Yao's health questions ground Rockets' plans
Yao Ming tried to put on a brave face that fateful night in the Houston Rockets' locker room. He sat for a long time in a chair in front of his locker, his left foot discolored and swollen from what turned out to be another fractured bone.
Another crack in the great wall that is -- or was -- Yao.
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| Has 7-6 All-Star center Yao Ming played his last game in the NBA? (Getty Images) |
This was after Game 3 of the conference semifinals against the Lakers, a game -- not to mention a series -- the Rockets were threatening to win until Yao couldn't make it up and down the floor anymore. And now that could be the last game Yao plays for the Rockets for some time.
The Rockets' team doctor, Tom Clanton, confirmed a doomsday report by Yahoo! Sports on Monday that the hairline fracture Yao suffered that night "could be career threatening," according to the Houston Chronicle. It is the latest in a long list of crushing injuries suffered by the great Chinese center, proof of the simple fact that human feet are not intended to propel a man that size up and down a basketball court for very long.
• Yao might miss next season, doctor says
The Rockets and their capable general manager, Daryl Morey, aren't commenting on Yao's prognosis beyond the pre-draft admission last week that the bone hasn't healed and that Yao is out "indefinitely." But the sudden change of direction put into motion last Tuesday and Wednesday by Morey is all the proof you need to grasp the gravity of the situation.
In the 48 hours leading up to last Thursday night's NBA Draft, Morey suddenly began adding names to the obvious one on his roster that was available. Tracy McGrady, another broken-down former superstar, most certainly was available, along with his $23 million expiring contract and a knee that recently underwent microfracture surgery. No news there. But then Morey, who had no first-round picks, began making serious attempts to obtain a high lottery pick. He floated heretofore untouchable names like Shane Battier, Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry.
His attempts rebuffed, Morey went about the smart business of buying three second-round picks, which is a very Rocket-like way to build. But the news Monday about Yao, who could miss a significant portion or all of the 2009-10 season, only reinforced what executives around the league had identified as a notably un-Rocket-like approach.
"On Tuesday or Wednesday, I think they got wind of the fact that something wasn't right and [Yao's injury] could be a long-term problem," one rival executive said Monday night. "They were very aggressive in trying to get a high pick. I think they don't know if he's out for the season or what's going to happen. There's a lot of question marks."
The biggest one towers over the franchise. Yao is a gifted, dominant post player unlike any other in the game, and he can't possibly endure many more physical setbacks like this one. Over the past four seasons, Yao has broken his left foot three times and his right leg once. Yao is crumbling under the weight of the NBA's brutality and his obligations to the Chinese national team, leaving those close to him wondering if he will ever play again.
The bottom line for the Rockets is that they don't know, and that's the worst possible predicament to face with your franchise building block in the hours before free agency begins at midnight Wednesday. The sheer uncertainty changes the game for Morey, who was simply hoping to re-sign Ron Artest, dump McGrady and take another run at the Lakers.
Artest has repeatedly expressed a willingness to return to Houston, even if it meant accepting less money than other suitors were offering. He is nothing if not loyal, and Artest felt obligated to repay the Rockets for their willingness to embrace his talents and reputation for combustion.
But with no idea when Yao will play again, it hardly makes sense for the Rockets to invest $8 million a year or more in Artest, whose fondness for Houston might likewise be trumped by his desire to win a title. Artest made no effort to disguise his presence at Lakers home games during the NBA Finals, sitting with his wife, Kimsha, in the front row in the first two seats under the basket.
The desire to move McGrady, too, might succumb to the more sensible position of reaping the benefits of his contract coming off Houston's books after next season. But decisions can only be put off for so long. At some point, Morey might have to choose between adding complementary pieces and giving up core players for a run at a superstar to replace Yao -- all without knowing Yao's prognosis.
Team officials are waiting for a consensus among several specialists who are scheduled to examine Yao. The choices range from giving the bone more time to heal to prescribing a more radical surgery, such as inserting a second pin into the foot, performing a bone graft or repositioning the foot to alleviate stress, Clanton told the Chronicle.Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas, whose career began with a litany of foot injuries, at one point underwent the latter procedure and had good results.
With Yao, concern hinges on the fact that not only has the break not healed since May 8, but it has gotten worse. The hairline fracture has "extended across the bone," said Clanton, who termed the results of the CT scan "shocking" because Yao had not been feeling any pain or symptoms.
Just like that, like a hairline fracture spreading across the most famous foot in a country of 1.3 billion people, news of Yao's latest dose of terrible luck spread across the NBA and across the globe. It leaves you wondering if the memory of Yao, grimacing as he courageously limped up and down the floor near the end of that fateful Game 3 loss to the Lakers, was the end of the line.
