Basketball star Yao Ming is at the center of speculation about a possible move from the Houston Rockets after it was revealed that the team is engaged in trade discussions with several other teams about their injured star.

They could offer Yao's contract in a deal, an option Yahoo.com reported that the Rockets are "exploring," in which the Rockets would have to take back roughly US$17.7 million worth of contracts, but the team acquiring Yao would not only have the contract expire during the season, but would have insurance pick up the bulk of Yao's contract for the remainder of the season.

Some teams are considering signing Yao on a short-term deal with the hope of restoring him to playing health, while others see his contract as a cost-saving measure, said Adrian Wojnarowski, a sports expert on Yahoo.com.

The 30-year-old Yao, a Shanghai native, has been confirmed as out for the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his left ankle. There are serious questions about his return to the NBA on a full-time basis.

The Rockets are offering Yao in the hope of acquiring a good young player with potential, if not an established talent. Despite offering Yao in trades, the Rockets have not ruled out the possibility of re-signing him to a short-term contract extension, Yahoo.com said.

The website did not say where Yao might end up.

"It's unclear yet," Zhang Mingji, Yao's agent and manager of his company, Team Yao, said yesterday.

Zhang said the Rockets would contact Yao and Team Yao before trading him but so far there had been no negotiations between the two sides.

"Yao's contract will expire after this season and then he has the right to sign with any team," Zhang said.

No one has yet offered a deal that interests the Rockets but the team expect trade talks to change dramatically closer to the February deadline, said Jonathan Feigen, sports columnist of the Houston Chronicle.

If Yao has surgery to repair the stress fracture, it would keep him out 10 months. After missing just two regular season games in his first three NBA seasons, Yao has missed at least 25 games in five of the past six seasons. He's played just five games the past two seasons.