Why David Andersen Should Give Houston Rockets Fans Optimism

This will not fill the seats, but here is why you should like it.

The Houston Rockets acquired 6'11" Aussie David Andersen, one of the top centers in Europe, from the Atlanta Hawks Tuesday afternoon for cash, a future draft pick and future considerations, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The obvious needs to be said first: Andersen is no franchise savior. He projects as a backup capable of filling-in as a starter.

Though he was won at the highest levels in Europe and brings to Houston a creative and polished offensive repertoire, he will need to adjust to the game at the NBA level.

His defense will require serious repair. It is full of holes and sure to be exposed as weak and powerless.

Those are things that can be patched up through proper NBA coaching.

The guy works hard, and he will respond to Rick Adelman, Elston Turner, Jack Sikma and the other coaches' demands.

Andersen will want to improve his deficiencies, and he will to a degree.

What should please Houston fans most about this trade, though, is what it suggests about management's expectations for Yao Ming.

A certain hilariously stupid and delusional bigot on this site – who might need medical or psychiatric help – and others are cheering the death of Yao's career.

Not so fast, eternal pessimists.

Many predicted that Yao would injure himself again. I did, too. 

Anyone can see the 7'6" center is injury-prone.

That his season ended or was interrupted by a major injury for the fourth time in four years concerns GM Daryl Morey and Owner Leslie Alexander as much as most think it should.

They know team doctor Jack Clanton's prognosis: that Yao might never play organized basketball again.

They also don't believe in the worst. (Hey, someone has to think positively about the franchise. Why not the people who run it?)

The Rockets signed Trevor Ariza with a $5 to $6 million disability exception, leaving the mid-level exception intact.

Morey would not ask for that injury money if he believed Yao would play this year. He likely will not, but if he does, it will be March, at least, before he steps onto any hardwood and plays against any kind of competition.

The crafty general manager would also not trade for a fill-in import if his plans centered on a replacement strategy.

Tracy McGrady can be replaced. He is a victim of a sheer numbers game.

The number of shooting guards or combo guards/forwards who excel at putting the ball in the hole far exceeds the number of centers who command double teams and possess championship-level talent.

There's this thing called commitment. There's this other thing called faith.

The Andersen signing only reinforces that the Rockets are fans of both.

You can read many of these same sentiments in the Chronicle. You should not think me original.

The Rockets drafted Yao with the first pick in 2002, and they don't plan on his career ending after seven years.

Clanton's "career-threatening" diagnosis was the worst-case scenario. It's always good to know what that is with these Rockets. They seem to get along with misery.

At least one former teammate is convinced Yao will play again, too.

In an interview on a Sacramento radio station, Ron Artest described Yao as one of the toughest guys in the league.

He wasn't referring to brute strength but sheer determination.

It would appear that he saw last year what many others have.

"He'll be back," Artest said.

Why then did the mercurial forward skip town, if he's so convinced the franchise center will return?

Artest saw the opportunity to leave behind the uncertainty and join the defending champions. He had wanted to be a Los Angeles Laker for years.

This was his chance.

Commend him for taking it, even if, like me, you wanted to keep his ballsy toughness in H-Town.

Morey also didn't want to commit to him long-term, given the circumstances.

Artest's declaration about Yao is also based on belief, not medical information or evidence.

The forward should question if his former Chinese teammate will be the victim of forces not under his control.

The Rockets will bring Andersen to Houston, and he will play in some capacity on opening night.

He will score a few buckets, haul down a few boards and do a reasonable impersonation of a starting center.

Given that Marcin Gortat was unavailable, that Shaq is now in Cleveland and Dwight Howard is untouchable in Orlando, Morey would struggle to do better than this.

The Rockets have landed a fill-in center for a bargain price. With Yao's NBA future questionable, you cannot ask for more than that.

There are still so many questions.

What kind of surgery will Yao opt to have?

How long would that recovery period be?

When will anyone know about his prospects for playing again?

With this signing, you should know that the Rockets expect many of the answers to be positive ones.

For now, learn some Australian.

Oi Oi!

In Rockets speak, it means, "have some faith."