I'm not trying to make up for lost time after being away for so long, i just want to express what I see since i've been able to watch the Rox lately. 3 yrs ago, it was almost unthinkable, but now its even more clear that Francis and probably even Mobley have to go. This is probably not enything new to alot of people and many thought that time could solve what has become probably the worse asst:to ratio backcourt in the history of hoops. For all the wildness of Maxwell and the timidness of Smith, the were maybe not in ability, but in production superior to this current group. Its just hard to be very consistent in this league when the 2 players handling the ball the most , makes the worse decisions with the ball. Many people used to jump on the young wagon, but how long will it take for a pg to learn how to run a fastbreak? How long it take to learn that dribbling 17 secs off the clock puts your team behind the 8 ball as far as quality posession? With problems, you have possible solutions or scenerios. Many will laugh and say no way, but I'm the same guy that said early last yr Randolph would make Wallace trade bait. I'm not ms Cleo or someone who claim to be in the "know" , I just evaluate situations and try to make sense for both sides. You will not ever see 1 sided trade scenrios out of me to belittle the intelligence on this board. To me this makes since for both teams involved which is always good. Francis,Mobley and Cato for McGrady,Lue and Stephan Hunter. How does this help either team? The Magic are terrible right now and won't make the playoffs. McGrady is a free agent after next season and the Magic could be looking at the Shaq fiasco all over again. In McGrady, the Rockets get all star who will share the ball and capable of getting a high quality shot at the end of the game. He would salivate over playing with a quality big man like Ming. Lue is tough little guy who can knock down open shots and defends well. He doesn't turn the ball over because he's not the initiater of the offense. Hunter is a throw in and big player to make it work. This trade would vault the Rockets into the upper echelon in the west ,plus makes them younger. What does it do for Orlando? Francis,Mobley, nor Cato is on the same talent level as Mcgrady, but it does keep the competitive in the sorry east. Francis and Mobley along with Cato could help that team into the playoffs over there. It would give the team back to Francis, which he truly needs and keeps everyone happy. It probably won't make them contenders, but how many teams can make that claim anyway?Cato is a center and would do so better in the east, mybe even making an all star game avg 10-10. I'm not thru with the Rox yet. After fielding a team of Lue,McGrady,Jackson and Ming, the Rockets could use the trade exception and go get a 4 thats rising and maybe ready to really rise in Swift. Memphis didn't extend his contract so he'll be free after the season. The Rockets could use part of the trade exception on him, then go out and sign Charlie Ward for part of the mle to either start or back up lue. The revamped Rockets would become a little younger, but more experienced and probably become better defensively and commit fewer to's. Lue or Ward,McGrady,Jackson,Swift, and Ming with Taylor,Spoon,Badiane,Ward,Pike,Griffin,and Nachbar on the bench would be better than the current one the Rockets have. Francis coming off byc really can give the Rockets a chance to move up the food chain in the West. Lest we not forget that it will be even tougher next yr when NO comes into the division.
Well, I could put up a poll "Which would you rather read, another 'trade Steve' thread or a thread full of random Ralph Wiggum quotes", but that would be too obvious. My cat's breath smells like cat food...
Since I've been away from this BBS, I've been secretly developing a weapon that is both precise and deadly. It is a red beam of light that I call a "LASER."
All you have to do is ask yourself one question: If you were Orlando, would you trade T-Mac? Didn't think so. Yes, Orlando is horrible this year and is in clear contention for the 1st overall pick, can you say Okafor? T-Mac might want to leave after next season, but I'm sure Orlando would want to check out a T-Mac/Okafor tandem before making any rash decisions.
Nice! Since I've been away from this BBS, I've been secretly developing a device that will serve as a recepticle for solid and liquid human waste -- INSIDE THE HOUSE! I call it a "toilet."
Get rid of the guards? My God - why didn't anyone think of this before? And post 30 times about it every day since the beginning of the season?! I mean, wow, I just don't think we've covered this proposition from every conceivable (and inconceivable) angle yet... let's discuss it some more!