Rockets’ Yao Ming says buying hometown team does not mean he is preparing for retirement

Yao says team purchase does not mean retirement

BEIJING — Yao Ming says his purchase of his former team, the financially troubled Shanghai Sharks, was motivated by a desire to help the club that jump-started his career rather than by early retirement plans.

The 7-foot-6 Houston Rockets center, currently sidelined with a foot injury, signed an agreement this week to purchase all of the shares of the Sharks team for an undisclosed amount of money.

Yao said he was worried after watching the team flounder due to a lack of sponsorship and decided to seize the opportunity to buy the team this week.