Thinking back on that trade with Toronto involving Olajuwon

SirCharlesfan

you said "trash for trash because Hakeems last 2 years were trash" .... well if 19 and 10 is trash then I say we go to the garbage bin and dig out some players!!!!

I think if we'd done the trade then we would've been struggling to make the playoffs in that year and we probably would've become the bulls - no FA's would come to us because they realise that we treat our stars like the excrement oun our shoes....

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Look at the problems Chicago has trying to get free agents. The same thing would happen to the Rockets if they traded Hakeem.

I don't see anyone rushing to sign with the Suns or Sonics who have great point guards.

What can you buy with 40 million dollars that you can't buy with 50 million?

Loyalty counts for something.



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Respect Hakeem's legacy. A championship in the hand is worth two in the bush!!

 

Richrocket,

You point out that all the sports icons that I pointed out were from an era long gone. In my e-mail I perhaps overlooked some more modern sports icons:
Denver-Elway
Chicago-Jordan

Please, let Houston have its first sports icon.

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I'll have to discount Elway in this discussion because the economics of NBA basketball are distinct from NFL football.

And I can't even accept Jordan in the light of this argument because his retirement was premature; he still would be a dominant player in the NBA even today. We can't say that about Olajuwan.

I struggle with the notion that we owe them something; they've been paid millions of dollars to play a game for a living. These players will leave for another team if it suits them. Why can't we re-design our team when the time is right-- whether or not it suits all of the individual players involved?

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Time is a great teacher-- only problem is it kills all its pupils.

 

Richrocket,

You say that you struggle with the notion that we owe them something. The notion that we owe them something implies that we pay them and get nothing in return. While we probably pay these icons toward the end of their career more than they deliver on the field, they still provide great benefits to the team and the city.

I believe that if we (Houston) had a greater sports tradition: (a) the Oilers would have never left town; (b) the Rockets would have their new arena and wouldn't be talking about Louisville; (c) the Rockets would have been selling out the Compaq center last year despite a bad record.

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Okay, let's say we make the trade. What happens if Houston is a bust and Hakeem does great in Toronto. You guys would be running Rudy out of Town (Me Too).

I'm glad they did not make the trade, now it shows that the Rockets organization has some loyalty to their players.

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Soon to be a Member of CCC. inc Pledgee T_Man

 

Good point t man. Im just happy that Cuttino is a loyal player.

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Peace,
Dave
Rockets Online.com
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T_man, Bruno and like-minded guys, I am in total agreement. Without tradition, what's the point of being a fan? You might as well be like a lot of "fans" & be a Laker fan last year, a Spurs fan the year before and a Bulls fan prior to that. There has got to be something more than the current year's wins and loses that grabs you. Teams make trades every year and most don't bring championships. Five, ten, fifteen years from now, I'll look back and think how cool it was that I was a Rocket fan (and U of H fan) all those years that Hakeem played and he was a Rocket and Cougar the whole time. It was very disappionting to see Nolan Ryan finish his career with Arlington. Hakeem won't return to his former greatness, although he could play very well if his health is good. It wouldn't surprise me if he couldn't even finish this season. But, I would never consider trading him before he retires here.

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