Loved seeing him back in Houston, and acknowledging that he should have stayed with the Rockets. That huge hug and smile with Les Alexander and Maxwell made me very happy.
quitting on the team is a bit like ****ing a horse, doesn't really matter if you're a nobel prize winner or a toilet cleaner, you'll be a horse ****er the rest of your days. That said it's been a very long time and it worked out better without him at that point.
^ I don't think "quit" on the team is the right word. I think "fighting" the team is more appropriate, so Rudy had to put him in the doghouse. Disgruntled is the PC way of saying it. But there is no Quit in Vernon Maxwell. That said, did Maxwell ever use the word "quit" in these recent interviews? Can't recall.
If clutchfans existed back back in '93, '94, '95, there would have been a small, but very vocal, group criticizing him every time he made a boneheaded play like Smoove. Led by DaDakota, I'm sure.
I have no beef with Vernon. Could he have handled things better? Yes. But he gave everything he had when he played. He was hard-nosed and met all challenges on the court. He didn't always shoot well due to his streakiness, but he gave every ounce and always left it on the floor. I liked his quote in the Clutch City documentary regarding his departure... "that's was the worst mistake of my life, man"
To be honest, there was really nothing around Greenway that you want to go to anyway at the time and that was casual and quiet...
What people of today do not understand is that it was never about if Max was good or evil, it was whether he was real or fake. Maxwell was always real.
MM was not evil; he was 'just' an untamed adolescent. I don't recall Max having great big issues, other than a few minor felonies. However, his leaving was what it was. Who ever thought going to (basketball) was was better without MaddMaxx on your side?
When Ron Artest went into the stands, everybody wanted to have piece of Ron. When Mad Max went into the stands, nobody wanted a piece of Max. Real.
I didn't then and still don't. Just because he "apologized" (sort of) on that Clutch City documentary doesn't mean a damn thing to me. He had great talent and was an integral reason why the Rockets won their first title but he was also a crazy dumbass who QUIT on his team during a critical playoff run. Everyone wants to give him a pass now because the Rockets still managed to win that 2nd title but just imagine for a moment how folks here would feel about him if his actions had torpedoed the Rockets' shot at that 2nd title.
With him it was never a question of Maxwell "keeping it real" - it was which version of reality you were getting from Maxwell on any given day. His deal on Clutch City could have been titled "When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong" (props to Dave Chappelle).
If didn't happen Clutch city 2 happened The documentary painted a logical path of events that showed why he quit and why he would do that in that point in time. I really think maxwell cared more about what his coaches and teammates thought more than the fans. He lost his starter job and he was pissed Understandable
Maxwell got a twitter account because of US! We did it Clutch fans! Clutch City is forever <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Houston showed me so much love this past week I've agreed to give in & get on Twitter to interact with everyone. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/houston?src=hash">#houston</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash">#NBA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/clutchcity?src=hash">#clutchcity</a></p>— Vernon Maxwell (@VernonMaxwell11) <a href="https://twitter.com/VernonMaxwell11/status/607936534793175040">June 8, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Houston showed me so much love last week. I appreciate it so much. Thank you Clutch City! <a href="http://t.co/0UBLadJ803">pic.twitter.com/0UBLadJ803</a></p>— Vernon Maxwell (@VernonMaxwell11) <a href="https://twitter.com/VernonMaxwell11/status/608350048947183616">June 9, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Vernon loved the American Dream too! <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">R.I.P to The American Dream Dusty Rhodes.</p>— Vernon Maxwell (@VernonMaxwell11) <a href="https://twitter.com/VernonMaxwell11/status/609079666373058560">June 11, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Maxwell = real
I think if we had gone on to lose in the playoffs after he quit, I may never think well of him. Especially if we had lost due to some opposing guard killing us in a series. Us winning in 95 really made me look back on him more favorably than some other notorious quitters, like Pippen or T-Mac.
Understandable, maybe but Drexler WAS the better player and it was Rudy's job to play the best players on the team in order to get wins. Nowhere in his job description was it mandated that Rudy T give precedence to Maxwell's "feelings". I have respect for his efforts during that first title run but what he did by walking out was selfish and cowardly. I have tremendous respect for the guys that stuck together and fought for that 2nd title because I honor the ones who stick with you till the battle is done not the ones who run away. As far as I am concerned, Maxwell can take his new Twitter account and stick it - I could care less about anything he has to say now and forever.
You can stay bitter, but max made his peace with the rockets and the fans. You can't change history. And Maxwell was extremely important in rockets history.
