I think the reason they are writing letters are because the league does not allow the teams to contact any player.
He got plenty of love. His jersey retired, statue at the Toyota Center and invited to sit front row with leslie anytime he is in Houston. Not sure if he got a letter. If he didn't it's because he was a Raptor and was under contract for multiple years when Hakeem got his career ending injury
It's the beauty of living in the free land. So even morons such as withmustard can say whatever he wants to. Everyone has such a thing called the freedom of speech. Morons are not excluded.
Selfless Character? Much respect for the Nancy Grace word spin. Are you a judge? Say what you want about my half-serious, passive aggressive way of handling a clutch city catastrophe, but did Lebron take a pay cut to play in Miami? Yes. Spin it how you may. Whether the fans like it or not the debacle known as "The Decision" is irrelevant. Lebron took less money. I've said this in even past posts years ago, Yao is already a profit Legend in the NBA. He doesn't need Les's Money. I assure you, Yao would GLADLY trade bank accounts for a jewelry box trade with Robert Horry. BTW- If Yao signs, for say 11 million, instead of 16 Million, isn't he only sacrificing 2.5 million due to Chinese 50/50 tax( 5.5 or 8 million). People should chill.
Maybe you should chill. The thread is discussing letters written to Yao from members of the Rockets organization and you're here arguing that he was selfish? You're seriously arguing that he should have taken less than the Rockets were offering him, which would have guaranteed him a ring? You realize Wade, the lone "big 3" member re-signing with his team, didn't take a pay cut right? You realize Bosh and James took less money than their original franchises were offering for the chance to play together in Miami, right? So yes, I suppose Yao could have taken a pay cut and gone to an actual contender, but then you'd just be calling him disloyal to the Rockets. BTW- Your addendum about "Chinese tax" is laughably lacking in logic or basis in fact.
I guess we'd better believe Withmustard than those members of the Rockets organization. Such a valuable poster...
Letter to Yao Dear Yao, Thanks for retiring two years too late. It's a good thing you did, though, because you were THIS close to getting knocked off. We were really getting sick of your shenanigans and of what can only be construed as a deliberate attempt on your part to destroy the Houston Rockets. Turns out you were a fool for listening to DaDakota's advice that your injury recovery arc would mirror Big Z's, and that you had another 6-8 good years left in you. Oh wait, you thought that he was full of sh-it this whole time? So we agree on something finally! We'll let you live, for now, but if you try even one more comeback with the Rockets, you know where we stand. Sincerely, The Triads (Oh come on, don't tell me you didn't watch Rush Hour 3. Yeah, it did suck, though.)
To a certain extent, yes. http://rafer.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=44939 Francis: Hakeem's my role model By STEVE FRANCIS Copyright 2002 Special to the Chronicle Editor's note: Rockets All-Star Steve Francis played with Hakeem Olajuwon for two seasons. With Olajuwon scheduled to announce his retirement Saturday, when the team will officially retire his No. 34 at a halftime ceremony, Francis wrote the following column for the NBA, reflecting on his time as a fan and teammate. There have been a lot of positive influences in my life, and Hakeem has definitely been one of them. From how I play to how I carry myself away from the game, I owe Hakeem a lot. And it started way before he and I became teammates in 1999. What you have to realize is guards always want to be big men and big men want to be guards. And around 1992-93 is when I really became a fan of Dream's game and started emulating some of the things he was doing on the court. I was a teenager and going through some growing spurts so I thought I would eventually develop into a forward. So I started watching how Dream positioned himself, and I started copying his post moves. Because, even though he is one of the greatest centers ever, Dream's game was very diverse. And even though I'm a guard, I still use some of the moves I learned watching him back when he was the best player in the world. The most important thing that Dream taught me as far as basketball is concerned -- and it's something I've really been conscious of this season -- is to create space between the defender and myself so I can get my shot off. But Dream has taught me a lot more than just basketball. He's taught me how to carry myself in life. When I was a rookie, I was playing with Charles Barkley and Hakeem, and it was like night and day with those two. You know Charles is going to be Charles. Dream was completely different. He was understated, and he didn't try to force anything on me. He would say something and leave it at that. It was subtle, but it left a strong impression. Me being a rookie, Dream, at first, watched me to see what type of person I was. Once he found out I was a good person, he took me under his wing. So I watched Dream to see how he carried himself. Media-wise, he was always polite. But he never reads the newspaper. In high school and college, that's one of the first things you did. You ran to the newspaper to see your picture in the paper. I showed up in Houston, I noticed he never read the paper. Now, I don't even look at the sports pages anymore unless it's about football. That was one of the most important things he taught me. But maybe my favorite Dream story has to do with clothes. It was my second year in the NBA, and I think we were in New York. What I remember is that it was really cold. Now, you know Hakeem is always dressed to perfection. You won't find a guy who dresses better than him. So, I walk in and I have a brand-new jean outfit on, jacket and pants. I think I even was wearing a jean cap. I thought I was looking real stylish. We get to the bus, Hakeem looks me up and down and asks, "Are you going to drive the bus to the arena?" I didn't know what he was talking about, so I asked him. And Hakeem says, "Because you look like a bus driver." That right there made me start to change how I dress. It was another unforgettable Dream lesson. I think Saturday's going to be crazy and emotional for everyone involved because Dream is as big as the state of Texas. Even before I came to the Rockets, I knew how big Dream was in Houston. I went to San Jacinto College (1996-97) in Houston. And you didn't have to spend a lot of time in that city before you knew Dream was the Houston Rockets. For me, as a player, I want to show him how far I've grown. I want to show him how far I've come and how much of an influence he's had on me, both on and off the court.
As I said earlier, Hakeem signed a multi year contract with the Raptors. He got hurt his first year but was still getting paid for the whole contract. It's against NBA rules for the Rockets front office to write letters to Hakeem who was at the time a NBA player under contract with another team. It's called player tempering.
You're seriously an idiot. Yao made on average 10 million a year. He made no where near as much money as many NBA superstars. Only his last few years he made good money. His best year was last year where he made 17 million. Yao was never a guy in the top 10 in salary. Duncan made a lot more money than Yao. Many superstars make 20 plus a year for many years. Kobe will make 30 million in a couple of years. Tmac made 23 million while injured for the Rockets.
This guy will just keep making stuff up and believing it because he has something against Yao. No use trying to present facts to a deluded individual like this. He'll just ignore the points you call him out on and call you Nancy Grace lol.
