The Houston Rockets? attorney Michael Goldberg has returned from China with good news. Goldberg said Wednesday that he was told that 7-foot-5-inch Chinese center Yao Ming would be able to play the entire NBA season and playoffs if the Houston Rockets were to pick him first in the draft.

The Chicago Tribune reports that this news is also good for the Bulls. If Ming is taken by the Rockets with the number one pick, the Bulls will be able to select Jay Williams with the second pick.

The Rockets have been seeking assurances that Ming would be available for the entire NBA season and not be recalled to play for the Chinese national team. The Chinese however, wanted assurances that Ming would be available to them for international play. And, Goldberg said Wednesday, "We also assured them that he'd be able to play in the Olympics."

With that part of the negotiations completed, Goldberg said the Rockets were now waiting for a release from FIBA, the international basketball governing body.

The Chinese Basketball Association and Ming?s team, the Shanghai Sharks are working to complete their approval process hopefully leading to the release that would allow him to play in the NBA. "The CBA and the Sharks understand that we have to have the FIBA release in time to make our decisions before the draft," Goldberg said. "The Sharks would be losing their No. 1 player so they wanted to make sure things can be worked out."

If the Bulls get Williams, they would be getting an impact player who seems to like Chicago as much as Chicago likes him. "He proactively would like to be here, and he'd like to let everyone be aware of that," said Bill Duffy, Williams' agent.

"A lot of places you feel like a stranger," Williams said after working out for the Bulls last week. "When I'm here, I feel like this is where I should be."