1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

Why a Not-So-Fast Impasse Could Keep Tracy McGrady in Houston

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Rocketman2000, Dec 29, 2009.

  1. Rocketman2000

    Rocketman2000 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2000
    Messages:
    429
    Likes Received:
    32
    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/316048-kleemans-jump-hook-sorting-out-the-tracy-mcgrady-situation

    Please lock if already posted. Found this on bleacher report and thought it was a nice read.

    The Houston Chronicle reported Monday that the Rockets and Tracy McGrady agreed Tuesday to seek a trade for the disgruntled guard.

    So, that's it folks. He's gone, packing his bags as I write this.

    Wrong. Not so fast.

    Since no one has authored the necessary in-depth look at why trading McGrady could prove more difficult than Ruben Studdard winning the 400-meter dash at the next Olympics, I will do the honors.

    This needs to be written and read. The reality of the situation may kill the euphoria felt by those who wanted McGrady shipped out two years ago.

    Forget happy thoughts and entertainment value. This is about the truth, which hurts more than most want to admit.

    A line in Jonathan Feigen's story (I linked to it above) summarizes the situation.

    "Rockets general manager Daryl Morey agreed Monday to try to trade McGrady during talks with McGrady’s representatives."

    The key word here is try . As in, folks at NASA tried to make a square peg fit into a round hole. As in, Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini tried acting.

    That Morey will try does not mean he will succeed. The Rockets tried to trade the mercurial guard months ago to no avail.

    The aggresiveness of trade talks then does not matter now. McGrady has been on the market for months. This news changes little.



    Playoff Success Sans McGrady Made Divorce Imminent

    The McGrady era in Houston ended after 10 p.m. April 30, 2009. Then, a buzzer sounded and the team celebrated its first playoff series win since the Bill Clinton administration.

    It seemed like fans at Toyota Center had not sung "Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye" to a playoff opponent since Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo, and Dale Frashuer wrote and recorded the tune in 1969.

    The former All-Star's future in Houston died then, not Tuesday. I wrote this the next day.

    "Everyone in the Rockets organization owes him a thank you card. They know now what they can be without him.

    McGrady's career-threatening surgery makes divorce papers inevitable.

    The Rockets should ask two questions.

    Does anybody have a pen, and where do we sign?"

    When I said divorce, though, I did not mean a trade was in the works, or that the team would release him. The same logic applies now.

    If he gets the boot this week, unlikely as that may be, I will race down U.S. Highway 59 in my Toyota Rav 4 just after the announcement to help McGrady pack up his house.

    I wanted him gone two years ago. I have made that abundantly clear.

    Former GM Carroll Dawson saw in McGrady what everyone else did—one of the greatest talents to ever wear a basketball uniform. Leslie Alexander might still see those qualities, even if McGrady's career performance has made him one of the all-time disappointments.

    I love Dawson and cheered when the team hung a banner bearing his name in the Toyota Center rafters, but giving an injury-prone underachiever an extension that now makes him the NBA's highest paid player was stupidity and blindness at its worst.

    Former Chronicle columnist-turned NBA.com writer Fran Blinebury always offered the best response when fans called him a "T-Mac hater."

    "Name another player with his abilities who blew a 3-1 series lead, a 2-0 lead without homecourt advantage, and a 2-0 lead with it."

    However, there is a difference between not having a future in an organization and a plane ticket out of town.



    McGrady Situation Comparable to Utah Jazz, Carlos Boozer Impasse

    Remember this story? You know, the one where Boozer said the Jazz had agreed to seek out a trade for him.

    When Boozer said this summer he did not expect to play in Salt Lake City in October, the blogosphere erupted with trade scenarios and "see ya, Carlos" odes to his pending departure.

    News flash: Boozer still plays for the Jazz, after months of people assuming GM Kevin O'Connor needed to deal him to keep the universe in proper balance.

    A divorce is still imminent between those two parties. The Jazz ownership and front office will likely take the luxury tax hit his $12.7 million contract will force at the end of the year and then let him walk.

    Boozer has averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds for a Utah squad no worse than it was two years ago. His additional year in Salt Lake City will not upset the cosmos.

    He no longer fits into O'Connor's long-term plans because the Jazz drafted a forward who plays harder and does a close imitation of Boozer for a cheaper price.

