I couldn't imagine what being a Rockets fan would have been like without Hakeem. It just wouldn't have felt right.
Remember, we're talking about drafting someone before they become great. It's easy to pick them after they become legends.
This thread is about hindsight though, so we know they both become great. The question was, which great player you would take knowing all this now.
Portland took Sam Bowie over Jordan and Barkley, they were also willing to trade Drexler and the #2 (Jordan or Barkley) for Ralph Sampson. I don't think they were a very good front office. Imagine a lineup of Houston's big three, for their whole careers. No one would know who Jordan is right now. 1 - John Lucas 2 - Mitchell Wiggins 3 - Clyde Drexler 4 - Charles Barkley 5 - Hakeem Olajuwon I think they could win every championship from '86-'96.
Wow, the NBA would have been a very boring place for about 15 years. Theoretical 1994 or so : "Vegas will give you 1.000000000000001:1 odds on that Houston wins it all. Again. And again...
The reason they took Bowie though is they were very happy with Drexler and felt they needed a big man. Olajawon was hands down the best big man in the draft but they knew he'd be gone with the number one pick. If he was still there, they'd have taken him over Sam Bowie for certain.
There's no way I would select Jordan over Hakeem simply because it would drastically alter history. You can't be certain that Jordan brings 6 titles because what happens when Sampson turns to crap and is replaced by Joe Barry Carroll? Hakeem goes to Portland with Clyde and easily could have won 4 or 5 titles there.
True. But it would have been fun to watch Jordan do his thing as a Rocket. Even if he would only won ONE ring.
yeah who knows, it all depends on the right circumstances. This is a stupid philosophical thread. It's like saying what if we selected Al Gore for pres. instead of GWB Jr?
well of course. but it's not stupid if it's fun. and some of us enjoy this kind of thing. if you don't, post in other threads.
-Agreed. I just can't see a team with Jordan, Thorpe, Horry, K. Smith, etc knocking off a team of Hakeem, Clyde, Terry porter, ainge, buck williams etc. That decision would have seriously altered Jordan and Hakeem's legacy. If Houston had taken MJ and he won only 1 or 2 rings or even none, would he still be considered the best player ever? -As great as MJ was, the fact is he always had a 2nd superstar by his side in all his titles. He wouldn't have had that in Houston except for the couple years Sampson was around.
You are assuming that we would have picked Thorpe, Horry, K. Smith in the 90's. That wouldn't be the case. The only reason that those players were brought in for Hakeem was because that was the best we could get at the time. You are forgetting that there was decade called the 80's. And Jordan made his mark in that time frame too. If we would have Jordan, whose to say we wouldn't have traded Sampson for Barkley, or Drexler? Or maybe we would have brought back Moses for a couple years, then got Shawn Kemp in the 90's. There are so many different endless possibilities. I can tell you this. Thorpe, Horry, K. Smith, would not have been needed.
Poor Sam. He happened to be sandwiched between two of the best Hall of Famers of all time. Drafts are a funny thing. THE GOOD: Tony Parker: Draft: 2001 - 1st round (28th overall) by the San Antonio Spurs Emanuel Ginobili: Draft: 1999 - 2nd round (57th overall) by the San Antonio Spurs Nick Van Exel: Draft: 1993 - 2nd round (37th overall) by the Los Angeles Lakers Sam Cassell: Draft: 1993 - 1st round (24th overall) by the Houston Rockets Cuttino Mobley: Draft: 1998 - 2nd round (41st overall) by the Houston Rockets Troy Hudson: Not Drafted! Former CBA Player The BAD: Marcus Camby: Draft: 1996 - 1st round (2nd overall) by the Toronto Raptors Keith Van Horn: Draft: 1997 - 1st round (2nd overall) by the Philadelphia 76ers Kwame Brown: Draft: 2001 - 1st round (1st overall) by the Washington Wizards The UGLY: Derrick Coleman: Draft: 1990 - 1st round (1st overall) by the New Jersey Nets Sam Bowie: Draft: 1984 - 1st round (2nd overall) by the Portland Trailblazers Joe Smith: Draft: 1995 - 1st round (1st overall) by the Golden State Warriors Honorable Mention: Mike Bibby: Draft: 1998 - 1st round (2nd overall) by the Vancouver Grizzlies Kenyon Martin: Draft: 2000 - 1st round (1st overall) by the New Jersey Nets
-That's true. I guess a better way of putting my argument is this: If Houston did a similar job of surrounding Jordan with talent as it did for Hakeem (i.e. struggled mightily for years to find a set of complimentary players or a 2nd star who was in his prime) while Hakeem and Clyde are in Portland (2 bonafide superstars who had great on-court chemistry going back to their college days), I can tell you this: MJ does not win 6 rings. Let's remember that after the Sampson debacle, it took years for the team for find some even average talent to surround Hakeem. There were many years of the Mike Woodson's, Winston Garland's, Purvis Short's, Chievous's, etc where Hakeem basically had to carry several stiffs into the playoffs.
One thing that will make you wonder is if we would have drafted Jordan, Samson would have played the Center spot. If he was playing C, he might not have gotten injured. Jordan and a healthy Samson? Very tempting, but I would rether have Dream and a healthy Samson.
Without being a homer, Dream was the right pick for Houston. I'm not saying that MJ is not the greatest player ever, however, can you imagine him playing with a bunch of Otis Thorpe, Robert Horry under Rudy's inside out strategy and still win a championship? Now, if Ralph stayed healthy and we kept him, then it might be different.
My question is, if Hakeem signs with Nike, did not have the accent and got the same calls reserved for Jordan, would we even think of Jordan as the greatest?
