McGrady: If traded from Orlando, Rockets are first choice

I think it is completely legitimate to be worried about the guy's back before trading half the team for him. That's my take and I'm sticking to it.

I really like his game, but I cannot get past my worries about his back. And I still don't get your Montana thing, by the way.

 

I wasn't talking about you or your back concerns; I was talking about the idea that T-Mac isn't JVG's type of player.


And, re: Montana:


Montana was comeback king
By Larry Schwartz
Special to ESPN.com

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There's an old cartoon that shows everybody panicking, except for one guy, who is unruffled as he does his assigned task. In real life, that person is Joe Montana.

Joe Montana was MVP in three of his four Super Bowls, and led his team on The Drive in the other.

He possessed an almost mystical calmness in the midst of chaos, especially with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. While others saw turmoil and danger after the snap, Montana saw order and opportunity. He was Joe Cool, the unflappable king of the comeback.

Take the 1989 Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals. The San Francisco 49ers were down by three points with 3:20 left when Montana spotted -- no, not an open receiver -- but a personality. "There, in the stands, standing near the exit ramp," Montana said to tackle Harris Barton. "Isn't that John Candy?" And then he led the 49ers 92 yards, throwing for the winning touchdown with 34 seconds left.

This was one of Montana's 31 fourth-quarters comeback in the NFL.

Montana was neither exceptionally fast nor tall nor did he have a bazooka for an arm. The man whom his high school quarterbacks coach said "was born to be a quarterback" won by wits and grace, style and reaction. It was if he saw the game in slow motion. Whether it was with Notre Dame or the 49ers, whether the game was played in an ice storm in Dallas or in the humidity of Miami, Montana was The Man in the fourth quarter.

"There have been, and will be, much better arms and legs and much better bodies on quarterbacks in the NFL," said former 49er teammate Randy Cross, "but if you have to win a game or score a touchdown or win a championship, the only guy to get is Joe Montana."

Sports Illustrated headlined a story on the fragile-looking quarterback as "The Ultimate Winner." Montana won four Super Bowls in four appearances and became the only player to earn the Roman numeral game's MVP three times (and the other contest was the game-winning drive).

In these four games, he put up Super numbers, completing 83-of-122 passes (68 percent) for 1,142 yards with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. His quarterback rating was 127.8 (while nobody outside the Elias Sports Bureau knows how to compute this rating, or even what it means, it is known that 127.8 is a figure beyond that of mortal men).

He made the throw on the play that became known as The Catch. That's when a scrambling Montana, with three Cowboys closing in for the kill, lofted the ball in the end zone to Dwight Clark. The six-yard touchdown pass, with 51 seconds left, gave the 49ers a 28-27 victory over Dallas for the 1981 NFC championship.

"At his best, when Joe was in sync, he had an intuitive, instinctive nature rarely equaled by any athlete in any sport," said Bill Walsh, his San Francisco mentor and coach, said about the two-time NFL MVP.

As a redshirt junior at Notre Dame in 1977, after sitting out the previous season because of a separated shoulder, Montana took the Irish to a national championship. In his career he led them to five improbable fourth-quarter comebacks (deficits ranging from eight to 22 points).

The most dramatic of them was his last collegiate game, at the 1979 Cotton Bowl, when he fought hypothermia in the ice and wind in Dallas. After being fed bouillon during the second half to get his temperature back near normal, he led Notre Dame from a 34-12 deficit to a 35-34 victory in the final 7:37, throwing a perfect pass to Kris Haines for a touchdown with no time remaining.

"Joe was born to be a quarterback," said Jeff Petrucci, his high school quarterback coach. "You saw it in the midget leagues, in high school -- the electricity in the huddle when he was in there. How many people are there in the world, three billion? And how many guys are there who can do what he can do? Him, maybe (Dan) Marino on a good day. Perhaps God had a hand in this thing."

Montana had a quick setup, nifty glide to the outside, the ability to scramble but under control, buying time, looking for a receiver underneath. And this was when he still was in high school.

Montana's roots are in western Pennsylvania, the cradle of quarterbacks. Marino, Johnny Unitas, Johnny Lujack, Joe Namath, George Blanda, Jim Kelly and Terry Hanratty are from the area. All were tough, dedicated, hard workers and competitive. "We had a no-nonsense, blue-collar background," Unitas said.

Montana was born in New Eagle on June 11, 1956, the only child of Joe Sr. and Theresa, and raised in nearby Monongahela. The family lived in a two-story frame house in a middle-class neighborhood and Joe Sr. helped his son get involved with sports.

Young Joe played baseball (three perfect games in the Little League) and basketball (he was offered a scholarship to North Carolina State), but after becoming a Parade All-American quarterback as a high school senior, he followed his idol, Hanratty, to Notre Dame.

