If Olajuwon can continue at his current pace, do we re-sign him?

Olajuwon is not going to play beyond this season.

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Uhh, no, Hakeem shouldn't be signed beyond this season. I just don't see any purpose in tying up salary cap space in a soon-to-be 39 year old center. Let's face it, the Rockets won't be contending for any titles for a few more years, and Hakeem proved last year that he can go down at any time. Hakeem is the ultimate competitor, and the only thing he'll be doing next season is riding the bench and taking valuable minutes away from a young big man like Cato or Rogers...

Secondly, I think we will need every penny of that $16 million in cap space. Most people on this BBS think we have a legit shot at Chris Webber next season, and he won't come cheap. There's also the issue of re-signing Steve...(at least I'm assuming we can sign him to a long term deal after his 2nd season like we did with Cuttino)...Also, we'll need some cap space to re-sign Mo Taylo.....oh, then again...

The only possible reason that Hakeem would want to sign another deal would be to pad his career stats, and he's never really been that big on statistics...I say that if Hakeem has a good season, he should consider going out on somewhat of a high note...It's not exactly like Elway winning two titles in his last two seasons, but at least it's not sputtering towards the finish with asthma or whatever...

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If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding!!

 

If the Rockets didn't resign Hakeem (assuming he wants to), and he was playing this well, they would be stupid. If Hakeem keeps this level of play up, I'd say the Rockets have a good shot of getting a top 4 seed, and could title-contend. That is a big if, though.

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2000-2001 Rockets Game Formulas:
End of 1st quarter: "They're playing so well!"
2nd: "What a great game!"
3rd: "Theres no way they can lose now!"
4th: "What the ******* **** happened?!!"
Revote! Revote! Revote!......
Rocket's Championship 2001!!

 

The Rockets will basically be destroying a chunk of their future by committing 16 mil to Olajuwon. They need that cap space for other purposes.

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Olajuwon would not ask for 16,000,000.

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2000-2001 Rockets Game Formulas:
End of 1st quarter: "They're playing so well!"
2nd: "What a great game!"
3rd: "Theres no way they can lose now!"
4th: "What the ******* **** happened?!!"
Revote! Revote! Revote!......
Rocket's Championship 2001!!

 

There is absolutely no logic to re-signin Dream. Like other people have said, that 16 mil will be MUCH needed next year when we go after a YOUNG player, someone who will be our future next to Francis, Mobley, and hopefully Mo (perhaps Cato too).

Plus, Hakeem can't and won't be able to keep up this pace beyond this year (or even perhaps consistently this season). The fact that he is doin well is absolutely great. I aplaud the man for comin out and surprisin everybody. Its a great way to end a great career. There's no sense in tryin to prolong it. U should go out on top, not try to stay in the league as long as u possibly can, eventually comin to the point where u do not even contribute anymore.

Not to mention the fact that our FUTURE does not lie whith Hakeem. No matter the super-star he is, the Rockets have to think about the future of the team. And the future lies with some other big man out there (Cato? Webber?).

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One more note: If Dream plays this well (or even better) for the rest of this season consistently, the Rockets would be taking a HUGE risk in re-signing him, on the chance that he would continue that play into the next season.

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I don't see Dream signing for anything close to $16 million at all. There is no way. I would assume that he would take something close to the minimum (if not just that).

If Dream decides to play beyond this season, he won't be doing it for the cash. It would simply be for the love of the game. I don't see prolonging his career anyway, though.

As far as the Rockets go, I think they should give him the chance to come back another year if he wants to.

I also believe that there is no way we are signing Webber regardless, and signing Dream won't affect our chances with any of our own free agents either. It comes down to whether we want to take him on as a player. I say do it.

If he's still producing at a decent rate, he'll decide to stay. If his production goes down, he won't. So, if it comes down to Drema playing another season, we'll be talking about a productive Olajuwon. It's as simple as that.

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Nederland 2002

Rockets crush Bucks. Read The Cat's latest game recap.

 

Couldnt we sign him to a the one million or 2 million exception. Or do we not get those if we are under the cap? Im not an expert in that area. If we could do that and Hakeem put up anything resembling about 13 ppg, 7rpg, that would be fine with me.

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Remember.... You are not really drunk until you must hold on to the grass to keep from falling off the earth.

 

no. i don't think we should resign him. and i don't think he will want to play again. this is my stance right now, but i must say that he has totally shocked me the last 5 games with the way he is moving and playing. making my posts look idiotic. for now, i continue my stance that hakeem is done and should retire with respect.

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Yes resign him!!!

If dream decides he wants to play next year and he isnt asking for a whole lot of money I dont see any risk in resigning him.We have 2 more capable centers on are team in case he goes down or plays horribly.Not resigning him would be stupid he can still help this team!!!


I think it is really going to be up to Dream,whatever he wants I think he will get!

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Didn't we already have this thread? If Dream wangts to come back, and he seems capable, why not (at the right price)? I don't accept the argument that he would be stealing minutes from our young guys. If Cato can't beat a (next year) 38-year-old Olajuwon out for minutes, then he doesn't deserve them.

I think this is all moot though. I doubt seriously that (a) Dream keeps it up all season (only because he's likely to get injured at some point) and (b) that he would want to come back anyway. Its a long season.

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if we can get dream cheap, it would be worth it just to not see him in another uniform..

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"Jop tvai mat!" - Arvydas Sabonis after Steve Francis sat on his head after a dunk

 

If the price is reasonable and he's healthy ABSOLUTELY.

Dream will be a Free Agent and the market will determine his worth. He can take less to stay in Houston. It's his choice.

Dream and Charles have very different personalities, but as big as Sir Charles' ego was - he took a big cut for another go-round. It's a BIG if but if the Rocks land in the Webber Derby, I can see Dream thinking playoff run hear we come.

A lot can happen between now and then, but a Center with even Dreams current skill level is a marketable commodity.

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GATER

 

if he asks for 2-3 mil i would sign him. gee, i wonder if he's a larry bird free agent. hes been here what 14 more years than required. . i would resign him for anything less than 4 million(brad miller signed for 5 and dream is definitely better than him).

 

I'm no capologist, so if I'm wrong, someone correct me, but it wouldn't matter how much we signed Dream for we would be over the cap and couldn't re-sign Taylor and Anderson. I don't think we can sign Dream for an exception, I think the CBA mandates how much you have to pay a veteren with 17 years in the league, and I'm fairly certain he wouldn't play for minumum dollars. We couldn't sign Shandon and Mo first and pay Dream according to Bird Rules because until Dream is resigned, he counts 1 1/2 times his current salary, because the league assumes he's getting a raise. All that said, who will be more valuable to us next year, a 38 year old center or a guy who is turning out to be our 4th best guard and a starting 4 who is out rebounded by two guards and a small forward who has missed a game?
j


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silent j -

I make no claim at being a capologist but according the following:

http://www.members.home.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#9

the minimum salary in 2001-2002 for a player with 10+ years in the league is $1M. Dream can sign for this or he can retire or he can test the market. I think for $1M, there would be plenty of teams desiring his services.

Also, the total team cap is supposed to raise by approximately $8M dollars above the current level. Signing Dream by NO means precludes an inabilty to sign Mo and Shandon as well.

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GATER

[This message has been edited by GATER (edited November 19, 2000).]