So why didn't the Rockets sign the players they wanted and then resign Dream? The fact that the Rockets were under the cap only makes it look that much worse on the Rockets' part. You could have paid Dream whatever he wanted and it wouldn't have effected your ability to sign free agents. Hind sight is 20/20. The way he's performed in Toronto has no bearing on whether or not the Rockets could/should have signed Dream. Read my post again I wasn't comparing Raef to Shaq. I was saying that if you have a chance to make a trade that will clearly upgrade the team would you do it? Or would you not do the trade out of simple loyalty to a player that has been on the team for less than a year? The Rockets did it to a player that brought them 2 Championships.
What about the player's loyalty to the team? I'm tired of players whining about the team having no loyalty taking care of their star players and then bolt for a couple more millions. After the Dream thing, I was convinced that nothing good would come out when a superstar at the end of a long career with one team demands big money or demands to be traded to a "contender." Look at Dream. Look at Ewing. Look at Robinson. Look at Barkley. Sad stories. (OK, Charles didn't count. He didn't have a long career with one team. Just throw him in b/c I hated him being a Rocket.) Why didn't they just retire or take the pay cut and help their old teams?
And you also have to admit that championships aren't won in the regular season. You could have a 20 game regular season, and the Lakers and Kings would be playing in the postseason at the same level they were last May, imo. To an extent, the real contenders cruise through a good part of the regular season and raise the level of play in the playoffs. Had the season been 82 games, the 7 and 8 seeds might've been different... and maybe the home court in one or two series, but that's about it. My basic problem, though, is this: in '99, I visited several boards online, both for the Rockets, the NBA, and other teams. When we got Quitten, people were as excited as ever about winning a ring. Compaq Center was sold out, as were the Rose Garden, GW Forum, Delta Center, and all the other arenas for contending teams. The enthuiasm shouldn't have been that high if they weren't contending for a real championship. People only changed their tune and called it a "asterisk" championship when an unpopular team won. In other words, it's just the common fan being a sore loser and coming up with an excuse for why a team they didn't want/expect to win won. Somehow, if the Blazers or Lakers won that championship I doubt we are having this discussion.
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't the Rockets hose Kevin Willis on his first turn here. He signed a way below market value contract, I think one million, because he wanted to play for the Rockets. He was a free agent and had other choices. When we needed the room we just dumped him. I have the horible fear it was to sign Pippin. Cuban let Rodman live with him. I know the whole Rodman thing was a joke, but I don't see Les taking that type of personal interest. Cuban has, by the force of his personality, turned that team around. He sits with the fans and gets them involved. He thumbs his nose at the NBA and "forces" if not changes, at least introspection. I know he has cash, but he took a dead franchise and in a matter of a few years has turned it into one of the most exciting. He is a great owner. Yea he has his flaws, but overall he is a great owner. Before everybody starts/continues overacting, I think Les is agreat owner and I think the Rockets run a first class shop. To act like one team is only in the business to support players and fans and the other is completely scum is to totally kid yourself. it is your perogative to put blinders on if you want to, but don't expect the rest of us to delude ourselves for your benefit.
Because the extra money he was signed for would have affected the signing of additional players down the road. It is not smart business to overpay for an employee who no longer performs...unless you own a pro baseball team Besides I seem to recall that we let Dream's contract expire so we would have cap space. In that sense he lost his bird rights which allowed Houston to try to sign him at a much lower cap figure.....( I could be wrong about that part.) How Dream performed is the exact reason why he was not worth the extra year or the extra $$$.....again I say ask Toronto if it was worth it but of course you knew that and just want to be difficult.... You used the example of the Tim Hardaway situation to show that Cuban was not being disloyal and then compared it to trading Cato for Shaq. You know as well as I do that anybody in this league would trade Cato for Shaq....so hence my point about bad example. BTW...Dream is the one who demanded a trade, the Rockets did not force him to go. He bad mouthed management and the coaching staff. Dream was not happy with not being the focus of the offense. Those factors had more to do with Dream going than any sense of disloyality. I am sure Cuban would do the same thing if one of his players did the same thing.
