i guess we just have differing opinions here. from watching him play i just dont' think he plays for the love of the game anymore. i think money is a big issue to him and as a business man he knows he might as well make money as long as he can but that's the thing i think if he wasn't being paid a huge salary this year he wouldnt' be playing.. he wants to make money and i don't blame him for that. i remember talking to a card shop guy that wanted to bring him in for a signing and it was amazing how much money hakeem wanted in order to sign autographs for an hour. yeah he's a good man but i really dont think he would even consider playing for the minimum. true he doesn't need a pay check anymore so i would like to see him donate his entire paycheck to charity like charles barkley did last year supposedly. don't get me wrong he's a good man i'm sure but i do think money is a major factor why hakeem is playing this year. i do think the leaving town would be unloyal because he knows this team must move on but we've done everything to have him retire here. now he might want to play an additional year? he can not expect us to resign him but we may be forced to simply by the fear of him retiring in vancover. i just hope he doesn't want to play another year. he is going to end up with people remembering him badly and end up going out like robert parish. ------------------ Shane "Save Our Rockets" "Life without basketball in Houston........without an arena that is what it will be" [This message has been edited by Rocket Fan (edited October 14, 2000).]
I wouldn't say that Hakeem is playing only for the money. Sure, the money means a lot to him, but he still has a love for the game. He won't play again cuz he's just too old and not good enough to produce effectively. ------------------
An article in the Chronicle quotes Hakeem as denying the Sports Illustrated rumor. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/708768 ------------------
Rocket Fan "i see hakeem as a guy who really loves money " Dream could have signed a shoe deal for alot of money. Instead, he signed a deal for alot less, with a company to make a shoe that would be good quality and affordable. Some of the crap you people come up with is astounding. I see Rocket Fan as a guy who loves to talk about things of wich he has no clue. ------------------ What you been smokin?
Smoke.. thanks.. I wouldn't consider it crap though. I just really feel if he were only making let's say 1 million this year he probably would have retired. smoke.. i know a little of what I'm talking about from meeting him etc. sure he is a good man and all but i really think the 16 mil is the key reason he is playing this year. why else would he be playing? he k nows they wont' be winning a championship and he is just holding back the rebuilding process I am actually a Hakeem fan and always have been. There is nothign wrong with wanting to make lots of money. I was not trying to bash him at all because he is obvioiusly a smart businessman. I was just stating the fact that I think if he didn't have a huge year of pay left for this season he would have retired. I actually owned a pair of his shoes. Took a lot of ribbing for wearing those cheap shoes but they were pretty good. not sure they were as quality as a pair of nikes but pretty good for the price. The main reason I don't see him as doing nike etc is because I dont' think he would be fit for the commercials etc. not sure he would want to be on a hundred commercials a year like jordan and i'm not sure nike would want him doing commercials. so it was a good deal for both sides when he signed with spalding ------------------ Shane "Save Our Rockets" "Life without basketball in Houston........without an arena that is what it will be" [This message has been edited by Rocket Fan (edited October 15, 2000).] [This message has been edited by Rocket Fan (edited October 15, 2000).] [This message has been edited by Rocket Fan (edited October 15, 2000).] [This message has been edited by Rocket Fan (edited October 15, 2000).]
When I heard about the SI blurb, I assumed it was some goofball who found that old story in the archives. I don't think Hakeem is playing out the string for money. He said 3 years ago when he had knee surgery that he was under contract for 3 seasons, and would fulfill his OBLIGATION and then retire. To me that sounds as if he's given his word that he would play as long as he is under contract. Sounds like a man of honor to me, not a greedy man. j ------------------
I guess so but it's kind of funny. He wants to fulfill his contract but I think the rockets would be plenty happy if he would have retired instead of fulfilling it. He's not greedy just a smart businessman. I just find it funny how he wants to fulfill his contract when the rockets probably would be fine if he chose not to play ------------------ Shane "Save Our Rockets" "Life without basketball in Houston........without an arena that is what it will be"
Rocket Fan I've had Nike shoes that came apart in a couple months, also a pair that lasted 2 years. I won't buy Nike anymore. Not because of quality, but because of the conditions and pay the workers endure. Nike will not make shoes in the USA.(Another strike against them IMHO) The company is run by good businessmen. If you were Dream, would you want to go out with last year being the end? Are you a good businessman?
Rocket Fan I've had Nike shoes that came apart in a couple months, also a pair that lasted 2 years. I won't buy Nike anymore. Not because of quality, but because of the conditions and pay the workers endure. Nike will not make shoes in the USA.(Another strike against them IMHO) The company is run by good businessmen. If you were Dream, would you want to go out with last year being the end? Are you a good businessman?
Rocket Fan I've had Nike shoes that came apart in a couple months, also a pair that lasted 2 years. I won't buy Nike anymore. Not because of quality, but because of the conditions and pay the workers endure. Nike will not make shoes in the USA.(Another strike against them IMHO) The company is run by good businessmen. If you were Dream, would you want to go out with last year being the end? Are you a good businessman?
