the rockets should have known better than i did, and traded dream.

I would trade Hakeem for McGrady and Willis in second.

But I would like it if Hakeem retired this year so we can go and get the big free agents.

 

Not true at all. That was just rumor. Hakeem, like Rudy, did not know about the deal until the last second. CD somewhat knew about the deal, but didn't know how deep Barr had taken it. When he and Rudy found out, they pulled the plug, and thus Barr left or in other words, was "forced out". I got this cleared up a while back.

Hakeem never asked to have another year added onto his contract. [A friend of mine knows his wife well, and she said they are waiting for his contract to run out...if that is so, why would he want another year added on?]

He would never allow the Rockets to trade him. He would retire before it got to that point.

That is what I know for a fact. My guess on things:

From the way he plays, [and from his wife's comments], it pretty much seems he has zero desire left to play in him. He is just waiting. Besides, why would any team want to trade for him, even if he allowed it? He couldn't even capitalize against the likes of John Ameachi and John Salley, why would any team want to trade $15 million worth of players for him, for two more years...(?) By then, not only will his skills have declined but he will have lost all desire to play.

I say we just let the guy stay, seeing he has done so much for the franchise. There is nothing else we can do. He might be hurting us with his ego, but what else can we do?

 

Cabbage,
If you believe Hakeem's a slowly progressing cancer, the Rockets ougght to give him chemotherapy: cut minutes, then bench, then tell him to help the team or to continue sitting on the bench, and always remind Hakeem that if he doesn't like it, he can retire. That's a nasty thing to do to a Houston hero and legacy, but it's pretty crappy to drag a team down by commanding the ball, slowing progress of an up and coming team, and to top it off by privately saying he doesn't have the desire to play. If what you have conveyed is true, we ought to trade Hakeem to any taker. If his pride is so insurmountable as to make him play until his contract expires at the expense of the team, he should take his butt elsewhere. Period.

 

Cabbage, Did Barr resign because he felt undermined on that deal? Why did he go?

 

Whiteboy:

That's all I was told. So I really don't know more than that on the subject. All I know for sure is that the:

"Rudy was working on the deal, Hakeem asked for another year to his contract, when the Raptors said 'no', they all acted surprised"

story is myth. That's all I can tell you.


Pass 1st, Shoot 2nd:

I don't really think Hakeem is so stubborn that he wants to be The Man and slow the team down ala Ewing, etc. I don't think that's the case at all. I think what is happening is that Dream just doesn't understand that times have changed and that he is hurting the team when he posts up. I think if someone had the balls to explain that to him, he would accept his new role. It's just a matter of Dream not understanding what is going on. Dream is a very good person, and I am sure he would be willing to do what the team wants him to do. Someone needs to tell him that what he is doing is not good for the team. Other players constantly listen to what the media and public has to say about them, but Dream doesn't seem like that type. For that reason, I think he just doesn't know what everyone wants him to do and what is going on. Rudy just needs to explain it to him if he really wants this to be Francis/Mobley's team.

 

I also think that Dream played the innocent little girl game was crap. Anyway, I hope he can retire after this season so that we can have a shot at Grant Hill and Time Duncan, who knows what will happen if we get Time Duncan, we might get Grant Hill too. Hakeem is still a good player capable of half a game domination, but I'd like to see him retire for the Rockets' future like Drexler did, in return for not trading him.

 

"but now there's a player that doesn't fit the new, effective team, and he's paid 1/2 of the cap."

Yeah, just another player, that's all HAKEEM OLAJUWON is.

"willis, or willis, why the hell are you in toronto? your trade helped us immeasurably (and scottie) but you would seem like a dream compared to #34 right now."

Now he's referred to as "#34"? I see you have plenty of respect for the person responsible for the only professional sports titles the city of Houston has ever known.

"what would we lose w/o dream? a piece of our past?"

Yeah, just a little one, I think.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at these comments, coming from someone who said:

"i followed charles to the rockets b/c i was a charles fan, not a rockets fan."

 

Question for the Freak...So are you saying that if in 94 Hakeem was traded to the Suns you wouldn't be following the Suns????

Cabbage. Rudy did know about the trade for a while. I remember during some half time show, that the Reporters were speaking of how Rudy had to take a week off at his cabing (something like that) to make a decision, and after a week he decided he had to stay loyal. As per the statement that Hakeem asked for another year, man o man do I ever wish I could remember where I read that at.

