Retired Olajuwon still active on Raptors' payroll http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/stein_marc/1459091.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Marc Stein ESPN.com Q: Hakeem Olajuwon has, I believe, two years left on his contract. He is retiring. Now why are the Raptors obligated to pay him for the remaining two years (it's quite a bit of money, around $12 milllion, right?) if he is quitting? I mean, if you sign a contract, isn't part of the deal that you actually play? If you quit, how much BS is it that a team still has to pay you? Am I missing something here? Robbie Gower A: You're absolutely right, Robbie. Which explains why Hakeem hasn't officially retired. If you formally retire -- like the late Bison Dele did -- you forfeit the balance of your contract. Hakeem hasn't. A player isn't officially retired until he sends a retirement letter to the league office and very few players in recent years (Chris Mullin, Ron Harper and Clyde Drexler are just a few examples) have taken that step. Insurance will cover 80 percent of Dream's remaining salary if a team of independent doctors determines that his back trouble is indeed career-ending. That's how the Raptors will be spared from paying most of the $12 million, although the numbers won't immediately drop off the salary cap. You'll note that the Rockets retired Dream's No. 34 on Saturday night, but that Dream's name is still right there on the Raptors' roster. He's on the injured list. By the letter of the law, he's still regarded as an active player and I'm guessing he'll stay that way until the finances are settled because Dream doesn't plan to give away one cent. Expect a similar scenario if Terrell Brandon has to "retire" in Minnesota -- it won't happen until the doctors rule that insurance has to pay off 80 percent of Brandon's contract. ---------------------------------------------- Sure feels good after so many years of the Rockets' paying for stiffs on other teams, to see someone footing the bill for supporting some Rockets players.
It's people like Olajuwon, who make OUR insurance rates go higher. Way to go Dream. Good to see some things never change.
That's the one thing I dislike about the Dream -- he isn't all about the money, but it seems pretty close.
Do you know anyone who's taken retirement packages, or when companies give employees deals to retire early instead of laying them off? Hakeem isn't doing exactly that, but he his being a smart business man. I'm sure nobody who's posted their displeasure here would ever take an early retirement package from a company, or accept insurance money from work related accidents. Hakeem's health after all does affect his ability to work. Insurance paying him, doesn't really seem all that bad to me. I guess there will always be people who just want to hate Hakeem.
Im more upset that Hakeem left the Rockets for a couple more million dollars. I could care less if he gets his money or not. Unfortunately, I will never forget that he did that. It was wrong in my book. He should have always been a Rocket.
I can understand that more then. I still disagree, since it didn't seem like the Rockets did all that much to make him feel welcome to stay. I remember hearing that after Canadian taxes or whatever the two offers were pretty much equal. He himself said he just wanted to try free-agency and see what it was like. Ideally I would have wanted him to have never played for another team besides the Rockets, but I think it pales in comparison to all the good he did for the team, and Houston Sports in general.
See the thing you guys forget about Hakeem is he doesnt speak english very well. And I will give you an example why he wants as much money as possible from his contract. Do you remember those Jordan shoes or those Burger King commercials that you see with Shaq in them... Well when Hakeem was at the height of his NBA playing days he had sponsers like Voit, I remeber I saw the shows and poster in Walmart. So what I am trying to say is he didnt get the endorsements like other players of his caliber so I am guessing that he deserves every penny he gets from his actual playing salery. Thats my 2 cents...
Funny you mention that, because Olajuwon supposedly could have had a Nike deal, but opted for Spalding, a more affordable sneaker brand for children...
You guys acting like you hate Hakeem,or will never forgive him make me laugh..you sound like old ladies with nothing better to do but sit around gossiping about how you were wronged Get over it...like someone already said,whatever happened.. "it pales in comparison" Hakeem is like family,all families have problems at some point but sooner or later it's best to move forward and forgive..not like he's done anything to be forgiven for anyway. ...and kidcrock..like you would be in a hurry to give up 12 mil. suuuure
i know one thing,. when i was little we couldnt afford. nikes. or reeboks, and when i saw hakeems name at PAyless. it was the greatest feeling to actually wearing sumthing that was cool. thats why i love the Dream, he deserves all the money he makes.. plus the raptors are dumasses for signing a 38 yr. old injury prone center. oh well CANADIANS.....
Hey, screw the Raptors. Too bad they only have to pay 20%. Grunwald totally screwed our chemistry when he leaked the Stoudamire deal so they could get more in return. Serves 'em right. Good job, Hakeem!
Hakeem is only asking Toronto to honor the agreement it made with him. And as for your insurance rates, I didn't know you paid sports injury insurance. What team do you play for?
You do realize you're apparently a fan of a team that has Glen Rice, Kelvin Cato, and was paying Matt Maloney while he wasn't playing for them, right?
WARNING! CONSPIRICY THEORY AHEAD! WARNING! What if the Rockets knew how bad Olajuwon was physically, and made a secret agreement with him to sign with Toronto? CD: "Hakeem, I know you would take that 3 year, 13 mil contract we are offering, but you a physical wreck." HO: "I know...there is no way I can make three years." CD: "Ok, here's what you do...I can arrange a sign and trade with Toronto for the same amount of money. You go there for one year, do your best, then next season you can 'announce' your retirement without actually submitting the paperwork. You get your money, we get off the hook for trying to sign an aging, physically beaten center, and I get my revenge on Grunwald." HO: "Unbeatable!"
Behad, excellent theory! Some might ask that if that were the case, then why didn't we just do the McGrady trade? But c'mon, can we REALLY believe that they were gonna give us T-Mac when we couldn't even get Stoudamire? I think you're onto something!
I agree totally. After Enrongate and several other related and non related scandals around this town, whatever Hakeem did to get a few more dollars amounts to a misdemeanor for jaywalking in comparison. Beside, there are many occasions where athletes have gottened screwed royally by pro sports franchises and leagues. What goes around, comes back around. ~ kountzer ~
This is COMPLETELY off-topic, but the conversation reminded me of a very funny story... My father (electrical engineer) was fed up with his company's management, and he began searching for a new job. He found one, but they took a long time to get him a written offer. When they finally did it, my dad walked into his old work to tell them that he quit... and found out that he was being laid off. My dad would be getting a severence package. The guy who told him about his lay-off told him "Wow, you're taking this remarkably well." When the story got around, most people became convinced that he had planned it that way. Actually, it was just blind luck. Funny, no?
It happened to my brother about 10 years back and he got about 10K out of it. What was even funnier was that he only worked there 6 months and was quitting to go back to his old company for more money.