At one-time a seventh-string quarterback, he was still No. 3 when the 1977 season started. But in the third game, with once-beaten Notre Dame losing 24-14 to Purdue, The Comeback Kid came off the bench to throw for 154 yards and a touchdown in the final 11 minutes to lead the Irish to a 31-24 victory.

Coach Dan Devine finally saw the light and installed Montana as his starter. Notre Dame didn't lose again, and won the national title by defeating No. 1 Texas 38-10 in the Cotton Bowl.

After capping his collegiate career with the comeback against Houston the following January, Montana was selected by the 49ers in the third round of the 1979 draft, the No. 82 overall selection. Walsh brought him along slowly and it wasn't until late in his second season that Montana became the starter.

ZONE POLL


In 1981, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Montana was in complete control of Walsh's West Coast offense, and he led he 49ers to a 13-3 record. They won the NFC title with The Catch, and defeated Cincinnati 26-21 in the Super Bowl.

Returning to the Super Bowl three years later against the Miami Dolphins, Montana upstaged Marino, who had thrown for a record 48 touchdowns. He passed for 331 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-16 San Francisco rout.

Montana suffered a ruptured disk throwing a pass in the 1986 opener and underwent two-hour back surgery. Doctors told him it might be better for his health if he gave up football. Two months later, he was back, throwing three touchdown passes to Jerry Rice. But the season ended the way it had began -- in pain. Montana was knocked out of a 49-3 playoff loss to the Giants when noseguard Jim Burt, a future teammate, buried his helmet under Montana's chin.

Three years later, Montana had another Super Bowl ring. After spotting Candy in the stands, Joe Cool smoothly hit eight-of-nine passes, with his 10-yard strike to John Taylor giving the 49ers a 20-16 victory in Miami.

The next season, under George Seifert, Montana took the 49ers to a 14-2 record. San Francisco won its postseason games by 28, 27 and 45 points (55-10 over Denver in the Super Bowl) and Montana completed 78 percent of his passes for 800 yards, 11 touchdowns (five against Denver) and no interceptions.

An elbow injury caused Montana to miss 1991 and further complications caused him to sit out until the final game of 1992. With Steve Young entrenched at quarterback, Montana was traded to Kansas City in 1993. He led the Chiefs into the playoffs in his two seasons with them before deciding that, at age 38, he was finally weary of the game.

 

Thanks, MacB! Seriously, I had forgotten about that back surgery. And I see how you were talking about JVG now too.

 

I think the best trade for Orlando and Houston is Cuttino, SF, Cato and Maurice Taylor for Grant Hill, Tracey McGrady and Gooden. Then Orlando hires Rudy T. Houston gets Payton with MCE.

My prediction is that Houston and Orlando would win 50+ games.

Why Orlando:
Steve and Cuttino have proven that no guard in the league can contain them and there is very little shot blocking talent out side of Indiana and Detriot in the EAST. With a front line of Cato, Taylor and Okafor. There is enough fire power that they should be contenders immediately for a top 4 finish.

Houston:
With Yao, Gooden, McGrady, Jackson and Payton. We would have enough to win 50 games and be set for the future.

Also we could have someone to root for in the east as I would love to watch more basketball since I know I would love Orlando to win also.

 

Steve's defense only improved marginally, if at all, imo. He played the lanes a little less, but still way too much, often resulting in his man taking it to the rack. The Rockets interior defense improved significantly, though, and team defense improved most of all.

That said, even if TMac was as bad a defender as Steve (and I don't beleive he is), he would still be the one you would choose simply because he's taller.

 

I'm all about addition for subtraction and I certainly understand the gameplan here would be long-term success, but this would be too much to give up imo for that return. Maybe if you add a Tyronne Lue or Gordon Giricek (and I'm not the biggest fan of either of those players) it becomes more equitable, but then you are almost switching teams with the Magic, who were freaking horrible - I don't think Yao is a 30+ win type difference yet.

So then the questions are (1) could you attract talent with the MLE? Potentially, though I'd rather see a Brent Barry than a Gary Payton, and (2) could you win enough to convince McGrady to stay. With that line-up, I don't think so, especially when your San Antonio's of the world would have a lot of cash to court him the next year.

I know everyone keeps saying you have to give up anyone and everyone short of Yao to get TMac. I honestly don't see how, though, you can afford to give up SF, Mobley AND Cato in one package. If this was the Cato of old, maybe, but reason number 1 why the Rockets even made the playoffs last year was strong interior defense and Cato was 50% of that package.

I'd give up SF + Cat + extra OR SF + CATO + extra, but not all three in one package.

 

Gireck is on the jazz.

