NJRocket, typo...his name is Li Yaomin. No "g". heech, do you want me to show you all the different titles that have been attributed to Li Yaomin. I've seen, GM, assistant to the GM, vice GM, and now yours. By contrast, I have only seen Bai Li referred to as the GM, until now...now he is "President." Also, Li Yaomin was not mentioned in the new article...yet Bai Li and a new "GM" was. imo, Li Yaomin (an ex-journalist) is merely the communication director for the Sharks. I've seen him make statements about the question of Ming entering last year's draft, then have to recant. I seriously doubt he is a "signature" person in these deals. chinese, I agree 100%. This is just standard, and we have the NBA "no trade" rule to win this itty-bitty "request."
Anybody wonder if Kraus maybe slipped him some cash to grease the wheels a bit for negotiations? This particular person has a clear bias towards the Bulls. Is there any chance there is anything to that coming from the fact that Kraus has obviously been to, or spoken with, this gentleman? I never though the bulls were that hard up for Ming. Maybe they can do some kind of deal to get something very good out of this situation.
I have just ONE question. If the Chinese Government wants Ming to play for the Rockets, can the Shanghai Sharks and Li Yaoming really do anything to stop it? I thought the Chinese Govt. ultimately controls EVERYTHING in China?!
The cultures are different but the ego reveals the inner man... Have the Rockets been able to meet with anyone yet? If Wang really did defect will this effect the deal? Also if Wang defected thats a huge embarrassment to China as he's a National star correct? The gov. has to have some power in this deal esp. if Wang continues to remain MIA- I guess a better way of asking this is will the Chinese Gov. use its influence to nix or change Mings NBA team fearing a Ming defection.
I just found this article from the People's Daily, that seems to depict different atitudes from the people who control the Sharks. The first quote comes from Club Director Bai Lee: These quotes show a man who is clearly basing his decision on what is best for Yao Ming. On the other hand, the infamous General Manager Li Yaomin followed with this: This includes the infamous 'we want American players' statements which have been difficult to directly attribute with a quote. I agree that if one were to view this from an American perspective, it'd be very easy to determine that Li Yaomin would probably not have much actual control, but then again, in the US, a basketball team would never be run by a politician and artist who had no intrest in basketball. Who has the final word? The GM or the President? I think that's where the question lies. It seems that it would be Bai Li, as all of the information about Yao Ming not entering last year's draft describes him at the time as the General Manager, while Li Yaomin is described as the Assistant General Manager. Perhaps our Chinses friends could enlighten us as to whether they think the president of the Sharks would deligate the actual negotiations to Li Yaomin?
If the senior leadership of the government really felt this was necessary, put their foot down... of course they'd get their way with Yao Ming. The legal system is still weak and heavily influenced by political considerations, and all officials (including many business executives) are ultimately appointees... their careers can be put at risk for resisting. At the very least, they could call out the PLA to restrain Li Yaomin while Yao catches his plane to Houston. But that's not going to happen. This is a fun little project that China cares about, but not enough that the senior leadership is going to bend rules and micro-manage in order to make it happen. China is *not* a totalitarian state any longer. Decisions are ultimately result-driven. If the Shanghai Sharks are profitable, if there is no international embarassment... Li Yaomin (or whoever) will have great room to do whatever it is they want to do.
I know 1.Supply Yao with a work Visa 2. Smuggle him into the country 3.The Rockets sign him to a seven year contract 4.When the contract is up he becomes a free citizen
1. The NBA collective barganing agreement limits the first contract of 1st round draft picks to 3 years w/ an option year. 2. When someone with David Faulk tried to get Yao Ming to 'defect' a while back, he got so pissed, that he issued a statement through the NBA league office that he would never use David Faulk as his agent.
Hello, I agree with Heech. Thanks for adding to my post. I don't trust Krause and Li. Li could be the puppet of Krause for all we know.
