Blinebury: Rockets losing edge for Hakeem; New York, Indiana, Utah also interested

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/972556

Rockets lose edge in Hakeem derby

By FRAN BLINEBURY
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle

The Toronto Raptors didn't come bearing gifts, but something even better.

A multiyear offer in the neighborhood of $22 million.

And maybe something more important.

Respect. Adoration. Love.

There was a small entourage of team officials from north of the border and enthusiasm spilling out of their mukluks and lightweight summertime parkas.

They brought a glossy, full-color brochure that touted a cosmopolitan city with so much to offer, spelling out ways to get around the huge bite by the Canadian tax system, the commitment to the future by a strong ownership group and highlighting a potentially attractive starting lineup for next season.

Try these snowshoes on for size: Vince Carter, Antonio Davis, Jerome Williams, Alvin Williams and Hakeem Olajuwon in the middle.

The heat has been turned up, the vise tightened, the noose fitted on the Rockets.

Where do they go from here?

Evidently to stand in line with a handful of other NBA clubs for their opportunity to genuflect in Olajuwon's presence and make him an offer he won't refuse.

In other words, the Rockets have blown their hometown advantage and now must play real hardball with a local icon who feels -- rightly or wrongly -- disrespected and holds the cards with a flock of teams ready to poke at that open wound.

Raptors say all right things

New York, Indiana and Utah are another trio of suitors who are believed waiting to call on him and make their pitch in the coming few days. But none should cause as much concern to the Rockets as Toronto, which is putting on a full-court press. The hungry dinosaurs have the ability to sign Olajuwon straight up as a free agent, with no need for a sign-and-trade arrangement.

Call this the recruiting dance Hakeem the Dream never experienced two decades earlier when a taxi dropped him off on the doorstep of the University of Houston and he simply decided to stay.

This time it's about all of those tactics the college recruiters have been known to employ to land those blue-chippers -- backslapping, palm-squeezing and plenty of folding money on the side.

What Olajuwon heard from the Raptors -- and soon from the others -- are the sweet nothings the Rockets have failed to whisper in his ear.

The Raptors told him they still regard him as one of the elite centers in the NBA. They told him he was not utilized correctly last season when he rarely played half a game over the first half of the schedule. They told him they look at him as a linchpin to their lofty hopes of contending for the Eastern Conference title next season, rather than a 38-year-old with too many miles on his odometer. In short, they told him they believe.

What the Rockets have been telling him, with their actions and their attitude, is that it's time to clear the decks for a new era of fresh faces. That was made clear when club owner Leslie Alexander sent word at the conclusion of the season that the new deal he would give Olajuwon was one year, $4.1 million. No more, no less, no negotiating.

Olajuwon did not see that as his due appreciation for 17 years of service but merely cramming a commodity into a convenient slot.

Not fitting to a T

The Rockets' stance apparently has softened with the team now willing to discuss a two-year deal with agent Dan Fegan. But the question is still how far will it go? And is it too little, too late?

Coach Rudy Tomjanovich is saying all the right things publicly, but there is still concern that it took intervention last February by Alexander into brokering the peace that resulted in Olajuwon dropping his trade demand and playing more.

There is a sense that something always has been missing in the personal bond between the two, as evidenced by Rudy T's not offering Olajuwon a hug or a handshake or even a word of congratulations after he returned from what was supposed to be a crippling blood disorder to produce a season finale of 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists in what could have been his last game with the Rockets.

Yes, it is about coddling, cajoling, cuddling up to highly paid athletes. This is news?

For months, Olajuwon has let it be known he wants to feel wanted, to be courted, as it were. Call it pride. Call it vanity.

Toronto came bearing everything to massage his ego, including a glossy brochure. The Knicks, Pacers and Jazz are lining up.

Now it's getting late and the Rockets still need to take a shot.

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Disregard this thread please, missed crash's post.

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That would be a fun game to play... Chronicle racing!

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The Mo Taylor Fan Site