hakeem olajuwon

Revisiting The Barkley Rockets: Was He Worth It?

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As we are in the depths of the NBA off-season and waiting for a couple of big names to (maybe) be traded, I thought this would be a good time to review an old controversial big trade: The Rockets’ trade of Charles Barkley in the summer of 1996.  Houston traded two key young players (Sam Cassell and Robert Horry) for a 33-year old Barkley in a bid to squeeze another title out of the Hakeem Olajuwon/Clyde Drexler core.  The trade didn’t win Houston a title but was it a bad deal?  … [Read more...] about Revisiting The Barkley Rockets: Was He Worth It?

Revisiting Magic’s Comeback

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I’ve been reading Jeff Pearlman’s great new book “Three Ring Circus,” which examines the Kobe-Shaq Era in Los Angeles from 1996-2004.  The book is fascinating in its subject but also touches on the pre-Kobe-Shaq times.  There is a short prologue on the 1995-96 Lakers, who were a decent team that happened to feature the return of a 36-year old Magic Johnson.  Magic’s comeback is a fascinating blip in NBA history.  The return is viewed as mostly forgettable because Magic did not get along with … [Read more...] about Revisiting Magic’s Comeback

Would Anyone Have Beaten Jordan In 1993-94?

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With indefinite malaise upon us, we turn back in time again and ask a hypothetical question: Would anyone have beaten the 1993-94 Bulls if Michael Jordan had not retired? As a brief recap, the Bulls had two separate three-peats, from 1990-91 to 1992-93 and, again, from 1995-96 to 1997-98.  In each case, the Bulls were not as strong by the third year of the three-peat, which suggests that the task of a four-peat (or more) would have been unlikely.  To demonstrate the diminishing returns, … [Read more...] about Would Anyone Have Beaten Jordan In 1993-94?

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