HOUSTON-The Houston Rockets thought they had become championship contenders last summer when they acquired Ron Artest to join Tracy Mcgrady and Yao Ming, a pair of perennial all stars.
Less than a year later, the Rockets are rebuilding from scratch with no Artest and no idea when McGrady or Yao will play again.
The final blow came Friday, when Yao announced he would have surgery next week on his broken left foot, a decision that will likely keep him out all of next season. The team said there is no timetable set for the return of the 7’6” Yao, a seven time all star, but that he is “expected to be available for the team’s training camp in 2010.”
McGrady, also a seven-time all star, could be sidelined until next February as he recovers from risky micro fracture surgery on his left knee.
Artest? He said at the end of last season that he wanted to stay in Houston-but only if he left the Rockets had a legitimate chance to win the National Basketball Association title. He’s now getting ready to play with Kobe Bryant and the NBA champion Lakers after singing a multi-year deal a few days after the start of the free agency negotiating period.
The Rockets knew some of this was coming, asking the NBA for a disabled player exception several weeks before free agency began. The NBA granted the rockets’ request, an acknowledgment that the league doubted Yao would play next season. The team promptly used the money to land forward Trevor Ariza from the Lakers.
But that’s small solace to Rockets fan and general manager Daryl Morey, who called the 28-year-old Yao the franchise’s “cornerstone” just a month ago.