    Even with Paul Millsap's frontloaded contract, he will cost significantly less over the long haul than Boozer would.

    Coach Jerry Sloan must also think Millsap can be more durable than Boozer, who missed hundreds of games in his Utah tenure.

    The 'D' word. Sound familiar, Rockets fans?

    Hear this, dear readers, and accept it. Morey is not required by law to trade McGrady. A story that says the two sides are looking for a trade does not mean one is forthcoming.

    What happened in Utah should happen here. Boozer stayed because O'Connor heard what other teams were willing to offer for the forward and hung up the phone.

    He laughed until his peers understood the message: "We don't want your garbage."

    The Jazz did not send Boozer to Miami because Pat Riley refused to part with Michael Beasley. Aside from Dwyane Wade, Beasley was the only trade chip worth a minute-long conversation.

    To make the salaries match, Riley would have needed to throw in additional players. An injury-prone, defenseles forward was not worth that risk, even when his contract expired in the vaunted summer of 2010.

    Let me throw out some names, Rockets fans. Jared Jefferies, Eddy Curry, Michael Redd, Samuel Dalembert.

    Do any of those names stir up your endorphins? Morey could acquire any of those cap-killing, non-studs with one phone call.

    He won't do that because he likes his job. MIT does not enroll idiots.

    I keep reading on this site and elsewhere that McGrady's expiring deal will net the Rockets a special young player who can help them for years.

    What player? Name him.

    Morey has not traded McGrady yet because teams looking to slash payroll will only offer up the above garbage.

    There is no special player coming to Houston in exchange for a $23 million deal that ends next summer.

    Keep reading if you still fail to understand why.



    What the Rockets Want

    The front office is seeking a trade because McGrady's style of play clashes with that of the up-tempo, share-the-ball outfit Rick Adelman now coaches.

    With Yao Ming out for the season, the team adopted a run-first approach to assuage the loss of a go-to weapon. Yao provided a late-game, halfcourt option for the Rockets.

    His teammates could dump him the ball in a pinch and count on him to manufacture points in the pivot or make the right pass.

    The previous week of play shows how much the team misses its offense security blanket. The Rockets had won seven of nine against Dwight Howard's Orlando Magic and seven of 10 against LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers.

    Yao played a massive role in those victories. With him sidelined, the Magic and Cavaliers took turns drubbing the Rockets, who faced each East titan on the second night of a back-to-back.

    It was clear after six, seven-minute cameos that McGrady was not a do-it-all savior.

    Adelman foolishly agreed to let T-Mac guard Carmelo Anthony in a game at Denver. 'Melo started the contest 1-of-6. In the few minutes McGrady spent on him, Anthony heated up en route to 38 points and a Nuggets victory.

    Morey said this summer he would look for one of two things in a McGrady deal:

    1) Expiring contracts that added up to the guard's salary, the highest in the NBA.

    Or

    2) A youngster with star potential who would fit long-term plans.



    Morey said he did not want either of these headaches in a deal:

    1) A stopgap player whose salary would eat up cap space beyond next summer.

    And

    2) Garbage.

    All of the players I suspect are available to the Rockets fall into one of those two no-no categories.



    What McGrady Wants

    This one requires little explanation on my part. McGrady's contract expires next summer, and he would like another deal when this one ends.

    To convince a sucker GM to overpay for him, he needs to play more than seven minutes in the first quarter.

    He appears unlikely to get that in Houston anytime soon.



    Eliminate These Teams as Potential Trade Partners

    Without floating any trade ideas, you can rule out these franchises as McGrady suitors—because the Rockets do not want to help them, or because they do not want to help the Rockets.

    Nevermind that none of these front offices have the goods to make a deal work.

    The Rockets beat the Portland Trailblazers in the first round of the playoffs. Cross them off the list.

    The San Antonio Spurs continue to catch grief for donating Luis Scola to Morey. R.C. Burford and Gregg Popovich will not help out a rival twice.

    No one in the Western Conference wants to aid the L.A. Lakers after what the Memphis Grizzlies did. The Rockets hope to someday reach the Lakers level. Forget the Lake Show.

    Also forget about any other contenders. That includes Cleveland, Boston, Orlando, Denver, and Atlanta.

