02 August 2001

Catching Up

I've caught up with old friends Clarence and Tom via icq today, and Micah via the good ol' telephone. I didn't spend this much time talking to the old chums when I lived in close proximity to them!

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The hometown Rockets completed the sign-and-trade deal that will send local UH and Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon to the Toronto Raptors today. In his prime, Dream was an amazing player, probably the most physically gifted center to play the game, but in recent years, Dream has been injury prone, slow, and broken down. It's a shame when the great ones are no longer great. It's even worse when they think they still are. The Rockets would probably be a better team with him on the roster next year, but keeping him became impossible when his agent insisted on a 3-year guaranteed contract. Too much uncertainty in that for a 38-year old player who missed almost half of last year's games.

Some of the local media are reporting this story with some sadness, and most sports commentators think this could be enough to push Toronto to the top of a weak Eastern Conference. What I'm not seeing mentioned is that the Rockets have acquired a first-round and second-round draft pick in this deal, AND apparently a salary-cap exception. The salary-cap exception can presumably be used for next year (meaning another big man could be acquired before the start of the season -- making the trade a short-term wash unless Dream plays in more than half of Toronto's games) but the draft picks are a STEAL. Houston came out way ahead in this trade, and that's just not how it's being reported.

[Posted @ 10:56 PM CST]