I'd maybe give the subject some thought if Pat Riley hadn't brought it up. Does he feel anything when he plays Charlotte? ------------------ www.swirve.com...The reason Al Gore invented the internet.
He's just playing head-games. Riley's pretty good at those things. Big Chief Triangle should be starting up any minute now. ------------------ The Rockets will be the NBA champions. Believe.
Riley is probably just mad because that trade basically knocked them out of contention. I think I heard that Brown came back with a comment against Riley where he said, " Riley told his players he was not going to trade anyone, then turned around that same day and told me he wanted to trade for Larry Hughes." I guess that failed trade is where their conflict started. ------------------
riley responded tonight on tnt i only caught the very end of it but he said something about taking his foot out of his mouth ------------------ http://members.fortunecity.com/omar369
I don't know if they necessarily showed Ratliff any disrespect, but certainly they didn't set any good examples for other players. A good player, having a breakout season, gets injured, and finds himself on one of the crappiest teams before he is healed. Certainly this was not done as a punishment, but I have to think that other players are now going to be very wary of getting injured, and maybe even play a bit gingerly. I may be completely wrong, just my opinion. ------------------ "all your base are belong to us!" "you have no chance to survive make your time!"
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news/ap/20010228/ap-brown-riley.html This link is about Riley saying that the 76ers showed Theo some DisLoyalty What do you think? I dunno. What Riley said made sense Man breaks his wrist for your team and you trade him. But I think it was a too good to be true thing for the 76ers I'm on the fence ------------------
RRaven Exactly my point. It is beyond Riley If I was having the Season Ratliff was having . .. and then got injured and find my season completely F*CKED becuase I'm in ATL I'd be kinda Pissed. If they win the NBA Championship . . .This would be like Then Detroit trade for Aquirre [at the Expense of A.Daintly] Should Ratliff get a RING???? Rocket River ------------------
IMHO, 76ers would've done the trade even if Theo was not injured. I think the injury just helped the 76ers to make up their minds. I would be pissed too if I were Theo (going from a playoff team to a lottery team), but I totally understand 76ers' reasons for the trade. As far as the "loyalty" thing... that's just the way the league is. Theo hasn't been with the team that long (3.5 years). I think a player needs to be with a team more than 5 years or have done something special (like taking a below market-value contract) before "loyalty" comes into play. It doesn't surprise me that Riley said those things, he is as much a jerk as the Zzz Master. Riley is just a little bit more pleasant to look at ... and that is not a compliment.
Why do you think they would have done the deal if Ratliff wasn't hurt? Mutumbo is not that much better than Theo, and Theo is much younger with much more promise than the aging Dikembe. I can't see any reason to make this trade unless the 76er's are planning on winning big this year. ------------------ "all your base are belong to us!" "you have no chance to survive make your time!"
Runnin- That is the story of all sports now, including the NBA, that there is a very small window 2-4 years or so when a team can win a title before age, heart or more than likely the salary cap will topple the team. Philly knew they had a decent chance to make itto the finals this year, but by adding Dikembe they can now match up with the western conference big men, better than Theo. Dikembe is the only C that can guard Shaq 1-on-1. Now I'm not saying he can shut him down (noone can stop him) but Dikembe is a beter player than Theo right now and Philly wants a championship.
Should Theo get a Ring if they win Rocket River He *is* a large part of their success IMO ------------------
Did the Rockets show any loyalty to Otis Thorpe? Did he get a second championship ring? Its a business, and the Sixers are trying to win now. They made the move they thought they needed to make. Who can fault them for that? ------------------ In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.
True . . .Just asking Did A.Dantley get a ring? Rocket River Man that Next Atlanta vs Philly game should be interested ------------------
Otis did get a second ring? That would be a nice thing for the rockets to do to show that they appreciated what he brought to the table every day for years. ------------------
I was under the impression that everyone that played with the team over the course of the season got a ring... I thought even Vernon Maxwell got his second ring... ------------------
If my memory hasn't failed me, I remember the story was that the owner/mgmt asked the players if Vernon should get a ring (by voting, I believe). An overwhelming majority said Vernon should not get one. The result was that Mad Max didn't get a ring for that 2nd championship.
This reminded me of a tidbit I heard on the radio several years ago. It mentioned that Thorpe was in the hospital for something (I think it was related to his leg) during the season. Not one Rocket player went to visit him. The radio commentator didn't elaborate any further. So I've always wondered, was Thorpe disliked by his teammates or were the team just not close?
