[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-960":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1444427,1896,"Chapter 960 - 15: A New World","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-960",960,"\u003Cp>[We had high hopes for the 1991-1992 season, but the team’s performance hovered between hot and cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After 52 games of mediocrity and a fifty percent win rate, Don Chaney was replaced by Rudy Tomjanovich.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rudy Tomjanovich was a former player for the Rockets, so he understood the players’ feelings and actions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t like Bill Fitch, the \"I don’t care if you like me\" type of coach, nor like Don Chaney, the \"I want to be everyone’s friend\" kind of coach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He understood basketball, and he allowed us to play basketball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though our performance in the final third of the season wasn’t as good as the first two-thirds, even though we didn’t make the playoffs, putting Rudy in charge was a change for the better and a good sign for the future of the Rockets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, when I looked to my future, I didn’t see the respect I deserved from management.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire League had evolved to another level, and by 1990, I realized that my contract was outdated and needed to be renegotiated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had developed one of the best player-owner relationships in the League with Charlie Thomas. I had dinner at his house, he hosted a party for me in California with his friends, and he picked me up in his private jet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We spent weeks together every summer, and I thought my contract would be handled by management, that they would make the right choices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when it came to business, when it came to money, Charlie became a different person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Rockets weren’t paying me the salary I deserved according to market value, instead they offered a contract extension!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>God, in the 90s there were still teams wanting to extend contracts with their key players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Doing that only set my future salary at today’s market value, which meant I was constantly chasing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The League’s salary levels kept skyrocketing, and by the time the contract extension took effect, the contract amount was outdated again, and I still hadn’t received the compensation I deserved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, I thought of the distance between Ah Gan and me, his salary would never be delayed, nor would his skills, which made me anxious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But facing the Rockets management, I had no leverage in negotiations. I had already signed a four-year contract that hadn’t expired yet, and the Rockets refused to renegotiate, so I had no choice but to continue playing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I accepted the existing conditions and continued to serve the Rockets for 2 million US Dollars a year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I was an NBA All-NBA Team player, an All-Star starting center, leading the League in multiple stats, recognized as a top player in the League, yet I wasn’t compensated in line with my value.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether for economic reasons or for player dignity, I had to resolve this issue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So for the 1991-1992 season, I specifically went to Charlie Thomas, and said, \"The value of my current contract is somewhat too low, there’s no increase for the next few years, it remains unchanged. You know this is unfair, so we should sit down and discuss how to resolve this issue fairly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew I was speaking the truth. I was willing to accept a below-market-value payment, but he had to give me what I was worth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other teams had already adjusted player contracts to reflect market value according to the salary cap changes, Charlie said he would do the same, but he didn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In March 1992, the situation gradually deteriorated, and I went to Charlie Thomas again, asking him to fulfill his promise to do something about my contract, and he asked me to call him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I called twice, he didn’t return them, I called a third time, left a message with his secretary, saying I wouldn’t call again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He quickly called back, saying, \"Talk to Steve, we’ll figure something out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Steve Patterson had succeeded his father Ray Patterson as the Rockets’ new general manager.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t the type who was happy to see young players making big money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Steve said to me, \"You’re making more money than anyone on the team.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I said to him, \"Because I’ve contributed more than anyone on the team!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right as the new contract negotiations were underway, I pulled a hamstring during a game against the Portland Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pulled hamstring can’t be seen in X-rays or MRIs, it doesn’t turn blue or purple, it just hurts so you can’t run.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t play games with a pulled hamstring and could only sit down for treatment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was receiving treatment in the trainer’s room when Steve Patterson came to the training camp to watch practice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked knowingly, \"Where’s Hakeem?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t even walk into the locker room to take a look, instead, he called the therapist, asking what the problem was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The therapist told him it wasn’t serious and would be fine in a few days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I didn’t recover, I couldn’t join the games, the Rockets were fighting for a playoff spot at the time, without me on the court, the team couldn’t win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Patterson believed I was faking an injury and not willing to play, he angrily asked, \"What’s going on? Can you play or not?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could be at the training ground normally, but I couldn’t run, my legs hurt badly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Patterson came into the locker room and asked the coach to leave, leaving just him and me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hakeem, this is not a good negotiation strategy, you should be on the court playing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What are you talking about?\" I completely understood what he was saying, but I wanted to hear him accuse me of being a liar face-to-face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know what you’re doing, it won’t work. I’ve already talked to Charlie, he said you can play through the injury, we will renegotiate the contract this summer, I assure you, you’ll get the amount you deserve.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",978,"2026-06-06T01:41:40.447Z",1,"novelbin.me","8255acbc69b7519595b74b0028d617b836a9ece4398de2742ce93c88969fab0c","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-961","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-959",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]