http://www.starnews.com/print/articles/pacers25.html I dont know if this has already been posted July 25, 2001 Representatives from the New York Knicks met with Hakeem Olajuwon in Houston on Tuesday, joining the list of suitors for the free agent center. Olajuwon, 38, already has had meetings with officials from the Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat and his Houston Rockets. The Pacers and Heat both have $4.5 million midlevel exceptions at their disposal to offer Olajuwon, should the 12-time All-Star not work out a deal with the Rockets -- his team of 17 seasons. In their concern over retaining Shandon Anderson, Maurice Taylor and Moochie Norris and staying below the luxury tax level -- projected at $54.5 million -- the Rockets are under-bidding for the best player in franchise history by offering a two-year, $9.1 million contract. Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson reiterated Tuesday that re-signing Olajuwon, one of the club's five free agents, remains the No. 1 priority. "The only thing we've been trying to do is get the Dream thing solved, and nothing can happen until then," Dawson said. "There's a lot of people coming in visiting him that need our help to get him, and I've been talking to them. But I keep telling them our first order of business is to sign him ourselves, and we'll talk to them later if that doesn't work out." The Raptors, who dispatched a member of their scouting staff to Houston this week to have a first-hand look at Olajuwon's level of fitness, are wooing the Dream with the $5 million exception they gained by trading Charles Oakley to Chicago for a draft choice. The Knicks, who signed Allan Houston to a $100.4 million contract Monday and used their mid-level cap exception on former Cavaliers forward Clarence Weatherspoon, would need to engineer a sign-and-trade deal with the Rockets if they want to acquire Olajuwon. The Cleveland Cavaliers, who lead the league in centers of dubious health and talent, on Monday were the latest to join the list of Dream chasers. But other than the fact new coach John Lucas is a former Rockets teammate of Olajuwon, Cleveland seems to be a less-than-perfect fit for the future Hall of Famer. The Cavaliers are in the midst of major rebuilding and have just $1.2 million of wiggle room under the salary cap. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------
Yea, It's odd how the reported offers for Hakeem are different in this story and the NY one. ------------------
