http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootball/2009/05/can_the_rockets_afford_to_keep.html

Can the Rockets afford to keep Yao Ming?

I'm back in town from my vacation in Blue Ridge, Ga., and Atlanta. Did I miss anything? What's that you say? Yao Ming is out for the year for the third time in four years? Wow, how shocking.

Let's just kick off some real talk, can we? I talked about the possibility of trading Yao Ming back in November and I still feel the same way now that I did then. Yao had, has and will have foot problems. That's a scientific fact. He has failed to finish the season in three of the last four years and continues to have significant injury issues with his lower extremities. So do you keep on riding the big man even though you know that the chances are that he won't finish a season healthy?

Here are more scientific facts:

• Yao can opt out of his contract next year and if he does, he will want a max dollar contract for at least five years. Do you want to give him a deal near $100 million?

• Yao is a very good player and an incredibly skilled big man on the offensive end, but quick, rangy defenders can front Yao and take him out of the offense. He's very good, but he's not an NBA superstar.

• Yao is a very average defender and has trouble on defense against teams who have centers who can step away from the basket.

Yao will not be traded because he means too much to Les Alexander and the Rockets from a financial standpoint. And if you want to know the truth, Yao is one off the reasons I love this Rockets team. He plays hard, he's loyal, he works hard and his toughness and competitiveness is highly underrated.

With all that said, if the right deal came along, you would have to at least listen to a deal for Yao. His injuries issues are going to get worse and not better. If you give Yao a max deal, you are committed to him for at least five more years at a huge amount of money. If you're the Rockets, can you afford to make that kind of commitment?