Here we go again. Now that the Shaquille O'Neal-to-Cleveland rumors have been completely debunked, prepare for an onslaught of Yao Ming-to-Cleveland fodder.
Speculation that the Cavaliers' new part-owners from China will work behind the scenes to move Yao to Cleveland after his contract with the Rockets runs out was already floating around. A new Shanghai TV interview with Yao, which has been translated for the Associated Press, is causing that story to recycle.
It's amazing how quickly we've gone from LeBron James leaving town to other All-Star players choosing to join LeBron in Cleveland. I guess the reality that LeBron isn't leaving as a free agent is finally starting to sink in. Now it's time for another dose of reality to sink in.
Yao Ming isn't going anywhere.
Sure, the Cavaliers have Chinese investors. Chinese companies have also invested heavily in partnerships with the Houston Rockets and the community of Houston. Chinese investors probably own a number of the houses in your neighborhood . . .or maybe they own your apartment complex. We've been selling our mountain of debt to the Chinese to help pay for our misadventures in Iraq, and the Chinese are using those dollars to buy anything that's not nailed down in the US of A.
So much for the over-simplified economics lesson. The point is, there are going to be more and more Chinese investors in the NBA (the Nets are talking with China's PEAK shoes about buying 20% of the team) and Yao Ming can't play for all of them. Now let's talk basketball.
The Houston Rockets expect to sign Yao Ming to a maximum contract extension at the earliest possible opportunity. The one hang up is rumored to involved Yao's camp, which doesn't necessarily like the fact that Tracy McGrady overshadows Yao when people talk about the Rockets. They want Yao to be the star of the show, and with McGrady gone he would certainly be . . .if he's not already. That's also why you're hearing so many McGrady trade rumors. His departure might clear the final road block to Yao's re-signing.
That said, if Yao's camp thinks he gets overshadowed by McGrady, imagine how they'd feel with him in Cleveland . . .with marketing phenom and media darling LeBron James. Nothing Yao Ming could ever do would make him the star of LeBron's team.
"I've already been with Houston for such a long time, I still have much affection for this team," Yao said in the interview. "Moreover, this past season we were very successful, and that let me see some hope."
At the end of the day, the only thing holding Yao Ming back from realizing his dream of winning an NBA championship is his own health. Last season the Rockets went on their historic 22-straight games despite losing Yao and then pushed the Jazz to the limit in the playoffs before Rafer Alston's injury broke the team. This year they were one win away from the Western Conference Finals after losing Yao in the second round, and arguably could have been in the Finals if Yao had stayed healthy.
Yao doesn't have to go to Cleveland to win a championship - he can get one in Houston if he stays healthy.
So what's left on the Yao-to-Cleveland side of the board?
Nothing.
You're going to hear a lot more about Yao going to Cleveland until that contract extension is signed, but don't start looking for Yao Ming Cavaliers jerseys any time soon. He'll be in Houston for the foreseeable future, and probably for his entire NBA career.
Colangelo Talks Bosh Extension
The other story that has dominated headlines over the last few weeks is the situation in Toronto, where Chris Bosh has the option to re-sign with the Raptors this summer or become a free agent in 2010 and test the waters of unrestricted free agency. Bosh, along with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, made sure his contract was structured in such a way as to give him complete freedom in 2010, and he has maintained that that is, indeed, his intention. Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo was on The Fan 590 in Toronto today, and he addressed this situation again.
"We'll have the discussion, we'll talk about the pros and the cons, he'll most likely not sign it, and then we'll get in to next season, we'll figure out where we are. In respect to the situation for him, there will be a handful of teams next year - I'm guessing between five and ten - which will have maximum allowable free agent money, which means Chris is subject to walk to one of those deals. But, I have to reiterate the point that keeps being overlooked - we're the only team that can offer him a full six years versus five years, 10.5% increases versus 8% increases, which basically equates to a $30 million difference. So, even if he wants to leave, he's still better served, and we're better served if he works a sign-and-trade with us where we can get some sort of an asset back from the team that he's going to. And, I think that's probably the thing that we'll both push for because he'll benefit from it and we'll benefit from it, and that's why it's probably not time to panic now and make a bad deal."
