T-Mac might be traded?

wow, that's a pretty big scoop.

 

A) What are you smoking?
B) Can I get some?

 

I read the Tribune article and there wasn't anything noteworthy about McGrady.

 

Ummmm, no.

 

i'd like some as well

 

I'm tired of this response. Anybody else?

 

I second that. Plus, on the same link, Rockets were not mentioned as one of the teams who are interested in Francis (Denver, New York, Minnesota and Memphis).

 

i think everyone can dismiss this. even if there is an article. i refuse to click on it cause this seems like the stupidest possible thing

 

Here's the article...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...i-sportscolumnistfront-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

Don't count on any drastic deals
February 20, 2006


HOUSTON -- The talk as the NBA winds down to its trading deadline on Thursday involves your flawed or unwanted talent and desperate teams.

The Magic seems certain to take the best offer it can get, no matter how small, for Steve Francis by the end of the week, with Denver, New York, Minnesota, Houston and Seattle said to be in the mix. It's a case of addition by subtraction with coach Brian Hill and Francis seriously at odds.


Denver guard Earl Watson finally should be sprung as the Nuggets also try to unload aching and injured Kenyon Martin. Bit players like Seattle's Reggie Evans and Ronald Murray are mentioned along with the occasional Golden State big salary, anyone from the Knicks' roster, the Cavs' Drew Gooden, some spare point guards whom Detroit might chase after dealing Carlos Arroyo, extras on the Toronto roster like Eric Williams, some of Portland's problems (like Ruben Patterson or even Theo Ratliff) and perhaps if Utah could interest someone in long-injured Carlos Boozer.

We're not looking at balance-of-power changes with those deals. The way a team usually does that is by getting a star. Looking at the All-Star rosters Sunday, one can make a case for perhaps a half-dozen All-Stars being traded under the right circumstances.

If Chris Bosh were to tell Toronto he wouldn't re-sign, he would be one. Maybe Allen Iverson, Jermaine O'Neal, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Tracy McGrady because their teams have fared badly and they could get desperate for a shake-up. Maybe Pau Gasol if Memphis could upgrade an average overall roster.

Of course, the big prize and the one name that remains intriguing to general managers is Kevin Garnett.

Although he's not going anywhere, at least not right away, one of the biggest questions among NBA regulars is the state of Garnett's mind and body. "Looks like his pilot light is out," was one comment about Garnett, who doesn't seem to have that relentless enthusiasm he once had.

In such a watered-down league with 30 teams and so many players regarded as fundamentally unsound, it's almost unprecedented that a veteran star like Garnett would miss the playoffs in consecutive seasons--as Minnesota appears headed.

Garnett's status, perhaps more than anything, is holding up any truly major deals involving the elite stars of the game. The feeling around the NBA remains--based more on observation than actual information--that something inevitably will crack in Minnesota and Garnett will be traded or ask to be traded.

Garnett has been a Lakers' Plan A or B for some time now after Yao Ming and Amare Stoudemire re-signed. Boston, Seattle, Indiana, Golden State and the Bulls are some of the teams reportedly hanging back just in case Garnett ever comes on the trade market.

In this NBA, it would seem that you need just one other good player with Garnett to be in the playoffs and two (especially one who's a finisher) to be a championship contender. It's why even in Minnesota there have been rumors recently of trying to reacquire Stephon Marbury.

Garnett is the best three-quarters player in the NBA--versatile, defensive-minded, tough. He just doesn't quite have that go-to move to finish off a game. But put him with a scorer, like Kobe Bryant, and you have a potential championship duo.

The Timberwolves have been badly mismanaged for years with little stability to create a team. Garnett knows all this and, at least for now, says he's sticking by his crew, whomever that may be from day to day.

"I'm not the one to give in to a lot of pressure," Garnett told reporters this weekend. "I've always understood everything is not always going to be good. I've always embraced the fact there are going to be difficult times, especially dealing with change. I can only control what I do. I go out and lace 'em up every night, put on my hard hat and utility belt and give my all. I'm not in anything for the short commitment. Anything I do I commit myself wholeheartedly. Just because [I'm] going through a difficult time now with the transition, I'm not going to give up. That's a loser's mentality."

Frustrated?

"I'm frustrated when I've got to wait a long period of time at a red light," he said. "It's how you embrace it. It's a transition. Seven or eight months or even next year if things come out and we're one of the top teams, I'll get a totally different set of questions. I'm not one to give up because something is rough. That's a coward. Sorry to not give y'all (reporters) what you were looking for."

