Bullard Calls Out Dream

I cannot believe everyone is in an uproar over:

Anderson - A no shooting, can't dribble guard

Taylor - A no rebounding, no defense playing, bad achilles impersonation of a power forward.

Moochie - A bad hair CBA talent point guard

Bullard - A one dimensional player who can't rebound or play defense to save his life.

No one has any problem paying Anderson 4 million dollars or paying Taylor 6 million.
However, we think 5 million is too much for Hakeem. Incredible!

I hope Hakeem leaves and we sign all these other important cogs of our team. However, I don't want to hear any b****ing when Taylor grabs two rebounds or Anderson
scores 5 point in seven games.

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

 

3rings,

I, for one, am sick of people bashing our non-superstar Rockets (let's clarify that bashing is not constructive criticism, but biased half-truths). Each of the players that you mentioned have come through for us in individual games and made the difference, but more importantly, they are a part of our TEAM. If you need to understand the importance of TEAM, look to rings 1 and 2.

 

Anderson's deficiencies are well documented. But he does play decent defense at the 2-guard position, and could be a valuable asset off the bench.

He has a very good jumper, that is important in stretching defenses. Offensively, he is a very good talent. No one disputes that his rebounding could use work.

Ludicrous. Norris has b****in' hair. Plus he is the best player on this team at running the fast break, and he is adept at running the team and could start for several other teams.

His defense and rebounding is irrelevant. His sole purpose is to shoot threes and he does that well.

And you know what they all have in common. Not one of these players demanded to be cut while making $16 million a year so he could go cash a hefty paycheck from Houston while playing for Miami.

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The time for logic and reason has come and gone.

It's homer time now. Believe.

 

Cato has come through for us in individual games. I guess that justifies his contract.

Okay, I'm sorry that was a cheap shot. However, like Cato, is Taylor worth 6 million dollars?

Langhi/Walt could replace Bullard, Colson could replace Moochie, at times, Thomas outplayed Taylor. I just don't see the reason for the board to be in a uproar over these guys having to wait.

If these guys are so important, the Rockets should just renounce Hakeem and sign them.
But like I stated earlier, when Bullard makes a 3pointer and gives up 3 twos on the defensive end, we'll wonder what #34 is doing.


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

[This message has been edited by 3Rings (edited July 25, 2001).]

 

I dont think it's bad that dream takes his time and checks out his options. MAybe anyone of us would do that too.

But while he does that, he still needs to communicate with his teammates. Bullard's words are an indication he is not doing that - or needs to try harder at it. He should let the guys know what he is doing, why he is doing it, keep up a good rapport. While dream worries about people respecting him, its starting to appear he doesnt feel the need to do the same with his teammates. He should at least try to communicate with them. Try to smooth things over. MAybe even express regrets that they are caught waiting on the dock. It may not quicken the process, but might make it more bearable...

so yes - dream go look around - that's your right. but keep the lines of communication open with your teammates.

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"George W. is like a hybrid of his father and Dan Quayle" - P. Mesku

 

Actually, anyone who's read the paper the last few weeks knows that most players in Hakeem's shoes have not taken this long. Considering the team's situation, one would think Hakeem would have been the first to sign, not the last.

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Hakeem is going to keep on dragging this issue of resigning or going to another team for as long as he can.He is in no hurry.The Rockets have to put a stop to the talks with his team very quickly.They can't afford to wait any longer or else they will risk losing their own agents,and then there won't be any replacements left in free agency to take their place.

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Colson cannot replace Moochie. Moochie has NBA experience, Colson has a difficult time putting up consistant numbers in the summer leagues. Mo Taylor could start on most teams despite his lack of rebounding. I doubt KT would be penciled in as a starter on as many teams. Remember for a starter, Mo only averaged 28 minutes so I would think he could get hugher numbers in all categories if he payed 10-12 more minutes. Bullard is replaceable, but he is a Rockets lifer and is not asking for much. Anderson is also hard to replace with his defensive presence.

All the FAs (except Bullard) are young and will grow with the team, they will be well prepared when the Rockets make a serious run to the Finals. Hakeem will not be around for more than 2 years (I have doubts he will last that long).

