If Hakeem is washed up, do you think Toronto would trade him back to us (plus a little cap fodder) for Cato?
The plain truth is the Raptors will be sitting on the couch next to the Rockets watching the Lakers or another team from the West win another championship. Deal with it. os
Do you think that if the Rockets were having a better year, we would have a lot fewer of these petty, bitter jilted lover type threads?
Wouldn't getting injured actually help the Raptors, because they could give the minutes to Clark and Davis, the ones who deserve them?
I live in Toronto, but am a Rockets fan first, Raptors fan second. So 'AB' I am quite familiar with Hakeems career, the great times and now the bad times. He is not the player he was when they won the championships (obvious), but what I am saying is he is not even the player he was last year. He is fading, and fading fast. I have gone to about 10 games this year, and the guy just doesn't have it anymore- getting most of this shots blocked/changed, weak rebounding, weak defense (he has let weak post players school him - see LA Clippers game). I will trade Hakeem back to you for Cato anyday. That won't happen, so I desperately want Hakeem to come to his senses, do Toronto, his loyal fans, and himself a favor and retire after this season.
Your feelings about Olajuwon are pretty much the same as mine (don't laugh, Freak). I just happen to be more vocal and caustic about it. However, I know it's frustrating to watch such a dominant athlete at one time hang on like Hakeem is doing.
I could buy that, if he was just playing limited minutes. But the lack of quickness... I don't think you can fake that. Or deliberately play slowly, in hopes of "saving" yourself for the playoffs. IMO, if this is what was going on... Hakeem would only get 15 minutes of playing time or so... but they'd be *good* minutes.
Haven, he is going to be a presence in the playoff or anytime earlier when he wants it. I just saw Sportcenter and they were showing highlights of Raptors/Wolves which the Raptors won with acceptable performance from teh Dream. The highlights featured a move by JWilliams that was created and perfected by the Dream. They even did a flashblack to show the Dream doing it and then a split screen to show both players doing the move. It is the move where he drive baseline and show the ball with the right hand under the basket, then a 360 spin for a layup. I have also seen KT do it this season. Could you imagine if JWilliams could master a couple of those moves by the playoffs? Then the Dream, with his play and influence, would have given the Raptors more than their money's worth and the best possible opportunity to date to win a championship.
good point... i think a lot of us hoped originally that hakeem would be a mentor to cato but that didn't work out. in part because of cato's disinterest in improving up till now and also hakeems disinterest in fading into the background (at least here in houston). but i do think if dream does become a mentor up in toronto then i think that they've gotten a better deal than they realize... to bad he couldn't have done that in houston.
Hakeem WAS great, and he did bring two titles to Houston. But, geez, it was time to move on...particularly at the price the Raptors ended up paying...the Rockets were already too deep into contracts with players where they weren't getting good return. Hakeem is a classic aging superstar...they are unable to see themselves in the present...their view of their present game is completely caught up in the fact that they were the number one option for a franchise for an entire generation. It's very difficult for any man to see that slip away...so they choose to deny it. And then they complain about playing time, because they just can't understand why coach doesn't want them in during key junctures of the game...the time they've always cherished being "the man"