    The McGrady ship already sailed in Toronto and sunk. Cross the Raptors off the list.

    That means forget Chris Bosh, too—at least until next summer.



    Why the New York Knicks Want McGrady

    Eddy Curry and Jared Jefferies, two of the available players referenced above, are the two of the five on the Knicks payroll with contracts that extend beyond next summer.

    Donnie Walsh would pee his pants if Morey was dumb enough to take on those duds.

    Using ESPN's trade machine , I determined that a swap of Curry + Jefferies + Chris Duhon would work financially.

    Um, yuck.

    The only New York player the Rockets should want long term is also the lone untouchable Knick.

    There's no way Walsh trades Danilo Gallinari a year and a half after drafting him sixth overall. Mike D'Antoni still thinks his "Italian Stallion" can be a star. I also see star quality.

    The other Knicks with two-year deals are Jordan Hill, Gallinari, Toney Douglas, and Wilson Chandler.

    Of those ballers, Chandler would be the easiest to pry in a multi-player deal.

    Does Morey want him? I don't.

    Including Hill in a deal this soon would qualify as the ultimate admission of failure by Walsh, who has been roasted and burnt to a crisp for passing on Brandon Jennings.

    Several stories from the four-letter network suggested Walsh has accepted that Curry is not tradable.

    No one wants to pay a fat stiff (who has not played meaningful minutes since 2008) $10.5 million. The second remaining year on his deal is a non-guaranteed player option.

    Other possibilities exist. The Knicks could package Al Harrington and Larry Hughes for McGrady, and the salaries would match.

    That move, however, would make zero sense for Walsh. Harrington, a crunch-time bonehead for sure, has helped the Knicks approach respectability.

    Such a deal would not change the team's salary cap fortunes. Walsh only wants to make a trade that will increase the Knicks' cap space next summer, not one that keeps it the same.

    He could only justify the move if he and D'Antoni thought McGrady could get the team farther than Harrington and Hughes could.

    Everyone reading this article should know by now that zero teams are interested in McGrady's basketball ability.

    They want to cut salary and sell a few more tickets. The Grizzlies can tell you all about the latter.

    Morey should be fired the minute he considers any of the above scenarios.

    He's too smart to play this game, and everyone reading this should be, too.



    So, What Now?

    I do not doubt that McGrady will never be a featured star on the Rockets again. I do doubt, however, that Morey will pull off a "suitable deal."

    A trade involves two teams, and as I evidenced above, both sides will want things not available to them.

    If Morey insists on not buying out McGrady's deal, which would make him a free agent, few options remain.

    It is unlikely the team will waive McGrady. The Rockets will not let him go without getting something of value in return.

    Adelman could bench McGrady for the rest of the season and tell him to stay away from the team, or the coach could reassess his position and try to find a role for the guard within the retooled offense.

    There he goes with darn word again. Try .

    The Rockets agreed to part ways with McGrady sometime Tuesday. As fans will soon discover, though, the only common thread between an agreement and action is the letter "A."

    McGrady is still on the roster and on the payroll. Don't be shocked if he's still there in April.
     
    9 people like this.
  2. Egghead

    Egghead Member

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2008
    Messages:
    2,980
    Likes Received:
    115
    nice find
     
  3. Rocketman2000

    Rocketman2000 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2000
    Messages:
    429
    Likes Received:
    32
    Can a brother get some rep point love? :)
     
    2 people like this.
  4. Gimmmethemike

    Gimmmethemike Member

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2009
    Messages:
    3,340
    Likes Received:
    862
    nice read. I hope we get rid of Tmac by APril.
     
  5. MayoRocket

    MayoRocket Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2007
    Messages:
    1,982
    Likes Received:
    9
    Great find....and a very sobering read. A lot of people around here need to temper their expectations.

    How crazy would it be if he ended up playing for the Rockets again?
     
  6. Joe Joe

    Joe Joe Go Stros!
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    May 3, 1999
    Messages:
    23,838
    Likes Received:
    13,895
    Well, NASA made it work.
     
    1 person likes this.
  7. rox4lyf

    rox4lyf Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2006
    Messages:
    1,944
    Likes Received:
    263
    good article.
     
