Oh boy....here we go.... Stick around....Do you know how fast "the best" is thrown around today? A few years ago McGrady was seen as "the best 2-guard" in the league. Yes, even better than Kobe. This was based on McGrady's performance in the play-offs (by himself). A few years ago, Duncan was considred a possible MVP candidate. But not the "best in the leauge." Come 2002-2003, knocking off the Lakers, and suddenly Duncan is seen as "the best in the league." How fast things change, huh? So, you better have a seat with with your "Yao isn't Shaq and T-Mac aint Kobe..." Things can change on a dime. Espcially when you are talking about a top 5 player.
Look, there is a very clear reason to want T-Mac that hasn't been mentioned yet. Others have made good points, like the star factor, and a core of Yao and T-Mac being able to attract free agents/role players. The Rockets, unlike the Blazers and the Mavericks, operate within a budget. As such, they need to get the most possible value from any max contracts they have on their team. From this respect, T-Mac is a big upgrade on Steve. With Yao and T-Mac under contract, the Rockets will have a sound financial base from which to operate for the next 5-6 years. When you haven't frittered away max money on a marginal max player, you can efficiently build towards a championship team. As others have stated, my only concern is the health of Tracy's back.
man trade yao for mcgrady ... so yao can dominate the east and mcgrady and francis can hump around with the ball in the west
I haven't read through this thread entirely, so forgive me if it's already been mentioned. If the Rockets somehow end up aquiring McGrady for Steve + others, would anyone else consider taking a flyer on Rod Stickland who has experience playing with T-Mac, plus is a good ball handler/distributor?
I think Strickland is done, plus, his experience of playing together with T-Mac did not translate into wins.
man these dumb post have to stop. Do you not know tmac wants to play with a big man. And a steve, mcgrady backcourt would most likely not work.
Exactly, Yao won't make near as much as Shaq and kill the team's depth and T-Mac won't have scandals with some girl to ruin the team's image.
Strickland's a headcase. Always has been. Unfortunately for him, he's an aging headcase with declining skills, which makes him less attractive to a team than, say, a Nick Van Exel. I'd rather have Erick Strickland anyway.
I never have seen depth as a problem in aquiring McGrady. The assigned player exception value for Francis, Mobley and Cato (or Taylor) is ~$7m more than TMac so there are obviously incoming contracts. (Don't discount a 3rd team trying to clear cap space). We have a $6.99m TE, an MLE, vet minimums and would get an additional $2.7m TE if Piatkowski is lost to CHA. Further, JVG uses an 8 man rotation so you're not even too short with no incoming contracts: 1) (Lue?/Gaines?/Barry?) / Wilks 2) JJ / TMac (Sura?) 3) TMac / Nachbar 4) Taylor / Spoon / (Howard?) 5) Yao (White?/Campbell?/Drobnjak?) The only way I see depth as an issue is if we are forced to take Grant Hill and he can't play. But that's not an impossible position to overcome.
Fisher!?!?!? Are you phacking kidding me!?!?!? Fisher is THE worst defensive point gaurd in the league, very streaky on offense (and much of his offense only even existed because of the type of players around him), and last but far from least, a former Faker (who actually IS a Faker... damn flopping b*stard). That is unforgivable. Nooo thank you. Hell, I'd take Payton before I took him, but there has to be better options. And would we get another decent player from Orlando other than McGrady? One of their starters?
Kinda overstating yourself there? Don't ya think? I mean, I know you don't like his flopping. But come on....THE worst?
I may get ragged on this one, but here it goes. Depth is a concern, but with the mle and veterans minimum, that can be addressed. Mcdyess, if checked out , would be a good fit here and also Eddie Griffin as the first big man off the bench. Many will not want a part of him, but i think if he's rehabed and gotten his life together, he can learn from Mcdyess and help the team. He's still 22 or 23 so he's not wasted yet. Another option if not Mcdyess would be someone like Mihm or Etan Thomas for the MLE.Both are 25 and Thomas was playing pretty goood , but the franchise want to give Kwame Brown every chance.
I agree Leeb, and would love to see that happen. One more chance would not hurt EG if he has his act together. DD
Depth is overated. Also, think of how many role players will want to sign with Houston because they have YAO and TMAC? Loads........we are one Manu Ginobli away with TMac and Yao. DD
Yes, the Rockets would be extermely attractive to free agents with Yao and Tmac. As long as Les forks over the cash, the FAs would be lining up at the door to take it. We just need to sign the MVP of the Turkish Pro League before Rudy T accepts an offer from LA and grabs him, turning him into the next Junkyard Dog.
Just because you keep saying depth is easy to come by, doesn't make it so. This team very well might be better with McGrady, but great role players don't grow on trees. One Jim Jackson type addition a year is a good goal.
