There is quite a buzz on the Astro's forum about a building that Hakeem owns at the entrance to Enron Field (the old World Trade Center Building). To sum it up, he bought this delapidated building from the port authority under very good terms with the promise to develop it, but hasn't had any work done. It apparently looks really bad, especially with the facelift that has been given to the rest of the area. (I haven't seen it) Here's a link to a article in the Houston Press: http://www.houstonpress.com/issues/2000-03-30/feature2.html The discussion can be found on the Asto's Web page, www.astros.com, under multimedia, then fan forum. I'm curious as to what you'all think, and if this could be contributing to his stress and/or level of play this year. IMHO -- Hakeem should invest his money through a real estate agent, or at least stick to sports related businesses. It sounds like he needs to avoid property development and car washes. ------------------
Yeah, I remember when they were trying to get a new stadium for the Astros, the paper was trying to pressure Olajuwon into selling/tearing down his building but he wouldn't do it. There were accusations of disloyalty, etc. It mostly annoyed me. Its his building and I'll let him do what he wants with it. It is an interesting idea to suggest it has something to do with his play. I don't think it or any of his other business ventures has anything to do with his play. ------------------
I think part of the problem was the way he aquired it. He received preferential treatment over the other bidders, including the HCHSA, and aquired it from a public entity on the basis of a promise of developing it. It just seems odd that he is spending more time on his non-basketball ventures, working on his second career as a business developer, at the same time he seems to be struggling on the court and loosing his enthusiasm for the game. ------------------