But, someone wondered, was Garnett jealous to see teams like Detroit--with his old buddy Chauncey Billups--build a core, stay with it and have long-term success?

"As a player you don't think of that as much," Garnett said. "As a fan you appreciate it. I feel like I'm going to be successful. In anything, you have to keep some kind of common bond with a group of guys. [Those teams] have been able to keep guys together, keep re-signing guys and have guys long term and get guys to believe in a system and have a coach to run that system.

"I'm never jealous. I have lots of friends in the league. Chauncey is one of them and I see him and Flip [Saunders] and it's great. I'm never jealous. That wouldn't be the right word. Hopefully one day I will be in a similar situation."

It's difficult to believe it will be in Minnesota.

Where are they now?

Former Houston Rockets like Clyde Drexler, Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone, Calvin Murphy and Rudy Tomjanovich were hosts throughout the weekend, though the most obvious absence was likely the best of them all, Hakeem Olajuwon.


Olajuwon did respond to an e-mail from a reporter on a story about the 1986 Rockets. They were supposed to be the dynasty of the era with Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson, the original basketball twin towers, and were in the Finals quickly after being put together. But point guard John Lucas was banned from the league for drugs and Lewis Lloyd and Mitchell Wiggins followed.

Lucas has come back as an NBA coach and respected trainer and helped players overcome problems in Houston. Lloyd lives out of the spotlight in Philadelphia and is said to still be playing pickup games and Wiggins lives in Toronto with his wife, Marissa, a track athlete who was in the Olympics for Canada. Olajuwon now lives with his family in Jordan and studies Islam at a university.

Homecoming for Spur?

One free agent the Bulls figure to look at this summer is Chicagoan Nazr Mohammed, who had a career-best 20 rebounds in 36 minutes off the Spurs' bench last week against the 76ers. After starting for the champion Spurs last season, Mohammed fell behind Rasho Nesterovic because of defensive deficiencies.

During the summer, he turned down a four-year extension from the Spurs worth in the $25 million range. He said he wanted to wait until the summer when he would become a free agent and be eligible for a five-year deal. "I would be lying to say I haven't thought about it at all," Mohammed said.

Another guy who might rethink his summer financial decisions is Vladimir Radmanovic, traded by the Sonics to the Clippers last week for Chris Wilcox. He reportedly turned down a $42 million deal.

Another Chicagoan and free agent, the Bobcats' Melvin Ely, has been impressive of late, though says he wants to remain with Charlotte. "I just know after being in the freezer (not playing for the Clippers), I don't want to go. It scares me to think about going someplace else and not knowing what my role would be," he said.

Double dribbles

The Clippers supposedly will give Vin Baker a chance for a comeback. . . . The Magic is clearly rebuilding now with the hope that Darko Milicic will recover from his Larry Brown-abuse era. If Orlando can persuade its first-round draft pick Fran Vasquez to leave Spain, the team would have huge front line with Dwight Howard. . . . Seattle coach Bob Hill said if Denver is the class of the division, it is wide open. Nuggets guard Andre Miller admitted, "There's no effort on our team." But it's unlikely the Sonics will be the one to unseat Denver. . . . Phil Jackson offered this about Kobe Bryant last week: "He's having the best season of anybody in the NBA, really. There are a couple guys who are having really good years, but there's not anybody who's having the kind of year he's having." The Lakers now seem to feel they made mistakes giving too much responsibility to Kwame Brown and Lamar Odom, so both could be gone after this season. . . . The Blazers' Ruben Patterson said he'd be a perfect fit for Miami, adding "[Portland] needs to make a trade. There are too many guys unhappy here."

Last shots

The New York media has given Eddy Curry the nickname "Baby Benoit" after Benoit Benjamin and is counting his assists-to-turnovers ratio (9 to 118). . . . Tony Parker has plenty to celebrate these days with his first All-Star appearance, a celebrity girlfriend (Eva Longoria) and playing for the championship Spurs. And he is now 6-0 against the Nets and Jason Kidd since Kidd turned down the Spurs' free-agent offer and returned to the Nets. "I was hurt," Parker admitted. "We had just won the championship and I was 21. I was trying to improve as fast as I can and then they say they want Jason Kidd. It was hard."

 

Wow, pure speculation based on less than nothing. Although I wouldn't be opposed to it if we could get some young stud on the wing. I hope I regret writing this, but Tmac's looks past his prime. When guy's start jacking up 20 footers as their bread and butter, a la Jordan, Karla, etc. they don't go back to driving.

 

to get people to register on their website.

 

this, however, is a scary reality. i pray T-Mac can get back to his former self.