Does the body have more wear and tear the 70th game since October or the 98th game since October. Easy year.*
The WAY he performed in TORONTO was exactly what the Rockets KNEW would HAPPEN! It ain't HINDSIGHT, my brotha, it was KNOWLEDGE. Let's face it. The Rockets were just a teeny bit more knowledgable about Dream's decline. The man's a fossil. He's got a couple good moves left, but he is aging quickly. The poor Raps saw a legend, a winner. The Rockets DID try to sign Dream. They DID want to. You know why? LOYALTY to the BEST player they've ever had! But Dream got greedy, he got a tad bit jealous that Stevie and Cat got all the credit, PT, and spotlight. Oh, but such woe befell him. He sure was great in Toronto, wasn't he, TexasG? And what's hilariously insane, undoubtedly great, and unbelievably wonderful about all of it? We got BOSTJAN NACHBAR because of him! God bless ya, Dream. We got two titles, city spirit, a whole bunch of Denny's and the future small forward of a future perennial contender!
You are wrong about that. As long as Dream was a player for the Rockets for 3 consecutive years he has full Bird Rights. The fact that his contract had expired means nothing.
So how is that much different than Tim Hardaway's situation with Dallas? Both were fossil's and shells of their former selves. Getting rid of each player made the teams better. The only difference is that Dream was the best player to ever play in Houston, and Tim was only a member of the Mavs for a half season. There's not much difference, so calling Cuban disloyal for trading Tim is like the pot calling the kettle black.
Exactly. What an irony. For those of us who shed tears last summer, the trade turned out to be wildly in our favor. Had we signed Dream, our road back to the Finals would probably be a couple more years longer. Maybe Dream wasn't selfish after all. Imagine him talking with Rudy and CD behind close door: "Look guys. I have no game left. But because you guys have treated me so well for all these years. I want do whatever I can to help the team. Here's the plan. You play tightwad and I play greedy. We'll play on the theme that I am the legendary winner and still have game. Some stupid GM is gonna believe all this crap and we'll fall out. I'll force a sign and trade and land you guys a great 1st rounder. I'm gonna look pretty bad. But that's a little sacrifice I can give back to the team that has given me so much!" And they embraced and cried on each other's shoulder.
If he were to resign, his cap figure would have to have been 12% higher than his previous salary of 16 mill. So you see that bird rights ahev their disavantages as well.
Texas G, Look here, smart guy. We did have Hakeem's bird rights but he counted against the cap for more than his previous season's salary until he was resigned or released. That is what held up the MoT contract discussions. He let us twist in the wind for a long time, too. I feel Hakeem was the one being disloyal and unrealistic. He was given his huge contract AFTER the championship years - that was his freakin' reward. I still love Hakeem, though. edit- sorry, dennis - it did actually take 15 min to type - I'm at work
Um...notice I never mentioned the Hardaway situation. I responded to your "hindsight is 20/20" comment. The way he performed in Toronto had all the bearing on the Rocket's decision to trade him. Getting the freaking 15th pick in a very very deep draft was A LOT better than keeping Drem and doing worse. We raped the raps. The Rox knew he would suck this year, Tor did not. Too bad for them, but the rockets made the best decision they could. What I am TRYING to say is, the Rockets were loyal to Dream. They offered a contract. But in Hakeem's mind, I guess money takes precedence over loyalty. But who cares now? It's over. Said and done. Notice I never said nothing about the dirty stinking Mavericks. Tim or no Tim, I hope we beat Dallas down 4 times this season. There's nothing wrong with that, is there? It's called homerism.
