Thursday, June 27, 2002
Rockets land their 7-foot-5 prize
The Associated Press
HOUSTON — It's a good thing the pieces fell into place for the Houston Rockets in their efforts to land 7-foot-5 center Yao Ming. “I never had a Plan B,” Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said Wednesday.
“We were focused on this and since everything went so smoothly in China, we felt like there were no roadblocks. Everybody wanted this to happen.”
Rockets attorney Michael Goldberg received a letter early Wednesday clearing the way for Yao to participate in the NBA draft, and the Rockets didn't take long to complete the deal.
“The people we talked to thought it was time for him to come to the NBA,” Dawson said. “There was an exchange of concerns and we thought that it went very well.”
Yao seemed as pleased to be a Rocket as the Rockets were to have him.
“I'm very happy to be with the Houston Rockets. Hi Houston. I'm coming,” Yao said in his only English comment.
Yao spoke mostly through an interpreter. He was looking forward to playing for coach Rudy Tomjanovich.
“Eight years ago, the Rockets were the first team I saw win the NBA championship,” Yao said. “They are a very exciting team to watch.”
Yao said he thinks he'll need to improve his strength and his transition game.
The Rockets built two NBA championships around another foreign-born center, Hakeem Olajuwon. They're ready to begin anew with Yao.
“I couldn't be happier with the whole organization,” Tomjanovich said. “To have a payoff like this and a player like Yao Ming feels great.”
The Rockets reached their goal after three days of intricate negotiations in China among several parties, establishing an atmosphere of trust.
“The assurances we gave each other was that it's a win-win situation,” Goldberg said. “They know with training in the U.S., Yao Ming will become a much better player and help their national team.
“They want what is necessary for the Rockets to win championships here and for China to win championships there.”
Yao will be in the United States with the Chinese national team in August to compete in the world championships at Indianapolis. He will play in the Asian Games in October and the Rockets anticipate he'll miss only about six days of training camp.
Yao averaged 32.4 points, 18.9 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game for the Shanghai Sharks last season. He's a gifted outside shooter, although the Rockets know he must adapt to the rougher play in the NBA.
“We feel very fortunate,” Dawson said. “This has been a crazy month. The minute we got the pick we were all excited. This has been a goal of ours.”
Yao convinced the Rockets he's ready for the NBA. Now he has to prove himself to his new teammates.
“He'll have to fit in with us,” Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley said. “He's a very skilled player and that's fun, and he can pass the ball, too. We'll feel him out after he gets here. I'm sure everything will work out. ... He's the No. 1 pick and he has skills. He's not just your average 7-6 dude.”
The Rockets used the 15th pick in the first round to select Slovenian forward Bostjan Nachbar, who played last season for Benetton Treviso in the Italian League.
“It's been a dream of mine since I first saw the NBA,” Nachbar said. “I love Houston and I'm just happy to be going there.”
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Coming up this week
Rockets land their 7-foot-5 prize 
