[Feigen's Blog] Yao's Special Circumstances, late arrival

http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2007/09/yaos_sp...tances_lat.html</p>

Feigen posted a blog entry about Yao missing the first three days of training camp (including media day, Oct 1). It's kind of hard to be mad at Yao over this. He writes, "With Yao, you try to understand. He means so much to so many, he serves many. But beyond that, he is so unrelentingly dedicated that he earns the benefit of the doubt with his work ethic. Anyone that has watched his off-season workouts, beginning almost as soon as last season ended, would argue that he has built up a great deal of sweat equity."</p>

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Some Q/As for this blog:</p>

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TheRealPrivate writes: Was Yao attempting to get out of his Special Olympic's obligation and this why he took so long to mention to Morey that he would be late to training camp?</p>

The Real Private</p>

(I don't know that I would term it an obligation. His agent has not returned calls yet, but I don't think at this point they would say he wanted to get out of it even if he did. I think there were a lot of talks in China last week, some including Morey. When the mayor of Shanghai got involved, it was a very big deal. I would guess Morey said the Rockets understood, but could not allow him to be late without a fine. This was not, however, sudden news to Morey on Thursday. Besides me asking for the past week or so, he had been talking to Yao and his representatives. I just think it became official in the past day or so. -- Jonathan)</p>

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mutalu writes: why is yao being fined? when we drafted him, we knew that there would be special circumstances like this. it seems unfair.</p>

(Would it not be unfair to say other players must be there on time, but one does not? Even though the cause is worthy, players are expected to schedule those efforts in a way that would not prevent them from their team responsibilities, just as a player cannot schedule a Habitat for Humanity function or a fund-raising event for a time he is supposed to be at practice. -- Jonathan)</p>

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T4real writes: PS: Is Bonzi coming to camp in decent shape?</p>

(That's what we're hearing. -- Jonathan)</p>

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Joshua writes: Why are they training in Austin? Did Les find a way to make some money renting out the practice facility at Toyota Center?</p>

(Many teams hold camp out of town -- the Lakers go to Maui -- to make the camp feel special compared to usual practices. The Rockets' one, cramped practice court is nowhere near as suited to a camp as the UT facility. -- Jonathan)</p>

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J writes: Jonathan, do you know, are the camp practices ever open? That is, could I take my kids to see the Rockets practice in Austin?</p>

(Practices in Austin are closed to the public. There is an open practice Oct. 8 at Toyota Center. -- Jonathan)</p>

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David writes: You said the Rockets must fine Yao. Do you mean that literally. Is the team compelled by the NBA to do this?</p>

(I don't know if they absolutely must by league rules, but probably, especially for missing media day. But I meant that they must fine him even the relatively small amount because teams must establish that players have to limit their work on even such worthwhile causes to those that don't interfere with scheduled responsibilities. If not, players can then choose to attend functions during practice times, or arrive late for pregame or flights. And I have heard today that Yao and his representatives are completely on board with that. If anything, the Rockets might prefer to have let it slide given the good cause, but it was worth the relatively small fine -- again, the league makes the bigger deal of media day than do the teams -- to them and him to help him set the limits on what is asked of him. - Jonathan)</p>

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David writes: I think it is appropriate to donate Yao's fine to the Special Olympics. To do otherwise is reprehensible.</p>

I would tell Stern or Alexander that they will be spending that money in the commissary in Hell.</p>

(All NBA fines go to charity. Special Olympics is one of the league's charities. Obviously, neither Stern nor Alexander actually see, much less keep, fine money for themselves. -- Jonathan)</p>

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Rocketman writes: hey jonathan i got a question i saw that the bucks matched bell offer i think what they are doing is keeping him for trade bit because of his value instead of just letting him go he already said he dont want to be there what u think</p>

p.s this is one of the few non rockets question i just realized</p>

(They more likely will hope to put hard negotiations behind them, but it has been known to happen the way you describe. Several years ago, the Rockets signed Marc Jackson to an offer sheet. The Warriors matched solely to deal him later. -- Jonathan)</p>

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Jai writes: Can Snyder Play SF? or is he more suited to play SG... btw, what are your thoughts on his potential... I always thought he could end up into a real contributor; just wondering why he hasn't developed that much? is it his attitude? team?</p>

thanks,
Appreciate it!</p>

Jai</p>

(He can certainly play small forward, and since he has been in Houston, his attitude has been fine. He has been very mistake-prone -- missed assignments, that sort of thing -- here, but with his injury and his subsequent place in the rotation last season, he did not play enough to really reach a conclusion. Athletically, he does have a lot of potential. -- Jonathan)</p>

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Bryan writes: With Miami unable to obtain bell's services, do you think Miami might be desparate to take Rafer Alston off the Rocket's Hands? Haslem for Rafer is a pipe dream.</p>

Any other teams you know are desparate for PG depth?</p>

(So far, they have not been desperate enough, but Cleveland needs a point, too. -- Jonathan)</p>

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Bob writes: Sorry that I missed a few questions on my previous post :
1) last season Wells had missed a lot of training sessions, had he been fined by the orgaziation. If not, if we fine Yao only because he is assumed to be the leader of the players.
2) Jon, if U were Yao, what would be your choice and how would U react to the fine(assumed U have the same choice as Yao) ?</p>

(Wells was fined for some unexcused absences. The time he missed in Austin was because of injury, and he was there. I would like to think I would make the same choice as Yao. -- Jonathan)</p>

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Insane, Obsessive fan writes: Would you say Yao Ming is a playmaker?</p>

(He can be described that way, but usually that is used to describe someone that gets a team into the offense and initiates scoring chances. He draws attention, which create opportunities, but that is not how 'playmaker' is generally used. -- Jonathan)</p>

 

bump. more Q/As added. See first post.

 

bump. more Q/As added. See first post.</p>