Since last Thursday I have processed in my mind the disaster most of us “witnessed” on ESPN when The One announced he’s going to “take his talents to “South Beach,” which is akin to a free agent saying they’re going to L.A. and taking their talents to “Newport.” Using the S.B. term just shows how immature LeBron is. “South Beach” is another way to say “party town,” which gives you a peek into what one of the priorities may have been for him making this Decision.
There have been several articles written since Thursday night that describe more fully the debacle that occurred on national TV, so I won’t reiterate them here. I will point out, though, some of my own observations that you might not have read elsewhere.
His entire interview on ESPN and the decision-making that he exhibited for weeks leading up to The Moment shows that as great of a player he may be, he completely destroyed his brand and legacy. Fans who just last season would come to his games to cheer him on will be outnumbered by fans who will probably boo him based off the bad P.R. he’s racked up over the past few weeks. I’ve never seen a quicker fall from grace for a big-time athlete in such a short of time since, well, Tiger Woods.
Plus, it was really strange to see him up on stage the next day in Miamia with Bosh and Wade as just as part of a Three Amigos. His “talents” will now be diluted among his compadres, and he won’t ever be the big star he wanted to be, as seen with having this one-hour special in the first place. Many observers think he sold his talent short, and that he took the easy route to try to win a championship. Weak.
It’s been quiet on the Yao front the past few weeks, but today we learned through this Houston Chronicle article and the video below that Yao will not opt out of his contract and will remain a Rocket next season.
It doesn’t surprise many folks that Yao will remain a Rocket next season. That was pretty much a given based on how much he likes Houston, and how loyal he is. I’m sure a lot of thinking went on about the decision to opt out this season, versus locking in something for the long term.
You’ve got to hand it to Yao for putting everything on the line this coming season without knowing how well his foot will respond to the surgery and rehab he’s been going through. With this decision, you can bet that Yao feels very comfortable with the progress his foot has made.
In case you missed it, on Saturday Yao tweeted and posted on his Facebook the following:
I’m still working out 5 days a week. I’m running on a real treadmill 20-30 minutes each time. I don’t need the Alter-G treadmill any more.
Previously on June 18th, he posted this on the same aforementioned sites:
I watched Game 7 last night. Exciting with lots of 3-pointers at the end. Unbelievable series. I am happy for Ron winning a championship and having a great year. Hopefully next year it will be us in Houston.
When asked if he would opt out of his contract and become a free agent, he didn’t provide any details, but he did provide this:
“I think my future is still in Houston. Still, my agent will handle this. We will communicate with (Rockets General Manager) Daryl Morey and we will work this out.”
As many of you may already know, even if Yao opts out, that doesn’t mean he does NOT want to be a Rocket and test the free agent waters. With variables like a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and a new salary cap amount the teams will have to work with, it may make sense for many players who are happy with their current team to opt out and sign a longer-term deal with their own team rather than risk getting penalized with a worse contract under the new environment after next season. So don’t get all upset if you hear that Yao opts out. It still means he wants to remain a Rocket, and he’s doing the best thing for his long-term future as a Rocket.
In regards to his action on the court next season, Yao said he expects his minutes to be reduced at the beginning of the season, and perhaps beyond. When asked if he thought this was a good strategy, Yao replied, “I think so, yes.”
It’s been pretty quiet on the Yao front over the past couple of weeks. He’s obviously been busy tending to his new baby daughter and continuing his rehab and workouts. But yesterday he got out and participated in the opening of a new nature-based playground at the Chinese Community Center in Houston.
Here’s just one photo that Raymond has posted in the forum. In this one, Scola was in Harbin on June 1st where he drew a big crowd.
Click here for more photos of Scola’s activities in China.
Also, Titan Sports interviewed Scola, and Raymond has translated the article. It’s an interesting read. Scola is a free agent, and says he really wants to stay in Houston and play alongside Yao.
Here are some of the excerpts from the translation:
“I’m just like that. When I like something and grew accustomed to it, then I would not want to change. I love Houston very very much. I’m not willing to leave. I sincerely hope that when this summer is over, I will still be wearing my Houston Rockets jersey. And then when October comes, that is a few months later, I can come to Beijing again for the China Game.
“I really really enjoy playing alongside with Yao Ming. I’m telling the truth from the bottom of my heart. Both on court and off court, he had opened a lot of doors for me, and had completely changed my life. I’m not going to say more about what he did for me off the court.
But on the court, I enjoy playing together with him. I definitely play better together with him. Perhaps it was not reflected correctly in the statistics; he did not play this season, and I’ve improved in major categories of my statistics. However, as a matter of fact, I crave to be able to play together with him. Everything will become relatively easy playing together with him. I have no idea how much he can recover, 100%? 80%? But that doesn’t really matter. As long he stands on the court, he will be a threat. Opponents guarding him definitely dare not lose their target to come to guard me; and opponents guarding me might let me loose so as to help play defense on him. When he plays, you’ll forget that he is actually 2.26 meter tall. His style of play and his response are just like he is a player at least 10 centimeters shorter than he actually is. I eagerly look forward to him returning to court quickly, and definitely we can play much better next season.”
Good news from the Houston Chronicle tonight, which reported the following:
An extensive physical on Yao’s repaired and restructured left foot, long considered an important milestone in his comeback, showed the rehabilitation progressing well, clearing Yao to move to more extensive running and on-court workouts.
“We reviewed his most recent bone scans, and they indicate the healing is continuing at the expected rate,” Rockets athletic trainer Keith Jones said. “He’s right where he should be with regard to his rehab.
“He’s been able to increase his rehab conditioning to the point he is running at his full body weight. He’s been doing some limited on-court work, and he’s been able to go through those workouts with no discomfort. We feel good about his progress at this point, and we’re going to keep gradually elevating the intensity of his workouts within the parameters that our doctors have established.”
Yesterday The Shanghai Morning Post published an interview with Yao about him becoming a dad, and Raymond translated it. Yao provides some pretty interesting observations, like saying he won’t have much time for World of Warcraft now, and maybe having a second child, among other things.
Yao’s new baby girl was born in Houston early Friday morning, weighing in at 7 lbs, 9 ounces (3.6 kilograms). A little while ago, Yao posted the following on his Facebook page.
Happy to announce the arrival of our baby daughter. This is a very special moment in our lives and we thank everyone for their kindness and support.
I had the chance to record some of Yao’s workout at Toyota Center a few days ago (see below). Anyone who is curious to see how he’s doing must watch this.
The first part of the video he works out with the Rockets’ Director of Strength and Conditioning, Darryl Eto. Then he works out with his personal trainer Anthony Falsone.
One silver lining to Yao being out over the past year is that he has been able to work on improving the mobility of all parts of his body that most NBA players don’t have time to do during the busy season and post-season, mainly because they are nursing nagging injuries.
As you’ll see, there’s no boot on his foot, and he doesn’t need crutches any more. He’s even doing leg squats, putting more weight on the foot he had surgically repaired last year. And I love the part of the video where he starts out with 70 lb. dumbbells, and works his way up to 90 lbs…in each hand.
It’s clear Yao is on his way back to being the beast he is.
