It was a sad day when I heard that one of my favourite players in the world of Basketball, Yao Ming, would be missing the entire 2009/10 season, and potentially the rest of his career due to continuous injury.
First things first, I love Yao and I now know (much like I suspect the Rockets do) that his body is just not made to carry the beatings he puts it through, all with the weight of a billion plus Chinese on his shoulders.
I’ll never forget seeing him play just metres in front of my eyes, something I’ll cherish even more now that his road back to playing again will be as long as his family tree.
My final word on Yao –
Who is just the biggest person I have ever, ever seen? Yao Ming, hands down... Funny moment prior to the China v Italy game (pictured above) as he was announced and ran out, an Italian fan screamed out an almighty, "Mamma Mia!"... Couldn’t have said it better myself.
The last thing I expected was to hear that his replacement of sorts at the Houston Rockets was to be Victorian, Australian Boomer and former Wollongong Hawk, David Andersen.
After such a crappy run of luck for Aussies in the league, it seems we have reached the tipping point as it were, and Andersen is set to live his dream of playing significant minutes in the NBA for a definite Western Conference contender.
The struggles of Boomers Andrew Bogut, Mills, Ingles, Jawai, Newley and co have dampened the prospects of consistent Australian NBA recognition and visibility in the best league in the world.
But with the news of David Andersen, finally being recognised for his winning legacy in Europe, things are once again looking up.
The big news is documented here…
Andersen Arrives in Houston to Sign Contract
By MARK BERMAN
and here...
Rockets eye new import at center
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Rockets GM, Daryl Morey explained the acquisition of Andersen to the Houston Media, in this statement below.
What does new addition, David Andersen, bring to your team? Are you concerned with his age and the fact he’s never played in the NBA?
“We feel like he’s at a good age actually. People are focusing I think on how old he is, but he’s 29, we’re gonna sign him to probably a 3-year deal with some options for the Rockets at the end of it. We feel like he’s just a good player, he’s a good player at a good price; we’re gonna have to win with $40 million sitting on the sidelines for much of the year this year. So, we’re having to be value players and we think David can give us a lot of quality minutes this year, and then Yao Ming comes back next year, we think of him as a very good backup at the five and at the four. And, I think he’s gonna be another guy the fans love - he plays hard, he’s a winner, he’s won seven straight championships with his seven straight teams in Europe. We scouted the globe, we didn’t like our options at a center among the US free agents, so that’s why we were pretty aggressive with Atlanta to get his rights.”
Posts
