June 7, 2002, 12:11AM Enduring Yao growing pains could be worth it By FRAN BLINEBURY Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle LOS ANGELES -- The only thing anybody knows for certain about the negotiations for Yao Ming is that by the time they're over, the Rockets front office will have done more twists, turns and tumbles than the Chinese acrobats who used to appear on the The Ed Sullivan Show. Who exactly is representing Yao and what does the 7-5 bundle of mystery and intrigue want? As important, if not more so, what do the Chinese Basketball Association and the Shanghai Sharks want? The rumor mill, as you might expect, is hotter than Hunan cooking, even in the midst of the NBA Finals. There has been talk of the Sharks demanding the Rockets send them a player to take Yao's place. But as tempting as it might be to stuff Kelvin Cato into an extra large FedEx box, this is a time for diplomacy, not insults. They get cable in Asia. Will the Sharks insist the Rockets play exhibition games in China? There were whispers that last year the general manager was saying the price for allowing Yao to go to the NBA was a brand spanking new arena for his Sharks. Maybe they could even call the place East Minute Maid Park, where the players are juiced and the customers are squeezed. But that's a story for another day. The question that keeps coming up is whether all of the diplomatic gymnastics are worth it to secure the rights to a player who will most definitely need time to adjust to a new culture, a wholly different style of play and who will likely come away from his first several encounters with Shaquille O'Neal with more bruises than if he had fallen off the Great Wall. The answer, of course, reveals as much about the questioner. To see Shaq and the Lakers headed toward their third straight championship is enough to make the knees of any NBA opponent quiver, especially if you live in the Western Conference. It is only natural to see the Lakers hit the cruise-control button and assume they'll have a lock on all those gold trophies until around 2012. But does that mean you shorten your reach and settle for being part of the crowd? And is that making a too grand assumption that Shaq is going to stick around for another decade with his strutting buddy Kobe Bryant? O'Neal says he can't wait to introduce Yao to one of his American-style elbows and see how the Chinese center's career develops from there. Yet another question might be how far Shaq wants to go with his own career in light of this troubled, often-disinterested season that is nearing an end? The easy solution for the Rockets is to trade the No. 1 pick for a combination of lower draft choices and bodies and leave the game of politics as someone else's problem. The coward's way out is to say Shaq is going to be dominant in the middle for the foreseeable future, so why bother to try to go through him? Because he can be pushed. He can be tested. The Kings did it. He can eventually be conquered. All of them can. To concede the Lakers the next dozen or so championships -- even the next one in 2003 -- is to disrespect yourself and the game. Especially when you see the difficulties Shaq has encountered. Don't count on O'Neal and Yao battling for years. Having turned 30 in March, there are indications Shaq's body is on the verge of betraying him. After reporting to training camp overweight at the start of last season, he vowed to get down to 290 -- his rookie weight -- this year. But at the start of workouts, he had pain in his left little toe that required surgery. Thus, no offseason workouts. He reported to camp heavy again and then his right big toe began hurting with arthritis. Shaq never got into shape, now weighs upwards of 350 pounds and carries a demeanor that says he is tired of it all. He complains about double-teaming defenses. He gripes about being fouled. He has told teammates that he'll play only two more years and then leave. Not coincidentally, that is when coach Phil Jackson's contract is up. O'Neal no longer has the same fire. He plays only in spurts. Maybe that is only natural. Maybe Michael Jordan was the exception. Either way, it's hard to envision an even grumpier Shaq still doing this at 36 or 38. Remember, Shaq didn't win a title until his eighth NBA season. Same for Jordan. It took Hakeem Olajuwon 10. By that time, how far could Yao and the Rockets have come? Like the Chinese acrobats, sometimes you have to take the tumble. As much as you don't like him, even the supporters of Ming must agree.
Yeah, color me surprised. That was actually a pretty good Fran article. Of course, maybe he is just buttering his bread early so he can hope to get another quote source on the Rockets team for the next 10 years or so. The Cato part was funny, and I really laughed at the East Minute Maid joke.
i enjoyed the read. i really think that with shaqs injuries and extra 50lbs, guarding ming out by the 18-20ft mark will be very tough. not to mention yao's ability to put it on the floor, and move with out the ball.
What, you meant that Fran can actually write a decent article, some around here will be shocked. Oh, good article !! DaDakota
I liked the gist of the article, but the references to Chinese acrobats and the Great Wall and Hunan cooking really irritated me. They just seemed completely superfluous, serving no purpose but to emphasize for the umpteenth time that golly gee, Yao is Chinese. How freaking exotic. I know I way overreact to this stuff, but I e-mailed Blinebury my thoughts anyway.
