Rocket's Future

Now for the Rockets future. I can't bear to think beyond 2-3 years. I don't know if I will be able to even watch basketball if Olajuwon retires. He is my favorite player of all time. For the Rockets to compete in 1999 a few things must happen. We MUST retain Olajuwon & Willis(Too late he's already gone). We should keep Rhodes, O. Harrington, and Maloney. They are all cheap decent players. Plus Maloney has run the offense for the last two years, atleast keep him as a reserve he's not THAT bad. If Barkley wants to play for us next year, then he should understand his role on our team and stick to it. Les Alexander did it again by picking up Scottie Pippen in a huge move for the Rockets. This should keep the fans coming and the team competitive for as long a Hakeem is with us(Thank God). We should get rid of Brent Price, PLEASE. We have lost Elie to free agency. He wanted a bigger paycheck than the team was willing to pay, and his age and poor 1998 season made him expendable. If we could lure another free agent with some ability, (Jim Jackson, or Rod Strickland) we could definitely compete in the 1999 playoffs and beyond.

*(The future of the Rockets isn't looking as bad as I first thought. I'm coming to terms with Hakeem retiring. I've just decided to enjoy whatever else he can give us. Our rookies, Dickerson & Mobley, were much better than I had hoped for. Especially Mobley, he was asked to start at the point for a veteran team, when it wasn't even his natural position. Dickerson didn't live up to the hype some people gave him, but he still has some potential. So, when Olajuwon does retire we will have plenty of free cash to sign a very good free agent, and Mobley and Dickerson will be 3 year veterans by that time. We didn't keep Rhodes. I felt it was an even trade off. We gave up defense and got offense, but offense wasn't a huge problem for the 99 team. It was our defense that was our downfall. I was hoping Maloney could improve a little, or at least maintain his game. Well, turns out I was hoping for too much. I've never seen a player go from two year starter to last man off the bench. I wanted him to start, because he had experience running our offense. I think that lack of experience hurt us more that people realize.)