They both were just talking about how honorable the Dream was when they played with him. Barkley said that Hakeem was only one of two people he's met in sports that didn't do things for selfish reasons and that the Dream was selfless. Barkley also got mad beccause Kenny said that Hakeem was honorable when that was what Barkley wanted to say. Kenny said that's because that's just the word that comes to everyone's mind who played with him. Pretty cool stuff.
Jet also said the only reason he was on TNT and Rudy having his extension was because of Dream. Damn right...
Fan, Shows you how great Dream was. The best All-Around Center Ever! Jordan-SG, Magic-PG, Bird-SF and Barkley-PF. Rudy took the knife out of Chaney's back and inserted in Dream's back. Rudy has fooled so many for so long. Jig is up!
Probably Wilt and Kareem were better, but Hakeem could definitely be third. I think you are a bit confused by the circumstances surrounding Hakeem's departure. Wasn't it Dream after all who suggested keeping the team together, only to make unreasonable contract demands that kept them from doing so?
Kenny is right- Dream is the ONLY reason he has a job in basketball. He made a living off of Dream's double teams. I do feel sad for Barkley because Dream was the only legit center he played with, and I felt that the 1996-97 season was the Rockets' year to beat the Bulls and get Barkley his first ring.
If you assume 'A" , then "A" will seem right. I have said before that, according to virtually every report from outside sources, Dream has a lot more credibility for being honorable than do the Rockets...Not blaming them, teams have to play fast and easy some times, but in terms of which side you should believe about who did what to who during the negotiations, I will stick with the guy who everyone says is honorable over the organization that many have said weren't... ( R. Lewis, R. Horry, S. Pippen, C. Rogers, etv. etc...)
There are about 5-6 centers that deserve the highest praise, and they include Wilt, Bill Russell, Kareem, Hakeem, the Admiral, and Shaq. These were all great players and trying to decide between them will get you into perpetual arguments. Thing about the old centers, Bill and Wilt, is that the game was smaller then and shooting percentages were lower. They put up these enormous rebound numbers, but that's what you expect when guys couldn't put it in the basket they way they can today. Bill Russell was a defensive genius and Wilt an offensive force. Kareem has to be respected for his offensive genius and his longevity. Hakeem and the Admiral could play the whole court. The thing I'll always remember about Hakeem was his ability to run down a fast breaking guard from behind and block his shot from behind, ignite a break on the other end to win a game. Not many guys could play the whole court. Shaq is just exceptionally large, powerful, and quick. He makes boys of grown men. And I'm sure some people might put different centers on this list and pull the Admiral out, etc. Some people might be big Bob Lanier fans, for example. More power to them. Dave
Macbeth, what are you talking about? I thought the issue was Hakeem's word against Rudy's. Both have a reputation of being "honorable." What does that have to do with Lewis, Horry, Pippen, Rogers, etc.
It's unfortunate that Rudy didn't get to coach Hakeem earlier or that Clyde wasn't picked (over Mcray). It's clear that Hakeem and Rudy got along great, and that once Fitch, and then Chaney was gone, Rudy truly recognized the gifts of Olajuwon and made him the foundation of the team. If Rudy had been able to do that earlier, I think Hakeem would have done even more amazing things. Incredible.
Well apparently those who know Dream say he's honorable. In retrospect maybe Hakeem did ask too much money for the numbers he put up the next season. I think that has more to do with pride perhaps and over abundance of pride, but not him doing anything dishonorable. The organization balked during those talks. They thought Dream was going to retire. He didn't, and then the Rockets weren't prepared. I don't think anyone was being dishonorable. Judging by Dreams return to Houston after he left it, things seem to be OK. The organization is honoring him, and Hakeem wanted to have everything happen in Houston, and with this organization.
Hakeem would've put up MUCH better numbers in Houston than he did in Toronto. In Toronto, he was used the same way he was in the first half of his last Rockets season. I, for one, don't think his demands were unreasonable. He was one of the better C's in the league after that season. Calvin Booth got more money, and Booth won't be, in his whole career, what Hakeem was in the last 50 games of his Houston career.
I agree he could have been much better in Houston, but I don't know that the Rockets were willing to use him the way they did the second half of his last season here. I think that's why they balked during the negotiations. They were caught off guard and hadn't planned on using him at all.
My take on Hakeem's exit is that his pride was probably the biggest factor of his departure. I think he was truly hurt when we started to build around another superstar that took away from both Dream's shots and style. We didn't use Hakeem the way he thought we should and then the contract issue was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I think that Hakeem is a very complicated person, who sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him (ie feeling that he had been wronged/was no longer wanted).
