A few years back I made a prediction that I'm sorry to say has apparently come to pass. On this site, I reported that a friend of mine, who happened to be both a hooper and a distinguished orthopedic surgeon, diagnosed Yao as suffering from a condition known as gigantism.
Because of the "overgrowth" of his bones and the subsequent insufficiency of an adequate blood supply, Yao was therefore extremely vulnerable to various fractures. Indeed, his career has been devastated by exactly these infirmities.
Draft a big: Oops, too late. Jermaine Taylor and Sergio Llull are guards. And at a too-timid 6-foot-7, Chase Budinger would ordinarily be a long-shot to make the team's rotation.
In fact, given that a sign-and-trade involving Artest isn't fruitful, there's only one option that makes sense: Clean house, free up as much cap room as possible, and then be a big-time player in the zillion-dollar free-agent market a year from now.
That means getting whatever they can for T-Mac: an expiring veteran with an expiring contract, a future draft pick, or some talented bench-bound youngster who hasn't shown any signs of fulfilling his potential.
That also means bearing the pain of trading Battier.
Brooks and Landry, however, are keepers — just in case a surprise package falls into their laps and the Rockets can still see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
However, no matter how skillfully the Rockets can wheel and deal in the next few months, that light is likely to be the headlight of an onrushing train.
