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Jonathan Feigen says: "Moving McGrady won't come easily, if at all"

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Rocketman2000, Dec 30, 2009.

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  1. Rocketman2000

    Rocketman2000 Contributing Member

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    Please lock if already posted.

    http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2009/12/rockets_108_hornets_100_moving.html

    The calls started coming in on Tuesday, and they will keep coming now that teams know the Rockets intend to trade Tracy McGrady.

    That's how it is in the NBA. Teams sense weakness - an injury, or suspension or in this case, a request for a trade - and they try to pounce.

    Word was that the calls were to make offers the Rockets would never consider, despite the chance to put together an impressive collection of really bad contracts.

    For a few minutes, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey might have wondered if by agreeing to at least try to grant McGrady's request for a trade and give him a leave of absence while he tries, he had diminished the offers he will receive.

    He didn't. He might have for the immediate future and probably through the D-League showcase next month, the first time this season most of the GMs are in the same place at the same time. But any leverage that might have been lost with this week's news would have been lost pretty soon anyway.

    Given a few more days in front of microphones, McGrady would have said again how he felt about his limited minutes, and probably more pointedly than he did a week ago in Orlando. The Rockets might not have wanted to go public with their plans, but something was going to go public, anyway. And teams trading for McGrady would be chasing the contract rather than the player, anyway. No matter how well he comes back, for this season there is no way he will be a $22.5 million player.

    The funny thing is that by asking for the trade and leave of absence, McGrady made it less likely that the Rockets will get him what he wants.

    There is no increase in urgency now that they have taken this step. If anything, now they don't have to make a move. McGrady won't be around. There is no chance of him being disruptive or a distraction. There can be no public pressure to play him, no media inquiries about his minutes, no McGrady comments suggesting he could do so much more than he is being allowed to do.

    The things that might have pushed the Rockets harder to making a deal have now been eliminated.

    The Rockets will try, and to some degree they have been trying. But it is still a $22.5 million contract. It is very tough to make the money match when you have to pile the contracts up pretty high to get there.

    Now, more than ever, they don't have to.


    • • •

    As the Rockets begin shopping, they do know what they want. The best-case scenario would be to get back someone of All-Star-ish qualities, either a future All-Star type, someone who has some of that left, or the real thing. That would require taking back a really bad contract or two, but the Rockets would do it for someone at that level. It's not likely.

    They would take the kid with promise, sort of Joe Johnson when he left Boston to go to Phoenix and no one seemed to have an inkling of what he would become. That would really mean the Rockets would have to take back some heavy contracts, but if they liked the players' potential enough, they'd do it.

    The other possibility might be just an exchange of expiring contracts, a chance to get help this season, and for another team to see what McGrady can still do.

    If trying to guess how Morey would judge options, look for players that can play at least to the level of their contracts or are so special they might not get there, but it does not matter.


    • • •

    My favorite response of the day, by far, has been those arguing that the Rockets will never get out of the first round without Tracy McGrady.

    OK, you might feel that with him, this would have been the year. They might not advance. They might not even make the playoffs. But can you not see that there is at least some irony in that? Just a little?


    • • •

    Rockets coach Rick Adelman was pretty clear again on Tuesday that he just didn't see the sort of player that would make him want to change the way the Rockets do things. Maybe if Tracy McGrady was the player he once was, but he's not.

    Special as his skills might still be, without quickness off the dribble or explosiveness at the rim while coming back from microfracture surgery, he was not going to be a guy to build around, and he does not seem suited for the role player job.

    "The thing people want to write about is who he was two years ago," Adelman said. "He isn't that right now. We have a whole team. It's not just about what he wants or what he was going to want. It was about what can he do to help us win.

    "He's coming back from major surgery and rehabilitating, and who knows when he's going to get there? Right now, he wasn't there. The explosiveness definitely wasn't there. That's to be expected."

    Even if he was that guy, the Rockets believe they have to play a different way. If McGrady was the player he was a few seasons ago, the Rockets would have to make it work, of course, but the decision not to give him the ball and to play off him is in part about the reality that they are not very good at that.

    Tuesday's 108-100 win over the Hornets was a good example of that. When the ball moved rapidly, with lots of touches before it reached open shooters, the Rockets offense clicked, reaching 30 points in three different quarters. When the Rockets stood around and watched someone try to go to work, they had another terrible third quarter.

    McGrady was not at a point he could play his way or the retooled Rockets' way. Now, for awhile, he won't play at all.
     
    #1 Rocketman2000, Dec 30, 2009
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2009
  2. Shroopy2

    Shroopy2 Contributing Member

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    Need the link posted
     
    #2 Shroopy2, Dec 30, 2009
  3. Dei

    Dei Member

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    So McGrady shooting himself on the foot once again?
     
    #3 Dei, Dec 30, 2009
  4. sirbaihu

    sirbaihu Member

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    Good points by Feigen. T-Mac more than likely hurt his own cause by:

    1) leaving the team and no longer threatening to disrupt things
    2) lowering his trade value by making it clear he is on his way out the door.

    Guess it is also true, as Feigen says, that his appeal lies mostly in his contract anyway. But I still think teams will be more inclined to offer junk for T-Mac than they were when there was a possibility that T-Mac would stay with the Rockets.
     
