Well stated, Lynus. We made our decision on Olajuwon when we killed the Toronto deal. That's it. When we decided not to trade him, we ate the consequences. On the negative side, we accepted that his trade value would continue to decline to the point (which I think we've already reached) where the shame of trading him isn't worth what we'd get in return. On the positive side, we made a statement of loyalty. If we change our minds now, we lose the positive consequence of having kept Hakeem (loyalty) without recovering from the negative consequence of having lost virtually all of his trade value. Look at it this way. There were three options in the offseason. Option A was to trade Hakeem. Option B was to keep him for the rest of his career. Option C was to reject the trade and then, a few months down the road, change our minds and try to trade him. We can argue about whether A or B was the better option. But we should all agree that C is the worst. End of calculus.
After all he has given us here in Houston we would have to be real dogs to trade him. I can't believe the Rockets would even consider moving him. I'm not sure really what the whole deal was with Toronto and who initiated what in the Rockets front office, and the resignation later, but I'd like to if someone would care enough to bring me up to speed.
I dont know who asked wanted to deal first but the deal was this. Hakeem gets traded to Toronto for Kevin Willis, Doug Chrisite, 5th pick and 12th pick. Look at the deal, can you believe they offered that much for a 36 year old center.
Yes it is amazing isn't it. Kevin Willis Doug Christie 5th pick Jonathon Bender 12th pick William Avery With the ensuing trade for Francis we would have no need for Avery and could have chosen Corey Magette. So theoretically lineup of: Cato Willis Magette Anderson Francis Barkley Christie Bender Mobley Rogers Bullard Williams Drew 2 Sandwiches That would have been nuts ...... in theory. Ohh think of the possibilities! Still I'm glad we didn't do it. Public relations nightmare! [This message has been edited by CaucasionSensation (edited December 22, 1999).]
If we had traded Hakeem, I seriously doubt we would have made the trade for Stevie later, so we're better off for not having done it anyway. I think Francis is a great palyer to build around for this team because the future of the NBA lies in the strength of your point guard.
I agree with SFR: If we made the trade a few things would not have happened, IMO. 1. Francis deal is not done, or it is done with other players. 2. Andeson doesn't sign with Houston. He came to us thinking he could make a run w/ CB-Dream & Company, not to rebuild. 3. Charles doesn't return to Houston. Charles also wouldn't have returned to a rebuilding team. Then again, the 2 picks would have been nice to have for the future! It would have been a long 2-3 years if we would have made the trade though.
I still recall the feeling when the K train left town. Hakeem is comin' back in 2K and thats all there is to that. The Rockets will make the playoffs. ------------------ We would like to get rookie Francis on the break for some easy scoops in the first quarter...
I'm still reading sentiments about trading Olajuwon. Here are the reason we should NOT trade him (most of these have been stated over and over again, so one more time won't hurt): 1. He will retire before allowing a trade. 2. If he retires, his salary still counts against the cap this year and the next, therefore not freeing up any new cap room. 3. If we trade him and he retires, we would get NOTHING in return: No extra cap room, and no one to replace him. 4. Though not as dominant as he WAS, he is still one of the best centers in the league, and can dominate on any given night. 5. The man is FAR from washed-up. He's 37. He has slowed a bit, and is still fully capable of taking over a game. 6. He is a 2-time champion. 7. He is a Most Valuable Player (should be 2 time with the way he schooled Robinson). 8. He is a 2-time Defensive Player of the Year. 9. He is a 2-time Finals Most Valuable Player. 10. He provides experience. 11. He provides a go-to guy. 12. Here's what is probably the killer: If Dream was successfully traded, what would that do to the arena referendum? Most everyone in this city loves Olajuwon and this would be a PR DISASTER for the Rockets. With most everyone's love for the Dream, your average, non-sports-fan/casual observer/bandwaggoning voter would see this as a dis to the city, and just might vote against the arena again just to spite the Rocket organization. Please take notice that I didn't say anything about loyalty. If you still want to trade him, please try to remember this: Trading Dream = Dream's retirement = NOTHING FOR THE HOUSTON ROCKETS, and quite possibly the birth of the Baltimore/New Orleans Rockets Thank you. ------------------ Proud Cheerleader 'til we move to New Orleans 302 [This message has been edited by Lynus302 (edited December 22, 1999).]
My two cents about loyalty. Don't complain at Pippen quitten if you want the rocks to turn their backs on their best player ever. The rockets management would be no better than Pippen. I happen to be very proud of the integrity of the rockets management since 1990. It is this integrity that gives me hope the rocks will resign Mobley. It is why Anderson is here. I think it is why barkley gave it one more go with the rockets. It is why rodman and Sprewell aren't. I cheered the day Mad Max left. He did some great things for the rockets, but I could never cheer for him. I will root for the rockets no matter who is on the team. I would rather the rockets lose with dignity and Integrity than by winning with tanking and felons. I think Charles and Hakeem have been positive role models for the youngsters. I do not expect the team to keep taking its lumps. These are my views. Nothing anyone can say will ever change them. I could be completely wrong about everything in this post, but I don't care.
It's always fun, although frivolous to have 20/20 hindsight and do the "what if" routine. I still think we're better off with Hakeem, rather than having traded him. With him back in the lineup, we'll make the playoffs next year. Even though he wants to charge toward the playoffs this year, I'd rather him work this year to play away from the basket and gell with the team, developing new moves just like Kareem did, so we have our best chances next year. If he did that, he might even be able to stay another couple years. I find myself wishing we could hit the lottery this year, (as long as we don't develop a losing attitude, and the losing comes from gaining experience and refinement of our team) and maybe package the two extra picks and a player or two for another lottery player. If we were able to get Kenyon Martin at power forward and Chris Porter at small forward, things would look up indeed. The only way the trade for Hakeem could have been possibly worth it, would have been if we could have traded the #5 and #22 to LAC for the #4 and taken Odom. Then picked up Maggette at #12. Then we'd have Christie, Willis, Odom and Maggette. But if Christie was here, we wouldn't have gotten Anderson, nor would we have gotten Thomas, so the net result of the trade would have been Odom and Willis for Dream. The Dream deserves better than that, even though Odom will probably turn out to be a great future talent who we might look back and do the "what ifs" like all do about Jordan and Drexler. Dream has been the heart and soul of the Rockets. If he wants to stay, we should honor this desire. He knows how to win the championship. This needs to be passed on to the new generation of Houston Rockets.
chuck would have still come... when he was asked about the Dream trade (after the trade had collapsed) he said, well I hope they still pull something off (meaning a different trade granted, not the one he was asked about, but it shows that he wasn't entirely against that trade)
