Who can't follow the bouncing ball. Stevierebel is referring to SamCassell's comment that Fegan delivered Hakeem and Shandon to "playoff-caliber clubs."
Did I say anything the Knicks were a contender? I said playoff caliber and they are. In the east, they could even be considered a long-shot Finals candidate. They are just 2 years removed from that position (with basically the same cast), and it doesn't take much in the East. If I was a player who's ready to leave my current team, I would be thrilled to play in New York, with Spree and Houston and Camby, fighting for playoff position in the weak eastern conference.
Freak: No offense but you sound like a broken record. crispee: I said, "Moochie is caught in the middle" because those are the EXACT words my source used when describing the situation. I feel fairly safe in saying that the Rockets blame Fegan for this situation, not Moochie. That is the tenor of how everything has sounded throughout this summer. I didn't every blame Hakeem for wanting to leave. Personally, I was glad he did and thought that it was best FOR HIM if not necessarily for the Rockets. I also think Shandon made the right decision. However, in all three situations, negotiations have been rocky despite a legitimate desire on the part of the Rockets to bring back those players and at least some degree of desire on the part of the players to return or at least listen. Moochie is even more odd because all indications are that he really wants to stay in Houston. Remember that this isn't just about the agent and the player. Other players tell guys they should hold out for more money. In some instances, players have contracts with their agents that extend out beyond just negotiating contracts. Fegan, for example, is part of a big firm that handles everything from retirement planning and investing to contract negotiations and endorsements for their clients. It may very well be that Moochie simply cannot "fire" Fegan because a great deal of his livelihood (and the money upon which he will likey retire) is tied up in this agency for better or worse. There is no question that animosity exists between the Rockets and Fegan. This isn't some big secret. I don't blame Moochie for the negotiations although he is responsible, ultimately, for the outcome. If he is beholden to Fegan and Fegan has an axe to grind with Alexander and the Rockets, he is still more to blame in this situation. And, from everything I've heard, that is EXACTLY how this has come down. Terms like "ridiculous," "stupid" and "unbelievable" are all terms I've heard over the summer in relation to Fegan and his negotiating tactics. So, Moochie may ultimately be the guy responsible for hiring him, but we have no idea what is really going on with the relationship between him and Fegan. We DO know, however, that Fegan hasn't made ANY negotiation easy for the Rockets. Even the Anderson free agent signing two years ago was tenuous with Fegan really pushing him to sign in Indiana instead of Houston. I just think it is worth pointing out that it has been widely reported that this isn't some isolated incident. There is a distinct pattern of behavior fairly evident here and it is, has and will continue to cause problems.
This is not Fegan's fault. It's Moochie. If he really wants to be in Houston, tell your agent that...or fire him. He'll get all the blame from me if he leaves.
Fault, it is both Moochie and Fegan's. Moochie hired the man he wanted to be his agent and Fegan is still pissed at Les for the hold up on the Rice deal. But it still remains that if Moochie wanted to be in Houston he could step in and sign a contract with the Rockets. Fegan may be the ass in this deal but Moochie is not man enough to step up, or doesn't care enough to do it. I would like to see the Rockets sign a back up point guard and tell Fegan and "Moochie" good luck as we no longer need you. If a future player has fegan for a agent I would look for a trade as soon as he signed with fegan. The Rockets will be fine without Moochie, will Moochie be fine without the Rockets?
Are you really saying that Fegan is holding Moochie hostage by threatening to withhold endorsement deals and financial planning that only he can provide. Boy this is a stretch. (1) The Player Union has a great retirement plan. (2) Investing in your own company is best done with local advice, and trust and portfolio financial advisors are a commodity and not that difficult to replace. (3) And I don't expect Moochie's endorsment deals yielding too much money. I'm not doubting what your source said. I'm just disagreeing with his obvious spin, or his repeating of someone else's spin. imo, this is Moochie listening to his agent and holding out for more. It is merely a bluffing game between player and team and Fegan is the player negotiator. If anyone is caught in the middle, it is us fans caught in the middle of public relations maneuvers. Fegan may be everything you say, but Moochie is free to sign a contract anytime he wants. Are we really to believe Moochie signed an contract with Fegan that he can't escape?
I agree with those who speak of the Rockets practicing smart business with regard to not being pushed around on salaries.On the other side,if I was a player,I'd want that b*stard Fegan as my agent......Geez.This IS an important contract for Moochie.Depending on how things work out for him,this could be his biggest signing....really impact his life.He's at an impasse.....Fegan(wish you had never met Dream) is an a$$hole,but he's great at his job.
And Dream is the reason you keep repeating things like this every freaking day for nearly a month! Thanks a lot Dream!
I never said THAT!!! Of course that isn't what I meant. My suggestion is that we do not know to what depth the agreement between Fegan and Moochie goes. Do they have a contract? Is there more to their deal than we know? I'm just saying it is difficult if not impossible to determine what type of relationship they have and that it very well could be coloring the negotiations.
And I believe the implications your source suggests means there is a contractural relationship that Fegan can use against Moochie to make him hold out. If you don't mean to say that Fegan can (and is) using his relationship with Moochie to control the price tag and signing, how else can Moochie get stuck in the middle? If Fegan is not forcing Moochie (holding his talents hostage like a commodity), then I don't get it. Are you saying that Moochie is worried about upsetting Fegan, so Moochie trying to appease his agent? That is an equal stretch. It is PR, and Moochie is holding out. Fegan is not holding him out.
I too don't understand how Moochie is caught in the middle. I don't pretend to be in the know with regards to player/agent relationships, but it seems logical to me that the player ultimately should be in control. If this is oversimplification, then okay. But someone give me some examples/possible explanations for Moochie being caught in the middle, unable to get Fegan to agree to a contract amount the Rockets have said they're willing to give. Heypee jumped out taking for granted some possibilities: endorsement deals, financial planning. Jeff, I can see what you're saying about the difficulty in describing Fegan's/Moochie's relationship, but can you throw something out? Like I said, I don't claim to understand player/agent relationships. My default conceptualization is that if Fegan reports to Moochie that the Rockets are only willing to shell out a 4-year at 2-mil apiece deal (for example) and Moochie is fine with the amount and length of that contract, then Moochie can tell Fegan to accept the offer (maybe after a little arguing). I'd like someone to offer some other conceptualizations of Fegan's and Moochie's relationship.
Okay, reading a post of Oeilpere's in another thread, I can see this better now. Oeilpere says Les isn't ready to hand Mooch $2 -$2.5 million a year. I didn't think the Rockets were lowballing Mooch, but I can see that the Rockets and Mooch don't quite see eye-to-eye, and Fegan's just making it extremely worse because with the highball figure. So Mooch may be unhappy with settling for under $2 million, and he's relying on his agent to try to get him that amount. Sorry if this seems self-evident to people, but I just wanted to deflate me previous post.
