The way Rockets offense was designed, Hakeem had to create most if not all of the offense. In one way this was great because this is what the Rokcets wanted because he could not be guarded one on one. Either Hakeem scored on single coverage or other Rockets got an open look off of double teams on Hakeem. The problem though was that he was really the only one that could generate offense. While Hakeem would get his 5 minutes/game rest, the only offense Rockets ranwere pick and role plays (Kenny/Maxwell with Thorpe). Rudy T's offense was not very creative. This put a very heavy load on Hakeem. Drexler was brought in to give Rockets another player who could initiate offense. The decision was made easier because during the 94-95 regular season Hakeem was missing games due to anemia. Also, with Hakeem out and injuries on the team, unless Rockets got a player who could run the offense, they were in danger of missing the playoffs.
I loved Otis, even met the man one time, but Carl is the better player right now. The career is the ultimate way to judge a player, but Carl isn't done yet and he's solid. He's a go-to guy at the end of games. Otis was never capable winning the game for the team on a regular basis. Otis has the edge on being able to hold the ball like it's a softball, but he didn't have a post move worth mentioning.
The only thing similar about OT and Carl L is the fact that they both played the 4. I liked OT but I will take Carl if he can but some years in playing like he is now.
A few things caused and accelerated the trade : The Rockets had won a championship already, but were playing inconsistently the following year. According to Rudy, something was missing, and that became more apparent as the weeks went on that season. The Rockets had been bringing up Clyde's name in staff meetings after Clyde had requested a trade, and when they inquired, the player Portland wanted was OT. What really flipped the switch on the trade was Vernon Maxwell losing his marbles and going into the stands after a fan. Max drew a league suspension for that. This got Rudy to thinking the team couldn't succeed if their starting SG wasn't stable and could put the team's entire season at risk. Rudy's goal was to have Drexler and Max on the floor together with Max playing PG and Clyde at the 2. Drexler could also be their starter at the 2 and be a more reliable player (in case Max flipped his wig). OT's scoring could easily be replaced by Clyde. Clyde also could replace some rebounding and for banging and taking up PF minutes, they had Carl Herrera and Chucky Brown. Hence, the trade... FYI : most of this is from memory and reading Rudy's book.
I love what Carl brings but for me it's def OT. Otis Thorpe 88-89 games played 82, 16.7ppg, .542fg% 9.6rb 89-90 82 17.1 .548 9.0 90-91 82 17.5 .556 10.3 91-92 82 17.3 .592 10.5 92-93 72 12.8 .558 8.2 93-94 82 14.0 .567 10.6 Thorpe IMO was a prototypical powerforward. I loved his game and he was a pros pro. He went out there and did his job everynight without question. I think he would have fit in nicely with this team, he had one of the best outlet passes I have ever seen and could run the floor and really finish on the break with those one handed jams
