" ... But like I said, its a business, and you do whats good for the team. ..." I couldn't agree with you more. But I always get this funny feeling in the pit of my stomach when I hear the word "business" used in relation to a sports trade or such. Teams use it when they make an unpopular move. Players make it when they demand more than a franchise is willing to unload. In the case with Hakeem ... my point is this. If his "committment to noncommittal talks" (my phrase) is just "business" .... well ... when this is over .... and it will be soon .... then I do not want to hear one peep out of him about his "really wanting to end my career with the Rockets, but ...". I don't want another word in the vein of " ... I wanted to stay but they didn't want me anymore ..." or " ... this was my frist choice but they wanted to go in a different direction ...". He is making these choices. Granted the Rockets are trying to get him for a price lower than what he expects. But that is why it is called negotiation. Frankly, he is being offered a salary that is far more than any I would have offered. But that's another story. One (not a usual) source tells me CD tabled a pretty good package early, but Hakeem (his agent) turned it down. While a second one was being hammered out, he and his agent have become difficult to contact. (Contract talks are long drawn-out affairs with lots of nit-picking. Even over the most inconsequential details.) Difficult to consult. No bi-lateral rapport. Doesn't sound like a two way street in the old negotiation game to me. "Just business". "Just business". Mmmmmmmmm if it was "Just Buisness", we would have been shopping and renouncing, and ignoring Hakeem's games. As it is he is being tolerated because of his legend and career here in Houston. So let's stop hanging that tag on the Rockets. Put it where it blelongs. Be willing to place the blame of a Hakeem-less roster (if it comes to that) right on Hakeem's shoulders. ------------------
Bumping this back up again... Pops, are you out there? ------------------ Draftsource.net-- the premier source for draft info. Profiles, rankings, mock drafts, and more! The Mo Taylor Fan Site
I definitely think that a team has to be carefull of its reputation. Look at Chicago, no free agent wants to play there regardless of the money Krause is willing to throw at them. Why? The Reputation that the team got dealing with Phil Jackson and Snottie Quitten. Everyone associated with basketball thinks that Krause did not give that team a chance to finish dominating the NBA before he broke the team up. Every one thinks he dumped Jackson for his oversized ego. Pippen whinned the last few years of how he got no respect from management and even Jordan claimed that Krause broke up the team to soon. The Rockets are just the oppisite. Because of the way they handle their players they are one of the premier clubs for free agents. The Rockets are seen as a club that respects and treats its players with dignity. I think Rudy and CD are as concerned with how renouncing Dream might be veiwed by the rest of the league as they are with how it is veiwed by the fans and Houston. ------------------
