[Yi Press Conference]Rod Thorn: All chinese players are required to play every summer

He IS untouchable. Tell me a better center in NBA than Yao Ming please. You have 5 seconds. Can't think of one? Then it means that there's no one. Take back your words please.

 

Yao is untouchable not because he is arguebly the best center in NBA, but because NBA is a business. Remember one thing, in business, making money is always the #1 priority. As a matter of fact, Yao could make a team tons of money even if he is sitting on the bench not playing...

 

don't think Wang ZhiZhi played (i could be wrong) until he made a humiliating apology.

 

So yao could not play for them for 3 years, win a championship here, and apologize and play for the next olympic. win win situation

 

Ok, I think if there is no big game like Olympic, Yao may have no need to attend CNT every summer. Instead, we can select more young guys to CNT. It's good for CNT.

 

You are correct sir, as usual.

I agree that there are very few players that you trade straight up player-for-player for Yao (although there are a few, but I don't feel like starting a stupid argument for no reason).

Put it this way: If Phoenix were to offer Amare Stoudamire and Steve Nash for Yao, you're a moron if you say no. Not that I'm saying a deal like that is feasible, but it illustrates that point that if the right deal were to come around, you do it.

Rockets > Yao. No one is untouchable.

 

I don't believe Yao is untouchable either. In my mind, only one player in the NBA is untouchable and his first name is Lebron.

That said, why do you have to pit the team against our own player? Yao being untouchable or not has absolutely nothing to do with whether he is bigger than the team or not.

Cavs (at least to their fans) > Lebron even if he is untouchable.

Any NBA team > any NBA player whether he is untouchable or not.

You get my point? Saying that a player being untouchable is not the same as thinking that he is bigger than the team. Can you see the difference now? So you really don't have to pit the player against the team and make it out like saying that he is untouchable is a disrespect to the team.

 

Yes, although Yao is required to fulfill his national team duties for China every summer, I don't really think its that big of a deal because he only plays in a handful of their games. He's usually not involved in most of their exhibition games and only plays the important ones that actually mean something. If anything its a good way for him to stay in competitive basketball shape, especially this year since he's been pretty much sitting on his butt for the last 4 months due to his injury.

 

slcrocket: exactly.

any deal where I could get a dominant post player and an above average wing (or vice versa) would do it. of course, there aren't that many situations like that, but you (obviously) get the point.

amare & nash? yep.
wade (re-signed) & beasley? yep.

I just have a hard time believing yao will ever be healthy for an entire season. he stretches himself way too thin with with his non-rocket obligations.

I'm perfectly aware of the cash cow he is for our owner via china, but tell me, how is that helping us in the playoffs when yao's not at 100%?

 

I wouldn't want Nash, he sucks.

Yao is untouchable.

 

Yao wants to play for the CNT and I fully support it.

It shows his dedication and commitment, which is part of the reason why we picked him in the draft.

I'd rather have Yao+obligations over all but maybe a few players in the league.

 

I would choose the later one if I were Yao.but do not ever underestimate a professional player's hardiness ,so all of us can't be as unbelievable as Yao.Ah ...big yao,Maybe the wwe arenas fit yao more.Yao's tolarance will be quite useful in wwe arenas.I want to see a wwe match between the Big Yao and the Big Show.Well ,it's big yao,such a big man to show what real morality is.Get prepared for something that you have never known.That's BIG YAO.

 

Yao is untouchable...case closed.

Owning an NBA team is a huge business endeavor. The only goal is that you make money...NOT win NBA championships...at least from the owners perspective.

Trust me...there are more losers than winners in the NBA and you don't see owners selling in mass. That's just the way it is. Winning is great but when you have TV and you sell your **** - life is good.

Point...the Knicks sell alot of **** worldwide...they're the knicks. Point 2...they suck. Do you think their owner cares.

Bottom line...China buys all of Yao's dope...there are 1.3 billion Chinese. Now throw in the Chinese Americans over here. HUGE ability to bring in $.

And while you may sell some Kobe and LBron crap over there too. Yao is their man and Les Alexander gets his pockets stuffed.

Yao ain't gonna be traded ever. Even if he can't play...Les will wheel his crippled butt out there like a wax dummy to get them$$$$$$.

Business son. The guarantee about winning an NBA championship is that your winning days will soon be over. Once you reach the top there is no where to go but down. And you don't rebuild a winner from the middle.

 

I do NOT think it is better Yao played every summer.
He need more rest.

But this summer is unusual, for there is Olympics Games.
Yao will defend CNT's dignity.

 

whatahell does 睡皮打滚要啊 mean? sleeping skins wallow needed?

 

true. him getting hurt every year playing for that crap ass national team is just not worth it for the rockets.

 

So you're saying Yao is not untouchable and that Any NBA team > any NBA player. So we agree then.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that in terms of realistic thinking, I realize that Houston probably won't trade him, regardless of the offer on the table. My point is that is bad for Rockets fans. By refusing to even consider possibilities that might help your team, one is saying that Yao is more important than winning.

What???

Look, I like Yao. He seems like a nice guy. But the main reason I like him is because he plays for the Rockets. If he didn't, I wouldn't really give a rat's ass about him--and it's looking more and more like these injury-shortened seasons are going to be the norm more than the exception. Big men historically don't age well in the NBA, especially if they have injury problems early in their careers.
I will always have a hard time accepting the reasoning that it's okay to turn down a trade to make you better, regardless of the players involved.

 

It is something called 'pride' to play for his own country. It's something that you do not possess and therefore you will never be able to understand why he does it.

By the way, what's up with "getting hurt every year playing" for that team? Are you trying to say he got hurt while he was playing for his national team every year? Why do you have to lie?

Look I want Yao to stop playing the unimportant international games as much as everyone does. But your continued whining and b****ing is getting old.

 

you're crazy if you think yao can pull those kind of offers. wade, amare, and nash are superstars themselves. and you expect phoenix to give up both and heat also beasley?

 

It's all good if we actually agree with each other. But your initial post gave me the impression that you thought saying a player being untouchable is a diss to his team, which I do not agree. I pointed out Lebron James because he is as untouchable as any NBA player can be. But I honestly don't believe the Cavs fan would be offended if someone say he's untouchable because people know the team is > any player whether he is untouchable or not. I just felt that you were pitting the player against the team with the way that you said it. I am not trying to pick on you and I apologize if it is not what you really meant to say.