And then there were none... CD helped Bullard get a job.

Apparently CD/Rudy helped Bull get the Hornets job. CD and Rudy also talk about rebuilding :

The following article is by Jonathan Feigen and the Houston Chronicle (online) :

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Rockets finish overhaul with Bullard's departure
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle

At first, Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich was stumped.

Hakeem Olajuwon was off exploring life as a Raptor. Matt Bullard had said he would sign with the Hornets on Monday. The Rockets' roster had been retooled again. Who, Tomjanovich was asked, had been with him the longest?

Eventually, Tomjanovich hit upon the answer. Cuttino Mobley, that wily old veteran of three seasons, has been with the team longer than any other member of the Rockets' roster.

With Friday's trade of Shandon Anderson for Glen Rice and Bullard's decision to sign a two-year, $2.75 million deal with Charlotte, eight of the Rockets' 13 players now on the roster are 24 years old or younger. Only two players -- Rice and Walt Williams -- will be older than 28. Only three -- Rice, Williams and Kelvin Cato -- have been a member of a team that won a playoff series.

Since the Rockets played the Lakers in the 1999 playoffs, the entire roster -- save that season's rookie point guard, Mobley -- has been turned over.

"That was our intention," Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said. "When we were talking about rebuilding at that time, we were trying to jump-start it and not take as long everybody says it takes. Everybody says it takes five to six years. We tried to do it faster. But there have been some radical changes.

"It's not always under you're control. But so many good things have happened to us. After '99, we talked about the rebuilding. We had to rebuild for a year and a year later, we won 45 games. That doesn't happen very often. Other teams had to rebuild after championship seasons and are still working to get back to the playoffs.

"Good fortune has smiled on us a number of times, getting lucky to get Cuttino, drafting Kenny Thomas, getting Steve (Francis), getting Eddie Griffin, coming up with two good free agents, Shandon and Mo Taylor."

The Rockets have missed the playoffs the past two seasons, although their 45-37 record last season was the best ever to fail to earn a playoff berth.

This summer's rebuilding is largely over. The next step will be to secure Moochie Norris' place as the team's backup point guard. Friday's trade made his position even more important with Francis now in position to serve not only as the starting point guard, but as the primary backup to Mobley at shooting guard.

The Rockets could look to add a center before training camp, but probably will seek only a player available at a minimum contract and able to willingly accept a relatively limited role.

Much of the motivation for the original plan to keep last season's nucleus together was to let it mature together. Although Olajuwon and Anderson were starters, neither was likely to start for the Rockets when the bulk of the roster reached its prime.

The summer has not gone quite as planned and signing Norris could be difficult. But losing Olajuwon and agreeing to the sign-and-trade deal of Anderson has not changed the idea that time is the quality the Rockets need most.

"That's a lot of it," Dawson said. "That's why we took the posture we did that we want to keep the team together. We did it as close as we could. I think you're always looking to improve your team. You never quit doing that. There's a lot of young talent. We want to see how it develops. That's the main thing."

Bullard's move to Charlotte, however, was in part orchestrated by the Rockets. Bullard said when the Rockets became unsure if there would be a roster spot for him, Dawson championed Bullard's abilities to Hornets general manager Bob Bass so the Rockets veteran would not be left in the cold.

"CD told me there probably would be a trade they were going to make and that there might not be a spot on the roster," Bullard said. "He called Bob Bass, who was looking for a shooter. Bob said, `Yeah, we want him.'

"I wanted to be back and Rudy wanted me back. I know the system. I know what he wants. But with this (free-agency) system with the salary caps and especially with the luxury tax, it doesn't always work. It was an extremely nice gesture to find me a place to play.

"I expect to be back in Houston when I'm done playing. I want to continue my broadcasting career whenever that may be. The Hornets had an impressive playoff run last year. I feel I can add to that and maybe get to the conference finals or NBA Finals."

Bullard's departure will not be as shocking as Olajuwon's But the relocation of the last playing link to the Rockets' championships seasons will be the latest signal of the change that has swept through the team.

"Bull was a guy who just speaks so much to chemistry," Tomjanovich said. "He was a guy that took awhile to get in this league, but he found a great place to use his skills and the things he could do. He fit with the post-up team and he fit with the penetrating team."

But the Rockets knew if Rice were added, especially after the draft acquisitions of Griffin and Terence Morris, there would not be room for another perimeter-oriented forward.

"We were caught in a situation," Tomjanovich said. "You'd always like to leave all your options open. But CD is not that way, I'm not that way. We considered his interests."