    #4 sirbaihu, Dec 30, 2009
  5. t_mac1

    t_mac1 Contributing Member

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    him staying with us and keep playing 7-8 minutes? that will cause not only more drama/speculation/distraction for the team, but also hurt his value.

    tmac can continue to train with grover and keep getting better with that knee. obviously playing real games would be better.

    in that showcase, in spurts, other teams saw tracy can still be a very very good player, but he will need more time to regain that level.

    within a few weeks, the tracy story will go away until any real trade talks heat up. and that's good for the team. the tracy saga was ridiculous.
     
    #5 t_mac1, Dec 30, 2009
  6. SmoothOperator

    SmoothOperator Contributing Member

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    This is disappointing. If Morey was really the genius that everyone says, maybe he would have had Rick work on ways to make McGrady appear to have the old potential.

    Why not hide him on D and use those supercomputers to find out who's the best possible matchup for him teamwise?

    Then, after 25 (even on 10 for 25 shooting) and 7 and 7 game, he could have been traded for something. Now it looks like we'll get nothing and have to like it.
     
    #6 SmoothOperator, Dec 30, 2009
  7. BrooksBall

    BrooksBall Contributing Member

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    Yo T-Mac,

    <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ku3AgNfnbpU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ku3AgNfnbpU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
     
    #7 BrooksBall, Dec 30, 2009
  8. abc2007

    abc2007 Member

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    If people read what other cities' media say, they won't say that. Most of them are on Tmac side. Even Toronto media said they would bring Tmac back if he is bought out. They don't have enough assets to trade for him.
     
    #8 abc2007, Dec 30, 2009
  9. BrooksBall

    BrooksBall Contributing Member

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    I respect you for your never-ending optimism but I am confident that McGrady's dilapidated body will never allow him to express his immense talents again.

    Unfortunately, he's a has-been at this point.

    His weaknesses will forever outweigh his strengths going forward. The next year or two will not be pretty for McGrady and his fans.

    I know you're going to stick it out until the bitter end - and a bitter end it will be.

    I feel for you because you seem like a good cat.
     
    #9 BrooksBall, Dec 30, 2009
  10. Ramathorn006

    Ramathorn006 Contributing Member

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    I guess you have to see both points of view.

    Rick Adelman: We have a team. We dont need the offense to go through anyone. We dont need to stop the ball for McGrady to get his shots.

    Tracy McGrady: I am the player I once was. I can lead a team to victory on any given night. I need my 17 shots a game.

    Rick Adelman knows best. I needed to hear from him what he saw at practices and now it has finally come out i can safely say that for McGrady, it was fun while it lasted, but from observations from a great coach he is not the same player he once was. Its kind of weird though because both Battier, Ariza and Elson Turner said he looked good and would be the same player as he once was. But i guess now the Rockets are ready to move one the bigger and better things. Good luck to T-Mac but i care about my Houston Rockets wayyy more. I hope its a win-win situation for both sides.
     
    #10 Ramathorn006, Dec 30, 2009
  11. mikol13

    mikol13 Protector of the Realm
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    Brilliant! Exactly. And speaking of the music itself, I miss those days. IMO rap and hip-hop in its truest and purest form
     
    #11 mikol13, Dec 30, 2009
  12. BrooksBall

    BrooksBall Contributing Member

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    I see you were born in '72.

    '76, here.

    Yea, those were some good times. Run DMC, early LL Cool J, Kool Moe Dee, cassette tapes instead of CDs, etc...
     
    #12 BrooksBall, Dec 30, 2009
  13. mikol13

    mikol13 Protector of the Realm
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    Eric B and Rakim, Whodini, Boogie down Pro. Yep I lived it. Carried around cardboard and my radio.
     
    #13 mikol13, Dec 30, 2009
  14. Jeff Who

    Jeff Who Member

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    I do think Tracy can still be back and help few teams in the playoffs. I know his record speaks for itself but if he sacrifices a lot of money and is gonna accept a 25 mpg role than he may very likely find a good team next season.

    I think teams will be intetested.
     
    #14 Jeff Who, Dec 30, 2009
  15. T FOR 3!!!

    T FOR 3!!! Member

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    Last time i checked McGrady wanted to stay in Houston...looks like hes just outsmarting our front office....
     
    #15 T FOR 3!!!, Dec 30, 2009
  16. baller4life315

    baller4life315 Contributing Member

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    Nothing new here. Elaborating on these deals that were supposedly offered to Morey (aside from the Arenas proposal) might have been a good place to start if you want to offer your readers something fresh and intriguing. Everything in this article is all common sense.
     
    #16 baller4life315, Dec 30, 2009
  17. MONON

    MONON Member

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    How refreshing!!
     
    #17 MONON, Dec 30, 2009
  18. ROXTXIA

    ROXTXIA Contributing Member

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    How? Maybe get McGrady his own avatar?
     
    #18 ROXTXIA, Dec 30, 2009
  19. blunto

    blunto Member

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    Actually moving McGrady the hard part:

    Don't know if this was a deliberately set trap, but the result is the same: he's not interfering with the team's day to day operations anymore. Good to see that they are primarily concerned with winning. I like winning.
     
    #19 blunto, Dec 31, 2009
  20. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

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    good one. find his tribe....and become the toruk makto
     
    #20 daywalker02, Dec 31, 2009
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