Yao might (or might not) opt out of final year with Rockets
Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, who will miss the entire 2009-10 NBA season, says he's "not sure" whether he'll become a free agent after this season, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Although he would earn $17.7 million with Houston next season, the current collective bargaining agreement could make it more lucrative to sign a long-term deal this off-season compared with what is expected to be in place after next season.
“I'm sure I'm not sure until after we discuss (it),” Yao said. “We have not started (to) discuss it yet, so I'm not sure, either way. I have to talk to my agent first before we start to decide where I need to go. If you ask my agent, he will say, ‘I have to ask Yao and we will start discussing it.'”
When healthy, Ming is one of the elite centers in basketball as he has averaged just under 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks per game over his career.
That said, the big (and obvious) concern with Yao is his health. Not only will he attempt to return from a foot surgery that sidelined him for the entire season, he has missed 25 games (or more) in four of the past five seasons. And Yao isn't expected to begin on-court workouts until July.
