Yao Done for the Season (maybe his Career)?

[PosImpos]

Terrible news for a great ambassador of the game. Really sorry to hear this news. I'd love to be able to pick up Battier in a salary dump type move for the Rockets but I seriously doubt we have anything they want other than Rondo and Rondo shouldn't be headed out of town for a downgrade at the PG position and a great backup.

Sadly that is exactly the type of trade people seem to want.....

Well, maybe it wouldn't have to be Rondo.

I'm not saying this is necessarily a good trade, but what if we traded Ray along with a couple other guys in a sign and trade for Battier and Artest and maybe Scola? 

Trading Ray and the rest of our expiring guys plus maybe Walker or Giddens (saving the Rockets a ton of money this season while allowing them to stay an okay team) and getting back some solid pieces in return could be worth looking into. 

If we could get Artest and Battier on our team we'd be monstrously good defensively and be much better equipped to deal with guys like Kobe / LeBron.  We'd also have our backup SF in Artest (or Battier if Artest started at SG).

It's also possible we could trade Ray and get McGrady and Battier in return plus maybe one or two other guys like Von Wafer.  We wouldn't be as good to start the season but once McGrady comes back it's possible we could be just as good if not better.

[acieEarl]

Yao is done for good. Second time this happen. His body is too big. Mark my word. He might be back for a sec, but he's all done.

[Prof. Clutch]

Well, maybe it wouldn't have to be Rondo.

I'm not saying this is necessarily a good trade, but what if we traded Ray along with a couple other guys in a sign and trade for Battier and Artest and maybe Scola? 

Trading Ray and the rest of our expiring guys plus maybe Walker or Giddens (saving the Rockets a ton of money this season while allowing them to stay an okay team) and getting back some solid pieces in return could be worth looking into. 

If we could get Artest and Battier on our team we'd be monstrously good defensively and be much better equipped to deal with guys like Kobe / LeBron.  We'd also have our backup SF in Artest (or Battier if Artest started at SG).

It's also possible we could trade Ray and get McGrady and Battier in return plus maybe one or two other guys like Von Wafer.  We wouldn't be as good to start the season but once McGrady comes back it's possible we could be just as good if not better.

You know, I think about all those clutch shots Ray has hit for us the last two years.  How he is this safety blanket that makes you feel like you've still got a great shot at coming back at the end of a game even if you're down 3.  And I just cringe at the idea of trading him.

That being said, I think you're really on to something here.  I think if the opportunity presented itself to acquire both Artest and Battier, you would have to grab ahold of it and never look back.  It would be amazing to put a team like that out on the floor.  I think Artest can indeed play the two, and having Battier to come off the bench where he could play at the 2 or 3 would give us limitless options.  It's seems more like a pipe dream, but man would it be amazing to make that trade.

I'd be interested to hear your guys thoughts on some legitimate trades that could net us these guys?

[RAcker]

Terrible news and I feel for Yao Ming.  However, I agree with those that speculate that it may be time for the Rockets under these dire circumstances to blow that team up and start over.

[2short]

Wow. Bad news. Ilgauskas had a 3-4 year stretch of major foot problems and has been mostly injury free for the last 4-5 years. So, it's possible for Yao to comeback. But I think the odds are against him. I was starting to think he might become one of the great ones. Now, I'm not sure he'll get a chance to prove his greatness...

Man of his size the injury does not sound promising.  Makes me think of old friend Bill Walton who could have been considered one of the best if not the best of all time before injuries killed his career.

[Drucci]

Horrible news, I hope Yao plays next year and that this is not the end of his career... but unfortunately it sounds really bad.

[johnnyrondo]

Wow. Bad news. Ilgauskas had a 3-4 year stretch of major foot problems and has been mostly injury free for the last 4-5 years. So, it's possible for Yao to comeback. But I think the odds are against him. I was starting to think he might become one of the great ones. Now, I'm not sure he'll get a chance to prove his greatness...

Man of his size the injury does not sound promising.  Makes me think of old friend Bill Walton who could have been considered one of the best if not the best of all time before injuries killed his career.

I see Yao one day on the Celtics playing the '85/86 Bill Walton role and backing up Perk as he wins his NBA title in green.

[Arok325]

I feel bad for Yao who is clearly a talented big man.  Unfortunately I also think that Yi will now get all of Yao's votes for the All-Star game from the Chinese fans...

[greg_kite]

I agree with Prof Clutch about Ray.

Why should the Rockets rebuild though?  Didn't they bring the Lakers to 7 after being down 2-1 after Yao went down?  This is still a decent team without him.  They didn't even have T-Mac either.  If they can turn his expiring contract into something like Camby and Kaman then I would think they're right in the thick of things again.  It's too early to rebuild now.  Brooks, Artest, Battier, Scola and Landry are a decent core.  Yao's insured contract could also come into play as a valuable asset.  Potentially $40 million in insured contracts could bring back better talent than regular expiring contracts.

[PosImpos]

I feel bad for Yao who is clearly a talented big man.  Unfortunately I also think that Yi will now get all of Yao's votes for the All-Star game from the Chinese fans...

Hahahaha what a joke that'd be

[guava_wrench]

I feel bad for Yao who is clearly a talented big man.  Unfortunately I also think that Yi will now get all of Yao's votes for the All-Star game from the Chinese fans...

Hahahaha what a joke that'd be

Don't forget about Sun Yue as a write-in

[RebusRankin]

Sad, sad, sad. Always liked Yao.

Wonder if we can get Battier or Artest?

[Actionjakson]

When you're that big bad injuries are inevitable. That is a whole lotta weight to be placed on those feet.

Players like Shaq are lucky. He must be in extremely good shape.

It is very unfortunate for yao though. I liked him as a player

[hwangjini_1]

這是哀傷的信息 

[johnnyrondo]

這是哀傷的信息 

What he said...



Wait, what did he say?