  8. rockets > *

    rockets > * Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2006
    Messages:
    448
    Likes Received:
    30
    Good read. We are truly in a win-win situation when it comes to Tmac...Either some team will give us what we want or we will simply let his ridiculously large contract expire.
     
  9. DonnyMost

    DonnyMost not wrong
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2003
    Messages:
    47,267
    Likes Received:
    16,710
    I think the key point lost here is that even if he isn't traded, he's still done like dinner in Houston.

    So whether he's gone today or this Summer, it's over.

    Buh Bye.
     
  10. tcadriel

    tcadriel Member

    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2007
    Messages:
    1,365
    Likes Received:
    34
    Nice Read, but too pessimistic. Morey will get something and it won't hurt us in the long run. Will it be a all-star? No. But as long as Tracy is gone, I'll take anything looking towards the future. Sometimes you really have to clench to get that turd out. :eek:
     
  11. Awesome

    Awesome Member

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2008
    Messages:
    1,131
    Likes Received:
    24


    Kobe Bryant vs the PHX Suns... geez

    Why even bother making it seems as if there is only one guy who makes a team win a playoff series...

    The Rockets can do whatever they want with the contract but stop blurting out ridiculous lines like this because it makes it seem as if you either dont watch basketball or you have an agenda.
     
  12. ROXTXIA

    ROXTXIA Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2000
    Messages:
    20,023
    Likes Received:
    11,689
    It's a good read, if nothing we shouldn't already know.

    But does anyone here REEEAAAALLY think Morey hasn't been working the phones on this for awhile now? Or that he hasn't narrowed down a list of possibilities all along? It isn't as if he just started racking up an enormous cell phone bill yesterday.
     
  13. Yak

    Yak Member

    Joined:
    Nov 23, 2007
    Messages:
    1,126
    Likes Received:
    49
    "Since no one has authored the necessary in-depth look at why trading McGrady could prove more difficult than Ruben Studdard winning the 400-meter dash at the next Olympics, I will do the honors."

    A Ruben Studdard reference?

    I guess it makes sense, since TMac's relevance to the Rockets after this season will be as relevant as Ruben is to the music industry a year after he won American Idol. :grin:
     
  14. intergalactic

    intergalactic Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2002
    Messages:
    1,277
    Likes Received:
    416
    Meh. Essentially the writer says the Knicks want to rip us off and we're not dumb enough to get ripped off. We have better discussions of TMac's trade value on this board.
     
  15. Dave_78

    Dave_78 Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2006
    Messages:
    10,809
    Likes Received:
    373
    Not familiar with what the word "and" means?

    "Name another player with his abilities who blew a 3-1 series lead, a 2-0 lead without homecourt advantage, and a 2-0 lead with it."
     
  16. phantoman

    phantoman Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2007
    Messages:
    1,546
    Likes Received:
    273
    Good find. I have to agree with what the article is saying.
    Utlimately to get something worth wild in a trade, Mcgrady has to be more than an expiring contract. Which means he has to prove that he still belongs in the NBA. I do feel that Rick may be forced to show case Mcgrady with more play time.
     
  17. weskurtz81

    weskurtz81 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2009
    Messages:
    90
    Likes Received:
    4

    Maybe he should added "that has also won a playoff series in his career" into that one, left it to open to history I guess.
     
  18. thatboyz

    thatboyz Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2003
    Messages:
    446
    Likes Received:
    4
    great find
     
  19. jopatmc

    jopatmc Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2002
    Messages:
    15,368
    Likes Received:
    387
    Zach and Marc.............................
     
  20. clos4life

    clos4life Member

    Joined:
    Dec 20, 2007
    Messages:
    10,775
    Likes Received:
    11,671
    Great post! (BTW, I'm shocked the bleacher report actually has a competent reporter)
     

Share This Page

  • About ClutchFans

    Since 1996, ClutchFans has been loud and proud covering the Houston Rockets, helping set an industry standard for team fan sites. The forums have been a home for Houston sports fans as well as basketball fanatics around the globe.

  • Support ClutchFans!

    If you find that ClutchFans is a valuable resource for you, please consider becoming a Supporting Member. Supporting Members can upload photos and attachments directly to their posts, customize their user title and more. Gold Supporters see zero ads!


    Upgrade Now