This “I hate this!” copy talks about Dennis Rodman - a famous basketball player. He has undisputedly enjoyed loads of NBA fans, but there are also negative opinions on his current form, one of which you are reading now. This rant is soft and more analytical than “hatred”. Hope you enjoy reading!

Last summer, an offseason free of Rodman was ruined by the Worm’s workout with the Nuggets. This summer, we have made it to the end of August, but here we are, with Rodman’s agent, Darren Prince, trying to hype up a Rodman return. Prince told Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald that he is in touch with several GMs and that Rodman would like to make a comeback with the Bulls or Lakers.

Uh, right. Milli might reunite with Vanilli, but I would not hold my breath.

First off, here is how hard it is to be in touch with a GM: Call an NBA front office, ask for the GM’s office and leave a message with his secretary. There you go: you’re in touch with a GM. So don’t be impressed by Prince’s contact with GMs.

Second, there is no way the Bulls would bring Rodman back. Didn’t work out too well when they brought in Scottie Pippen to bring back the glory days, did it? GM John Paxson got this team to forge its own identity last year, separate from the Michael Jordan championship years. He does not need to go down the sentimentality road again. The team got great leadership from veterans Eric Piatkowski, Antonio Davis and Adrian Griffin. Just imagine the leadership Rodman would provide.

Forget the Lakers. Jerry Buss was charmed into signing Rodman once in 1999, and he was fortunate that Rodman showed up for 23 games. There were a handful of games, remember, that Rodman simply decided not to show up for. It was an embarrassment. One would think Buss, after laying his reputation on the line once for Rodman, would not be willing to make the same mistake twice.

The wider issue is not Rodman’s behavior, either. He has had a few more arrests than the average citizen in the last few years, but every big-time athlete lives by the Daryl Strawberry rule, which states clearly: If you can perform at an elite level, no matter what you do off the field, no matter who you hit, how drunk you are when you drive, how large a sack o’ drugs you get busted with, you will get another chance. If you can still play.

Rodman is 44. At the end of his playing days in L.A., then Dallas, his talent was outweighed by his off-court baloney. Now, even if there was a guarantee that his off-court issues are settled, he simply can’t play anymore. That’s what the Nuggets discovered when they worked him out last year. That’s what teams that went to watch him play for Long Beach of the ABA last year found.

Rodman is old. Kevin Willis is 42, and he’s the oldest guy in the league - and the only reason he is in the league is because of his level-headed demeanor and leadership. Don’t count on getting either of those out of Rodman. Don’t count on him getting a contract, either. And let’s see if we can get through the 2006 offseason without this foolishness coming up.

Credits: Sean Deveney