Renouncing Hakeem outright will be a PR disaster since most Houstonians have no idea what the situation is, all they will hear is that the Rockets let Hakeem go. IMHO Hakeem knows this and is using it to get what he wants.

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Bull is probably the only one that could've made this comment without being disrespectfull or causing any permanent disruption on the team, if Dream ultimately comes back.

I salute Bull for having the cajones to answer the question, instead of skirting around the issue, so as not to hurt Dream's itty bitty feewings.

I also disagree with those that think Bull is calling Dream out. I can't presume to know what the players are thinking, but even the guys that are under contract must be thinking the same thing, because I'm sure they would like to know what the makeup of next year's team will be.

One question that keeps coming to mind is, Why can't the team renounce Dream, resign MO, Bull, Moochie, & Shandon & continue to negotiate with Dream? Here's why I'm asking this:

The Rockets according to RealGM, currently have $25,847,382 in signed contracts(which includes Griffin & Maloney's salary committment), $31,589,310 in FA's unrenounced value committments, & $6,982,600 in exceptions, for a total of $64,419,292 in current salary cap obligations. RealGM still has LOS's unrenounced value posted.

If the Rocket's were to renounce Dream, Bull, & LOS, for a total of $24,882,910, that would drop the cap obligations down to $39,536,382. We'd be under the salary cap, but not far enough to lose the $4.5 mid-level exception. We could resign MO for about $5.5 mill, which would push us back up to $42,336,382. That would lock up MO for us. We could then resign Bull for $1.1 mill(veteran's minimum), moochie for $1.5 mill, & Shandon for $4.5 mill, which would bring us up to $49,436,382. We would still have all of our exceptions at this point, which means we could still offer Dream the $4.5 mill mid-level exception & then sign T-Mo to the rookie minimum & end up under $50 mill in total cap committment.

Only Detroit($5.3 mill), Clippers($11.3 mill), & Seattle($6.45 mill) can offer Dream more than the mid-level & none of those teams are serious playoff teams.

There are 16 teams that can still offer Dream the $4.5 mid-level exception & most of those teams would go over the luxury tax thresh hold if they use it. Here's the teams, with their current locked in salary committments:

Miami($45 mill)
Philly($53.9 mill)
Atlanta($48.8 mill)
Washington($51.8 mill)
Cleveland($40.9 mill)
Indiana($54.8 mill)
Milwaukee($53.4 mill)
Toronto($45.2 mill)
Dallas($45.3 mill)
Memphis($49.9 mill)
Minnesota($47.9 mill)
Golden State($42 mill)
Lakers($53.9 mill)
Phoenix($55.4 mill)
Portland($73.3 mill)
Sacramento($56.4 mill)

At this point, (assuming a $52 mill(?) Luxury Tax thresh hold) Dream, Mo, Shandon, & Moochie's only available options are Detroit, Clippers(except for MO), Seattle, Miami, Cleveland, Toronto, Dallas, & Golden State, without a sign & trade being involved. Of those teams, only Miami, Toronto, & Dallas are contenders.

The only reason that I can guess, for the Rockets to not do this, is if they plan on using the $4.5 mill mid-level exception on another FA, such as Marc Jackson.

Can anyone else see anything that I've missed?





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A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.

 

hottoddie: I believe once you go under the cap then you lose your exceptions.

BTW, I agree with DoD's post entirely. Best thing I've read in this thread.

TheFreak: The situation is entirely different from Mo T and Shandon because they weren't holding things up with other players.

You really shouldn't call someone else a "drama queen" when it seems most of your argument springs from sentimentality. The entire "Hakeem won two championships so he can do whatever he wants" thing isn't entirely crazy, but it's definitely not the cold logic that you're famous for on here, either.

Bullard is an important player. He's replaceable, but he'd find work elsewhere if not with the Rockets. he's not going to make less than the 1.1 million he'll sign for with the Rockets elsewhere... heck, maybe even more. I've read on other sites that he might get a 2m exception elsewhere. Wanting the Rockets to field the best team possible is not greed.

