If this has been posted amongst the barrage of McGrady threads....please delete. However, it's definitely an article worth reading (and flaming). http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5326009/ Trade makes players happy, but keeps teams same Houston can contend for Western crown, while Orlando still stuck in Eastern dregs Magic guard Trady McGrady, headed to Houston in a trade for Steve Francis and two other players, will make the Rockets serious contenders for the Western Conference crown next year, writes NBCSports.com's Michael Ventre. COMMENTARY By Michael Ventre NBCSports.com contributor Updated: 5:18 p.m. ET June 29, 2004Certain trades transform franchises, and others merely serve to remodel. Welcome to the Tracy McGrady-for-Steve Francis swap, which falls somewhere in between. advertisement It doesn't send the same tremors through the sporting landscape, like the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar deal did in 1975 or the Wayne Gretzky move to Los Angeles in 1988. But it does deserve a special place in sports for possibly being the longest-rumored transaction that has ever percolated before the parties got around to pulling the trigger on June 29. The current presidential election campaign is a blip on history’s radar compared to this. Francis had been holding up the process because he wasn’t sure he wanted to leave Houston for Orlando. It matters not that, contractually, he really has no choice. This is the era of disrespect. If a player decides that being shipped to another city will somehow diminish his stature in the eyes of his posse, he can stomp his feet and threaten to spoil the trade waters with a poisonous attitude if he is not placated. Live Vote Which team gets the better of the Tracy McGrady-Steve Francis trade? Magic Rockets Vote to see results Live Vote Which team gets the better of the Tracy McGrady-Steve Francis trade? * 13403 responses Magic 30% Rockets 70% Not a scientifically valid survey. Click to learn more. Fortunately for both sides, after much salaaming, Francis was convinced that Orlando will give him the kind of welcome that the Apollo 11 astronauts received when they got back from the moon. So he gave his blessing. The entire deal consists of Houston sending Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato to the Magic in exchange for McGrady, Juwan Howard, Reece Gaines and Tyronn Lue. The supporting casts are rather intriguing, but of course, it’s the leading men who will make the greatest impact on their new employers. Of McGrady and Francis, the former is the better player by far. He can create his own shot, drive to the hole, shoot from the perimeter with some reliability, grab rebounds, defend a little (very little) and pass, even though passing wasn’t a priority while he was the Magic’s one-man band. Often, the title of Best Overall Player in the NBA is bestowed upon Kobe Bryant without argument, but that’s a mistake. Bryant is a superb talent and a clutch player, but he also benefited from being on veteran teams with a great coach and the most dominant big man in the game drawing defenders to the paint. McGrady’s reputation was tarnished somewhat this past season as the Magic disintegrated into a mess and T-Mac himself bristled at getting no help while absorbing most of the blame. But placed in a more positive environment, McGrady could again remind everyone that he belongs near the top of the league’s A-list. ALSO ON THIS STORY WP: Francis-McGrady deal to be announced Wednesday Also, T-Mac has played the same number of seasons as Francis — five — but he’s almost two years younger. And he’s actually more mature in the sense that he makes wiser on-court decisions; Francis has a little too much Kobe/Allen Iverson in him, stubbornly trying to force his will against an opponent rather than taking what the defensive gives him. Juwan Howard has never achieved the level of stardom predicted for him when he was a member of Michigan’s Fab Five, but in Houston, playing in the same lineup with T-Mac and Yao Ming, he will have much less pressure on him. It was clear that this deal occurred because of two unhappy men: T-Mac and Jeff Van Gundy. McGrady got his wish — a fresh start with a franchise on the rise — and so did Van Gundy in getting rid of Francis. In Houston, the meeting of Van Gundy and Francis was like two gunslingers squaring off, except one of them was run off for shooting too much. Van Gundy likes his point guards to play the point, which is to say, distribute the ball and serve as playmaker. Francis did not see his role that way. He wanted to have the same situation that Iverson has in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, Van Gundy didn’t want to have what Iverson has in Philly — a lousy team ruined by one ball hog. With T-Mac, Van Gundy has a superstar on the perimeter and another inside in Yao, sort of like what the Lakers had before their recent offseason implosion. Now he can turn the point guard duties over to someone more suited to the role, like Lue or perhaps a candidate yet to be obtained in another deal. With McGrady, Yao, Howard, Jim Jackson and Maurice Taylor, the Rockets would have an impressive core to make a run at the West crown. The news is not quite so good in Orlando, but then again, it rarely is. The Magic will change the focus of their team from one man — T-Mac — to a pair in Francis and Mobley, an underrated two-guard. The club also has Drew Gooden, who averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds during a dreary 2003-04 campaign. And they’ll welcome in two marquee rookies, 18-year-old Dwight Howard, a prep phenom who was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and 5-11 point guard Jameer Nelson. This is a bizarre mixture, to be sure. Francis will hoist at least as many shots as he did in Houston, if not more. Dwight Howard will struggle, probably for a couple of years, enduring the rookie shellshock from which guys like Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry of the Bulls still haven’t recovered. Grant Hill will make his final comeback, and if history is any guide, the odds don’t look good. Also, Nelson will prove to be terrific, which will put the Magic in a situation where they have a star point guard (Francis) playing ahead of a rising star point guard (Nelson). But where would the Orlando Magic be without friction and controversy? The Rockets got the better of this long-brewing transaction. But in one essential way, the status quo remains. Houston is still one of the best in the West, while Orlando will continue to be one of the least in the East. Michael Ventre writes regularly for NBCSports.com and is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles.
I always though Cat was underrated. Maybe now that he's not a Rocket, he'll get some respect. Why do writers hate Houston so much?
I dont think anyone considered us 'one of the best in the west' last season and they do now, so there in itself the trade helped houston even before tipoff of the new season
I think the highlighted part is what the writer meant in the article title about the teams still being the same. There's no need to jump down his throat.
what? the writer clearly says it DOES help houston. he says it doesn't help the magic... which... i mean... who knows? but yes there are a lot of fallacies and incomplete info in this article.