It's highly unlikely, then, that we see any movement with Chris Bosh and the Raptors this summer. He's probably not going to ink an extension, and he most certainly won't be traded. On the other hand, the Raptors have extended an offer to guard Carlos Delfino, which Colangelo also discussed.
"He basically got 2.85 million net Euros (when he left the NBA to play in Europe) that was the equivalent of about $8.5 - $9 million US deal. So you can see where there's a discrepancy in dollars of about $5 million US gross and it was too much for him to walk away from. Now, he's been there a year, he's played under those circumstances, and he's said, 'You know what? I wanna be back in the NBA.' He's going to leave a lot of money on the table… I've been kind of putting him on my roster depth charts with semi-removable ink. He's a guy that I think we can get the deal done if we want to get it done."
Colangelo was also surprisingly candid about who the Raptors are looking at in regard to next week's NBA Draft. Most execs are playing things pretty close to the vest, but Colangelo spelled out exactly what the Raptors are looking at and who might fit their needs.
"We're looking really at the guard and wing position; a couple of point guards, a couple of wings, and maybe one small forward that we'd be looking at. The two wings would be DeMar DeRozan and Gerald Henderson, the two point guards would be Jrue Holiday, and Jonny Flynn, and you're probably looking at James Johnson as a possibility who was a great player at Wake Forest this past year, came out early and he's another talented player we would consider there."
Catch Colangelo's entire interview with The Fan 590 here!
Ellis Isn't Demanding A Trade
Recent reports out of Oakland have suggested that Golden State Warriors point guard Monta Ellis might just demand a trade if the Warriors draft a point guard with the seventh pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. After all, the seventh pick is going to garner a great deal of playing time, and could potentially be a threat to start. Ellis recently had a meeting with Warriors head coach Don Nelson, which started the trade demand rumors, but today on KNBR in San Francisco Ellis said he wouldn't dream of leaving Oakland, regardless of the draft.
"Hell, nah! I was here for the last six years, I'm here for the next five from now. I'm a Golden State Warrior, I'm gonna be a Warrior, and hopefully one day I can retire a Warrior. But right now, I'm a Golden State Warrior - I'm not thinking about leaving, it hasn't come across my mind, all I wanna do is win. You know, that's all I really can say. I don't know where it's come out to be, but I'm here right now to set the record straight, that never came from me. I'm a Warrior, and you don't have to worry about the number 8 and Monta Ellis being in a Warriors' uniform right now."
The meeting was actually a very positive one, according to Ellis, who was never quite on the same page with Nelson last season.
"It's actually gonna help us a lot. Me and Coach getting on the same page, not going through what we went through last year. Being more of a backup to each other - when I need to back him up, I'm gonna back him up; when I need him to back me up, he gonna back me up. And, really just setting goals to be a better team for next year. It starts with coach and on down to me, Jack (Stephen Jackson), and the rest of the guys, but everybody have to be on the same page and that meeting really put us on the same page."
Finally, Ellis talked about the widespread perception that he's not a true NBA point guard.
"Only thing I can tell you, you'll see more this year than you ever seen before. That's all I can say. I'm not gonna go back and forth with people tell me what I can and can't do. That's been said to me all my life, and I've proved them wrong, but I'm just gonna focus on what I need to do as a player to be that leader that everybody wants me to be."
Whether or not the Warriors can return to some level of respectability in 2009-10 will very much depend on the play on Monta Ellis, regardless of who they wind up drafting. Fans in Oakland can take heart that this recent meeting between coach and floor leader went so well, and that perhaps the two can work together now to get back to postseason play.
Gotta Have Twitter?
As we prepare for next week's NBA Draft and then free agency, I've decided to start a Twitter page as another means to keep everyone up to date on where HOOPSWORLD is and what we're doing. You can follow HOOPSWORLD by going here: twitter.com/hoopsworld, and now you can follow me by going here: twitter.com/TheRocketGuy. Enjoy!
NBA Chat Tomorrow!
Join NBA and NCAA analyst Yannis Koutroupis this Saturday at 1 pm EST for his weekly chat in which basketball questions from all levels are welcomed. The draft is under a week away, giving everyone plenty to talk about. Drop your questions in now!
