. I could care less about what the hell China's motives are. I just care about the Rockets, and how bad they could possibly be screwed by drafting Ming.
Yea, maybe. I guess it's reflective of 4 hours sleep last night. Most of us have posted our concerns at least once. I guess it is my nature to be a risk taker. I just don't see Yao Ming as that big of gamble. To me, he is minimally Mark Eaton with outside shooting range. Whereas most posters look at the situation and see all of the possibilities for failure, I look at the situation and see that the Chinese government, Chinese Basketball Association, the NBA and the Rockets (if we're that lucky) ALL have a vested and mutual interest in Yao's success. Regarding having Yao for 82 games, or 7 months or whatever... unlike many players who will take a summer off and play their way into shape (Dream for instance?), Ming will be continually working to improve his game. I didn't notice that the Lakers where all that concerned with what happened for 82 games as long as they made they playoffs. So to repeat my view - it's all political posturing and when the rubber meets the road, Yao will be there.