 

I think Rudy went away for that week for "plausible deniability." That's the phrase political folks here in DC use to describe a friend or colleague who says "I don't want to know whether you're breaking the law," so that he won't have to lie when he's asked whether you're breaking the law.

In Rudy's case, by getting out of town, he didn't have to hear from Barr and didn't have to talk to Hakeem, and therefore maintained as much ignorance as possible (though he surely knew what was going on) and didn't have to answer questions from Hakeem, which might have put him in the position of pretending to know less than he did.

If this is what happened, it's a little bit sleazy, but it's a lot less sleazy than actually knowing everything Barr knew and feigning ignorance to Hakeem.

Will someone explain to me again why the Rockets can't get cap space if Hakeem announces that he's tired of basketball and will retire at the end of this season? It seems absurd to hold the Rockets hostage to Hakeem's salary for next year if it's his decision (not the team's) to leave early.

 

will: its in the CBA. if a player retires before his contract runs out, the salary he would have been making still counts against that team's cap. it is the team's prerogative to decide whether or not to pay him, but it still counts against the cap.

the exception is that if the player is forced to retire due to medical reasons. the league hires its own neutral doctor to valididate the medical condition.

therefore, unless kareem has a career ending injury, his retirement will due nothing for the rocks current cap problems.

credit this info to larry coon and his superb cba faq.

 

Thanks for the info. Do any of you understand the rationale behind this rule? Does it appear in the CBA anywhere near the clause that requires the Houston Rockets to overpay Scottie Pippen as retroactive compensation for his being underpaid during his championships with the Chicago Bulls?

 

Thanks for the info, if that's true I think Dream will still be very valuable staying as a Rocket.

 

Strange. I was under the impression, all along, that early retirement would lift half of the player's contract off the salary cap.

One other thing, if anyone knows the answer. Something I am pretty sure everyone wants to know for sure. Once Dream does retire, and we get his entire salary lifted off the cap, will we have a considerable chunk of change ($8-$10 mill) for free agents? The only person I have heard a definitive answer from is dreamshake99, and he has said that Cato's new deal pretty much nullifies any space we would have had. Can anybody clear this up?

 

It just amazes me that some people would just toss Dream away cus they don't think he is any good anymore. He gave us two championships, is still a good center and deserves more respect than that. I don't buy the argument of it being a business. He is one of the all time greats and deserves to go out with dignity as a Rocket!

I would be willing to bet anyone that we will need Dream before this season is over, and he will make a difference, especially if we can get into the playoffs. If we have to play San Antonio, Lakers, or Portland as the 6th, 7th or 8th seed, you can believe me we will need Dream.

Also, what was said about Dream just riding the time clock for the last two years of his contract does not ring true to me. That is not his character and part of his religious beliefs is to work as hard as he can at his job.

I only hope he will adjust his game to this new style, and actually he already has been at the top of the key a lot more than in the past. If Thomas Hamilton can get down the court in enough time for this offense, I know Dream can also.

 

BBallfanatic,

I, for one, am not saying we should get rid of him or ask him to retire. However, I'm definitely saying he has to get acquainted with the bench at this point in his career. Hakeem could still start, but I don't want to see him getting over 30 mins a game unless we're battling a San Antonio, for example. This team was built and geared for speed. Hakeem, for whatever reason, be it his apathy towards the game (which I can't believe), his age and declining skills is not getting up and down the court. Hakeem has never been known for running the break well or as being a finisher on the break. I have news for you, it isn't getting any better... his team usually plays 4 on 5 basketball while waiting for him to run up the court and get in position as the 1st option on offense. That is WRONG. Hakeem has to understand that he cannot be the sole focus of the offense getting over 20 and 25 shots per game.

Shandon Anderson is doing well now. Bryce Drew is doing well now. We're suddenly seeing the emergence of Kenny Thomas. We have one of, if not THE best, young point guard talent in the NBA. Is it coincidence all this started happening once we got rid of the D-I-T Hakeem offense in his absence? I can't say for certain... Maybe it's just coincidence, but if you asked me about 6 or 7 games ago if the Rockets could handle Phoenix like they've done without Hakeem in one game, and without he and Francis in another game, I'd think you were out of your mind.

------------------
Rocket fuel pumps through these veins...

 

I did't mean to be disrespectable to Hakeem, I was just hoping he would retire for the Rockets rebuilding. Since that won't help the cap that is nonsense.