Moochie was seeking 6yrs/34mil!!

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/1083224


Staying with Rockets Norris' first and only choice


By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Gym rat that he might be, Moochie Norris tried another sport.

Norris played hardball. He refused to back down and take an offer that dwarfed anything he had earned before. He fought for a longer contract. Though it pained him, he held out through training camp.

But there was one part of typical NBA contract haggling he would not try. Norris would not deny he wanted to be with only one team. There was no point. No one would have believed him.

For all the Rockets' oft-maddening difficulty in reaching an agreement with Norris on a six-year, $22.7 million contract finally signed on Tuesday, Norris had never been coy about his interests.

"They knew I wanted to be here. Everybody knew I wanted to stay with the Rockets," Norris said. "I'm happy. I just knew it would work out. I just love the fit. The system Rudy (Tomjanovich) runs fits my game. The coaching staff, the players. It just works out well for me."

Norris was so determined to remain with the Rockets, his agent Dan Fegan said that Norris all but ignored other opportunities.

"At every juncture he was very clear to me he wanted to remain a Rocket," Fegan said. "I explained to him there were opportunities with other teams, fading opportunities especially in July and the early part of August, that if we didn't act on quickly would disappear. It never fazed him."

Norris said he considered moving on, but was never tempted. The toughest part of his offseason came last week when the Rockets not only held their training camp without him, but took his Westside Tennis Club playmates with them.

"I'm the kind of guy, I'm so into my basketball I was anxious to get out on the court," Norris said before joining the Rockets for their trip to tonight's preseason game against the Phoenix Suns at the University of New Mexico. "Money is one thing, but I'm so excited to get back on the court that part (the money) really hasn't sunk in yet."

The Rockets said they never lost confidence that Norris would rejoin them and always considered him an ideal fit for the role he served last season. Norris became Steve Francis' backup, but also became Cuttino Mobley's backup by allowing Francis to play some at shooting guard.

Norris averaged 6.6 points in 20.2 minutes with the Rockets last season. He made 44.6 percent of his shots with 3.5 assists per game.

"The big picture was I knew Moochie loves it here," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "It's a good place for him. It's a good thing for us, too. I really felt confident it would all work.

"His ability is very, very big. We want to be a running team. We want to be a penetrating, move-the-defense type team. And he's very good at that. He's also a solid defender. He doesn't get enough credit for that. He doesn't make mistakes defensively. And he has a toughness. He's also a great personality guy, one of our emotional leaders."

But in contrast to the joy ride of Norris' tenure with the Rockets had been, inspiring former teammate Shandon Anderson to call Norris "the mayor of Houston," the contract haggling was often acrimonious.

Norris was seeking $34 million over six years; the Rockets countered with $13.3 million over four years.

Fegan was able to find sign-and-trade offers. But because Norris would have been subject to the salary-cap rules involving "base-year" contracts, some of those options dried up when the Rockets offered their disabled player exception to center Marc Jackson.

Dallas, Indiana, Portland, Denver and Detroit had expressed interest in Norris either as a free agent or in a sign-and-trade deal. But Norris never visited another team, and the Rockets never had a trade they considered worth making.

"The difference we had to work through is Moochie is a backup with the Rockets and the fact that he would be a starter for many other teams in the league," Fegan said. "That was the primary difference. It was typical negotiations that were at times very difficult.

"(Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson) felt very strongly about his position, and we felt strongly about ours. There was a lot of compromise, but we compromised more. I think (Norris) proved his value as a starter. But on this team, he's a backup."

As contentious as negotiations became, Fegan said he never felt that previous negotiations he had with the Rockets for Anderson and Hakeem Olajuwon became a factor.

"Ultimately, CD is a professional and his calmness in the process enabled us to get this done," Fegan said. "CD has a very calm, gentlemanly demeanor in what I thought at times was a very difficult negotiation."

When it was over, Norris got what he wanted and -- just as important -- where he wanted it. Hours later, Norris was on the Rockets charter and ready to fit in again.

"That's what makes me special right there," Norris said. "As a point guard, I'm used to getting everybody the ball. Jelling with everybody is something I'm accustomed to.

"I just want to get out there as soon as possible."


I'm glad that Moochie made the Rockets his only choice but if 6 years/$23 million seems like a lot, 6 years/$34 millions is just crazy!