How now, without Yao? That is the question for the Houston Rockets and their fans. Of course it is not like Yao Ming has been all that healthy since he came to Houston in the 2002 NBA draft. While he missed just two games in his first three seasons, Yao has been anything but healthy since then. Now, after having undergone bone graft surgery to repair his foot it now appears that Yao will be gone until training camp of next season. That means the Rockets are minus the player that their franchise has been built upon. They also lost Ron Artest in the off season, and the future looks very dark indeed.

Of course the news was even worse, when the team found out about Ming’s surgery they already knew that Tracy McGrady recovering from micro knee surgery would miss at least the opening part of the 2009-10 season. In fact there is no guarantee that he can recover from this kind of surgery and play the same game he played before hand.

The plan at the moment is to retrench the team without Ming at its center. They will look to implement Coach Rick Adelamn’s wide open offense that leads to easy buckets off fast breaks, and creates open shots in the passing game. Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola will be the lead men on the floor. To help replace Ming the Rockets signed Australian Center David Andersen, while he is clearly not Yao he can run, and the Rockets are looking to be a much faster team.

This team is also looking for veterans Trevor Ariza and Kyle Lowry can step up their games as they continue to develop youngsters Brooks and Carl Landry. It is a long step from being among the contenders in the west, to what looks to be a very long NBA campaign for the Rockets and their fans.

As the Inquisitr speculated yesterday, the LA Lakers have let Trevor Ariza go and signed Ron Artest from the Houston Rockets to replace him as their small forward. It’s good to get one right!Ariza rejected the Lakers’ basement price bid for his services in the 2010 NBA season, which allowed the Rockets and Lakers to swap players as Houston had not been pursuing Artest for a new contract, according to the Houston Chronicle.

While Ariza will be getting a pay rise at Houston, Artest is reported to be cutting his wages in attempt to chase a title ring to below that of Ariza. Ariza’s new Rockets team mate Yao Ming won’t be back until half way through the 2010 season after surgery on a stress fracture in his left foot.

Time will tell whether the trio of Kobe Bryany, Pau Gasol and Artest will look as formidable as the Celtics tirumvirate of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen did during 2006. It certainly seems that all the big-name talent is congregating in a few NBA teams.

The Los Angeles Lakers have continued their rivalry with the Cleveland Cavaliers off the court in the NBA off-season, with 2009 ring-winner Trevor Ariza on the way out of LA, maybe to Cleveland, and Ron Artest possibly the subject of a tug-of-war between the two franchises as he leaves the Houston Rockets.

Ariza, who averaged 11.3 points and 4.2 rebounds and shot 50% from three-point range in the 2009 NBA playoffs, is reported to be unhappy with the base-level deal the Lakers are offering him as a free agent. While the Portland Trailblazers and Toronto Raptors are the only two NBA teams who are in a position to offer him more, Ariza is reported to be so annoyed with the Lakers that he would be willing to switch teams for the same money, with Cleveland itself one team that has showed interest in him.

Meanwhile, the Rockets’ Artest was reported to have met with Cavaliers star LeBron James at the BET Awards recently, fueling the Cavs’ interest in Artest to shore up their defensive weaknesses that saw them bundled out before reaching the 2009 finals against the Lakers. Houston TV is reporting that Houston is only offering Artest a one-year deal and Artest’s agent has confirmed that his player would talk with James or LA’s Kobe Bryant if approached.

Could we see a new trio of stars at either the Cavs or Lakers, like the Boston Celtics had in 2008 for their championship?

Carl Landry Shot

Carl Landry, 25, was shot while driving near downtown Houston, local media reports indicate. Investigators believe another car bumped into his vehicle, possibly in an attempt to rob him. Detectives say when Landry got out of his vehicle to look at the damage, someone in the other car opened fire while driving by.

Landry suffered only a flesh wound. He’s expected to be off the court for a couple of weeks.

“We are very thankful and relieved that Carl’s injuries were relatively minor and that he is doing well,” a statement by Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey says. “Carl was the victim of an apparent random act of violence early this morning after the team arrived from New Orleans. We are in the process of working with authorities to gather more information. Carl was treated and released at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center for a surface wound in his left calf and a dislocated finger on his left hand. X-rays were negative. We expect him to make a full recovery and return in 1-3 weeks.”

Landry and his teammates had landed at a Houston-area airport just after midnight that morning. The team had just returned from its game in New Orleans.

So far, no arrests have been made.