 

JVG wont be making those decisions. Especially not before any trade; comments about Francis will never be said by him, "McGrady over Francis? Hell yeah!" No, you wont hear JVG say that to the media. If anything, he will be consulted by Les and CD for his opinion behind closed doors. But think about this...what do you think, really, JVG thinks about Francis (see TNT replays)?

How many times have you seen JVG silently mouth on the sidelines, "What the hell is he doing?" after a knuckle-head Francis turnover?

Or what about the motions to "push the ball, push the ball" as Francis slowly skips up the court?

Hmmmm?

JVG is no idiot.

 

I don't think that TMAC is a bad defender at all. Im just saying that if he got his mind set to play a little more defense, especially if he doesnt have to worry about the offense all the time, he should be more than fine...in fact I would take him over KOBE if he is on a JVG team.

 

TMac is a GREAT defender, what are you guys talking about. That's one of his strengths IMO.

 

wow... TMac a bad defender? rookie season he averaged like 2 blocks a game, lots of steals too.

as time went on and he got stuck to crappier and crappier teams his defensive effort has gone down. but on a contending team sure he'd play defense. that was one of the arguments, a couple of years ago on whether TMac was better or Kobe. People said that one thing TMac has over Kobe is defensive intensity. obviously since then they've gone separate ways... but TMac WILL defend on the Rockets... book it.

 

I think that Yao + McGrady + Gooden with Jeff Van Gundy will be 50+ wins easily.

The reason McGrady wants Houston is that he wants to show everyone that he can be the man that takes a first round team with 2 allstars to a finals team with 2 all stars.

Although we probably wont make that leap. The combination of Jeffs requirement to be in top condition and a rejuvinated superstar like McGrady could be a combination that has alot of interest.

Giving up Cato is not an issue to me. Giving up Francis is but how often will we get a change to have a 6'9'' guard with long arms that can run, jump, and shoot better than any other player in the league. We have to take the plung.

 

True that. That guy gets around - 2 years, 3 teams.

 

I don't. If Yao + Steve + Mobley + Cato doesn't get you there I don't thing Yao + TMac + Gooden does. You may be able to argue that we could fill in the holes with good pieces (Brent Barry, other frontcourt help) down the road, but you never know. Those three guys plus Clarence Weatherspoon, JJ, Piatkowski and Boki don't get you close to 50, though in my opinion - so why would TMac want to stay past that.

 

Im not very high on gooden at all and I dont know why so many people like him. Just because he was drafted high doesnt mean he would be a good fit for the rockets.

Being traded by jerry west is already a bad sign. He is sort of a tweener and plays rather selfishly. We dont really need that if we have yao and tmac on the same team. Theres a reason why he came off the bench this year.

 

same reason i dont want gooden, he is selfish.

 

I don’t think you quite realize the impact of having TWO players that DEMAND the double team every night, as opposed to a one man team.

If you were to put Yao on that Orlando Magic team, the results could be drastically different then they were this past season. It’s not just a matter of plugging Yao’s 18/9 into the Magic lineup and it’s not because Yao is some dominating superstar player.

It’s because opposing teams would have no answer for him and Mcgrady on the court at the same time. There is no center other than Shaq that can matchup with Yao and no guard other than Kobe that can matchup with Mcgrady. The mismatches they present would cause all kinds of havoc to opposing teams. All you would really need is half-way competent role players that defend and hit wide open jumpers (Fisher, Rush, etc.).

 

Gooden was traded by West primarily because he was a horrible fit with Gasol... That said, Drew's a mediocre player at best and is the ultimate stat stuffer... He's the kind of guy who will get a rebound and putback with 12 seconds left in a 12 point game.

 

If CD is Shrewd....


I bet we get TM without losing either Yao OR Steve.

Think about it. For all the talk about trading Steve, the one player on the Rox roster with better trade value is CAT!!!!! He doesn't come with the max contract, plays a solid 2, AND has demonstrated consistent success against Eastern Conference teams. Any package deal that KEEPS Yao and Francis would be a victory, IMHO.

A threesome core of Francis, Yao, and T-Mac is enough to get us over the hump in the Western Conference. Five years ago, two franchise players were enough to take us far. But Francis and Yao are more akin to Malone and Stockton than Shaq and Bryant. On the other hand, Yao and T-Mac takes us to the level of Shaq and Kobe... add Francis to the picture and we're talking Lakers level talent as of today.

The balance of power can shift dramatically if CD can close this deal. With Kobe going to Free Agency and Jackson's contract expiring, there's no telling what the Lakers will look like next year. Dallas is maxed out and San Antonio is the only real repeat contender w/o making any major changes.

The T-Mac trade should be definitely be pursued. Use the trade exception. Offer Mobes. Offer Cato. Offer them all.

Yao
Francis
T-Mac

The dynasty for the next five years baby!!!!!!!!!!!



theSAGE