I agree that CD and Rudy aren't idiots. But at the same time, it's very difficult to make a "business deal" with a city icon. There seems to be an enormous double standard here: if the Rockets play hard ball with Hakeem, it's wrong. If Hakeem does... it's just business.

For those of you who defend Hakeem's negotiating tactics... what if Bullard was instructed by the organization to mention this? Was it wrong? Or was it just business?

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Clutchcity.net... source for all your Rockets, Astros, political, music, humor, and Gordita news.

 

Haven,

As long as you don't drop below the cap by more than the total combined exceptions($6,982,600), you won't lose the mid-level. We'd only be about $3 mill under the cap, so we wouldn't lose it.



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A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.

 

I can easily see why he would say this. Houston loves the Dream. But Bullard loves the Houston Rockets.

Anyway, I say give Hakeem the 4.1 million, and whatever they slotted for Shandon. Shandon just isn't very good as a 3 (we have enough of those already), and he certainly should not start ahead of Cuttino. He'd fill a niche as a backup 2, but if it comes to a choice between Shandon and the Dream, I say cut Shandon loose.

Fegan would probably get more money this way, so that should make him giddy.

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Have to really disagree here. Say we take too much time and too much money in signing Hakeem, losing Taylor/Anderson in the progress. Then what? Has the team taken a step forward in your view? Are we championship ready?

Don't know how else to put this - I'd love to have Dream finish here. But NOT at the expense of the future of this team. And NOT because he suddenly has a hard time WANTING to finish here. We're not offering that much different than any other team out there.

Langhi is a possibility, but if you seriously think Walt, Colson and Kenny Thomas are a suitable 2nd option...well...

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"Do you know what nemesis means? 'A righteous infliction of retribution manifested by an appropriate agent'. Personified, in this case, by a horrible c***: ME."
- Brick Top, Snatch

[This message has been edited by Rokkit (edited July 26, 2001).]

 

>>>*I think Mr. Costello is mistaken regarding comments made by Mr. Bullard.
Mr. Bullard's statements are being taken out of context. There was no sense of animosity towards Mr. Olajuwon. Mr. Bullard only meant to offer a professional response without bringing about a potential opinion (and thus a potential conflict of interest) into the entire matter.*
Is Mr. You being exceedingly formal in our 'potential' dialogue, or are you being Mr. Condescending? In any case, Mr. Me will try and address your Mr. Issues. Ok, I did not absolutely say that "Bullard Called out Dream." I said that this was *my impression* upon hearing what Bullard said on the radio. Did you actually hear what he said? I tend to think that Bullard wasn't as measured, detached and "professional" as you believe.

Mr. Costello, first of all I do not understand why you are being so hostile. You have no reason to be so rude, or to call me condescending when I am being extremely respectful to you. You argue that you didn't say "Bullard Called out Dream" - have you read the title of your own topic? Additionally, had you read my statement, I said, "I think Mr. Costello..." again which were my opinions of the matter. Yes I did hear what Mr. Bullard said and yes in no place throughout his conversation did he even potentially HINT that Mr. Olajuwon was being "selfish" as you've so elegantly put it and have mislead hindreds of posters on both sides of the spectrum, with each side now defending Mr. Bullard or Mr. Olajuwon. Mr. Bullard was professional in his manner of dealing with the question regarding the status of Mr. Olajuwon, perhaps if you had bothered to accurately quote my original post where I made an analogous comparison to the way Mr. Olajuwon handled the Mr. Pippen's contractual obligations we wouldn't be going through this.

>>>Bullard made another quote in the radio piece which I forgot to include in my original post that lends creedence to my view. "If Hakeem loves his teammates and wants to keep the team together as much as says he does he should make up his mind." I don't think my original post was some piece of wild conjecture. How many people actually heard what Bullard said on 610AM KILT?