"freakin Canada?" Dream has always expressed interest in being in Canada. He likes Toronto(Yeah, wierd huh?). The Rockets wanted him back, and were genuinely upset when his decision was made. Neither side expressed great ill will when he was traded. It was probably in the best interests of both the team and Hakeem. The team could not afford to give him money in the neighborhood of 7-8 mill(Which he wanted), and he wanted to play in Toronto. It was reported that the Rockets actually offered the Dream a deal that gave him a million dollars more than the his Raptors contract gave him(per year). Tim Hardaway probably sacrificed a few million dollars to play for the Mavs because he knew that he had a good chance to win with them, and he thought that it would be a nice place to end his career. He wasn't placed in a high-pressure situation that made him subject to injuries(like Miami), and probably liked it. The Mav's should have found away to make salaries match without trading Tim. Trade two, three players, whatever... It's not like the Nuggets really wanted him as a player(As they cut him after the season). The Nuggets would have been better off getting a few lesser players instead of Hardaway, since they were and are in tank mode until they land Lebron/Carmelo/Kendrick. Cato for Shaq is completely different. Cato has completely dissapointed and sacrificed nothing to come here. If anything, he should have been happy to have been bailed out of Portland. Cato owes the Rockets 7 million(Or whatever his current salary is) dollars worth of play. He hasn't even approached the playing level that his salary would indicate. In ending, I don't think that the Dallas Mavericks are a terrible, terrible organization for trading Tim Hardaway. They should have been loyal, but hey, its a business. I just think that it is completely ridiculous to say that the "Rockets do not have the same history of taking care of their players as Cuban does." The Rockets have treated their players just as well or (probably) better than the Mavericks have. Now, if the writer of the blurb was talking about the DVD players, gizmos, extra stuff, then, like Jeff said, he's right. The Rockets, like the rest of the league, don't have the glitzed out, luxurious lockerroom that the Mavericks have. But, we have an extremely tall guy that can actually play.
waaah waaah waaah If it was an "easy year", every team had those same advantages, not just the Spurs. If you really think that's an argument, remember teams with strong benches (like those Spurs) would be the benefactors in that theory. Unless you have documentation to show you were different than 99.9% of NBA fans and thought the season to be "asterisked" before it started, just stop it. Look who's the crybaby now, trying to change the rules after it's been played. I can't really envision GB sitting around "not caring" if Jordan returned for the 99 season because the championship "would be tainted". I think I've finally understood GB, though. It's not ok to question a team receiving 27 free throws in the fourth quarter of an elimination game when they're coached by Phil Jackson. But, when a team isn't coached by Phil Jackson, it's ok to go back after the season and change the rules so that that team "didn't fairly win". Right...
Isn't that exactly what I said about Danny Manning and Gary Trent. Wait let me guess, only Houston fans can use that argument to their advantage. Why don't you guys just realize that if Cuban was your owner you would think he was the best thing since sliced bread. Since he isn't your owner though, you jealous Rockets fans will try to criticize everything he does. Whether he trades someone (ex. Hardaway), lets someone go (ex. Trent, Manning) or signs someone (ex. Lafrentz) you guys will always find some way to criticize him. The Mavericks were the laughing stock of the league for many years. I guess some people just want to be blind to the fact that Cuban made this team a "first rate" organization. Exactly, thanks for proving my point. If you can improve your team you do it. This was a move that would have given the Mavericks the best chance to beat the Lakers so they did it. What is wrong with that?
I agree 100% that the Rockets are a better organization than Dallas. Lets just be honest here Rashard wants to hit the Jackpot and Seattle not offering it; so he's just crying like a little baby as he did on draft night. Don't get me wrong up to a week ago I wanted Lewis to come here; until he said he thought Dallas organization was better than Houstons. Every body knows he still mad because Houston skipped over him three times in the draft that night before he was finally drafted by Seattle in the 2nd round. If he goes to Dallas most likely they will trade him since hes' at a good bargain, or would be. The reason I say he would be traded is becuase Dallas owner Mark Cuban does have a not so good reputation of being loyal to not so producing players; and most likely his game will not flourish being the 4th or 5th wheel. But hey I'm not mad at Cuban he's a business man and he's just handling business the best way he can, some of you, and I can relate to that. The only very bad thing I can say about Houston organization is that they traded the main reason we were a contender in the mid 80's and through out the 90's. I know he wasn't producing like he was earlier in his career, but if you can fork over that type of money for Cato. Please! It was absurd to offer 10mil. for three yrs. Other than this mark on the Rockets organization we're first class all the way.
1ST of all let me say this Yoa Ming will bring us and his teammates many rings 2ND He is a a once in a generation player 3RD we dont need no stinking Shard we got a better and cheaper player in Boki E-NUFF SAID
