ballocks

i was wondering how players get paid once they retire- is it the FULL contract that's remaining to them?

i was thinking of hakeem olajuwon in particular. to my knowledge, he is being paid every cent that he signed on for in 2001 as part of a 4 year- 16 million contract. is this true?

if it is, what's stopping shaq or kobe or kg, when they become free agents, to sign a long-term max deal (with bird rights) and retire the next day (or soon thereafter)? anything at all?

is that seen as a loophole in the cba? i don't know. it just doesn't exactly seem like the fairest of propositions.

last, what are the salary cap implications for said players? i know olajuwon is held against the cap until he is checked out medically by a league-appointed physician. is that the only exception?

if kobe retired the day after signing a 7 year- 110 million dollar deal, and the lakers couldn't free cap space for those 7 years, i would think that the franchise would crumble under such ridiculous circumstances. there must be some special considerations... i'm just not sure what they are.

peace