I don't think many people who responded to your original message actually did hear the 610 piece, and that is probably why such a war has subsequentially ensued. I did hear it, as did four other people in the office, and we all agree (per consensus) that there was no sense of animosity whatsoever in Mr. Bullard's comments. Perhaps had you worded your original post professionally, saying that you weren't sure, but it sounded to you as if Mr. Bullard was saying that, and not kept such an absurd title for the topic, you might have a little more credibility. Also, I think you aren't accurately quoting Mr. Bullard on that. Mr. Bullard said something more to the effect of Mr. Olajuwon enjoying the current team, and as such he was likely to sign. There were no other "motives" besides that. He didn't want to get into a public relations problem by saying Mr. Olajuwon should come back, or shouldn't. He kept it as professional as possible.

>>>*Mr. Costello is certainly entitled to his own opinion regarding the statements, however had he actually taken the time to properly quote and subsequently analyze the tone of Mr. Bullard's reply, he would be hard-pressed to find anything other then a professional reply that was attempting to stay unbiased (and without angering management as well)
Say, thanks for allowing me to have my own opinion. I was going to consult an attorney for a moment.. Again, did you actually hear what the man said?

Again such hostility. Why? I really have no clue. Yes I did hear what Mr. Bullard said.

>>>Did you and Mr. Zapruder go over the tapes bit by bit to analyse Mr. Bullard's voice inflection to properly gauge his intent?

The question isn't whether we did or didn't, the contention is that you clearly didn't analyze well enough before you jumped to such a conclusion (no doubt spawned by your disillusionment with the current contract negotiations).

>>>I don't think you have offered, well, *any* analysis of what Bullard actually said, so you may want to drink down some of the medicine you are prescribing me.

My job isn't to provide specific analysis of issues surrounding each player. I only offered a little insight into what I felt Mr. Bullard was saying and the fact that "I think... you might be mistaken."

>>>Finally, did Bullard come out and decimate Olajuwon? No. But, he wasn't giving a "professional opinion" about the situation, either.

He was professional in the manner he addressed the question. That was the point. Again you haven't properly compared the analogous comparison with Mr. Pippen's contactual obligations.

>>>He is up for contract and wants to stay in Houston, afterall. Again, he mentioned this in the original piece. There is some real friction here and you don't have to be a fan, or opponnent of the folks involved to recognise this.

You've also failed to answer the arguements which pertained to each of these players not having said anything specific regarding this matter. There is no proven friction here, just rantings by a disillusioned fan. If Mr. Taylor were to come on 610 and say "I hope everything works itself out" - would you argue that he is "Calling Dream Out" ? Well since you had no problem with entitling the thread this way and subsequentially making such ludicrous claims including providing such open hostility, denying me even the right to have an opinion, I guess it would be no problem for you.

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From what I've read on this situation, it isn't Dream taking his time to make up his "freakin" mind.

The Rockets offered 9.1 mil over 2 years, and Dream turned that down. CD has said that's all they could do, without losing their other free agents, unless they could trade someone to get more money.

CD is trying to pursue trades with other teams, in order to come up with more money somehow, but has so far been unsuccessful.

Dream is waiting to see if Houston can get more money for him, and is waiting to see if they succeed.

The deal on the table has already been turned down. Dream is talking to other teams to see what they have to offer. Dream hasn't signed with anyone, and is giving Houston time to find more money, and turning up the heat with discussions with other teams.

Its not a matter of making up his mind, its a matter of him waiting to see if Houston can come up with more money than their earlier offer.

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the more I know, the more I know I don't know...

 

Whitemagic,

That was in response to something someone else had said earlier in the thread. My point was how can they b**** about Bullard saying something abut another players contract negotiations when Dream obviously doesn't give a **** what position the other players are put in.

As far as I am concerned I think this whole thing is BS, Dream put everything off for several weeks and the whole thing is getting drawn out. Management is going to have to put an end to this or it with keep going until either Hakeem is signed with the Rocks or another team which could take all summer. As I said, I believe they should give him some sort of deadline, if the negotiations haven't gotten close to completion renounce him and get the other guys (our guys and/or outside FA's) signed, then go after Dream. Of course, he will probably be gone by then or the team will not have the money to sign him, but that is "business" as some many people are characterizing this.

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