McGrady To Houston Thread (Update: Francis will visit Orlando)

Aren't Steve and Cuttino best friends? If I was Steve I'd see this as a challenge that I could try to conquer and come out on top of with my best friend. By even mentioning Shaq's name he's gotta know that Cuttino would have to be part of a deal to get Shaq. It would be much worse if he were going by himself, but he's going with some of his best friends.

 

Fun.

 

I'm angry at Steve and his agent now, deserved or not.

 

why doesn't he just accept it, they will be playoff contenders with the Magic. Does he not understand that?

 

In an updated story, Gray reports that the McGrady deal between Houston and Orlando has been finalized

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1825839

Monday, June 21, 2004
Updated: June 23, 12:41 AM ET

ESPN.com news reports

The Rockets and Magic have finalized a deal to send Tracy McGrady to Houston for Steve Francis, ESPN Jim Gray reports.

The deal has cleared the hurdle of Tuesday's expansion draft, in which the Charlotte Bobcats selected none of the names in the multi-player trade.


I am have not seen any other mention of this, so take this with a grain of salt. Please be right, Jim!

 

IMHO... The agents...

Mr. Jeff Fried, the same agent that represented him being drafted to the nba...

http://www.gazettearchives.com/hornets1999/_disc6/0000004c.htm

The agent for Steve Francis doesn’t see his client’s recent trade from Vancouver to Houston as another sign NBA players simply don’t want to play for the Grizzlies.

"This is not a sweeping issue," said Jeff Fried, the Washington, D.C.-based agent who represents the former All-ACC Maryland guard. "This involved a very particular situation. Time will tell, but I think it will be a win-win situation for the teams involved."

Many around the NBA wondered if Francis’ balking at accepting his No. 2 overall selection by the Grizzlies as just another sign players don’t want to play for the perennial loser.

But Fried points out that Francis had told the team prior to the June 30 draft that he didn’t want to play in Vancouver.

However, he admits that he’s heard the negative publicity directed his way.



Familiar?

And the other agent mentioned in AP stories..


http://www.bizforward.com/wdc/issues/2002-10/nextnetwork/page07.shtml

NATE PEAKE, 30
Managing Director, Peake Management Group
Washington, DC

Peake started out as a boxing promoter but now has a virtual lock on future NBA stars generated by local basketball powerhouse the University of Maryland. Peake's firm has acted as agent for Steve Francis, Juan Dixon and Chris Wilcox (all top 20 draft picks). Not bad for a tiny 12-man shop that has to compete with talent agency behemoths that boast hundreds of clients and deep pockets (think nine figures deep). But here's Peake, servicing his clients to death: Peake helped Francis (now an NBA star) get his GED so he could play college ball despite dropping out of high school. And Dixon says Peake became a virtual member of the family while he was signing the future Washington Wizard.

Bet on Peake to attract the cream of the NBA crop: He'll be a big player in sports for a long time to come.

Kinda like Don King meets Jerry McGuire?

 

I don't think these situations are similiar in the slightest. McGrady has tried to carry that team for years and has recieved little to no help. He got frustrated at one point and said he was going elsewhere when his contract expired. He didn't say he wouldn't play out the contract he had signed. The Magic then entertained trade offers apparently and then this week finally asked him his intentions. If he told them he didn't wish to return after his contract expired, that honesty is allowing the Magic the luxury of getting some return on what they have invested in him, but the fact is, I have actually read at least one article in which T-Mac claims he has never asked to be traded.

Francis on the other hand, appears to be royally screwing not one, but two teams. His agent has released to the media the fact Francis doesn't want to play for Orlando. But an agent is paid to not only do as his client wishes, but do what's best for him. That being the case, obviously his agent released it in a way that sounds as tactful and reasonable as possible and shows his client in the most positive light possible under the circumstances. That's just good business. That being the case, we know what he said to the media, and that alone was enough to anger a lot of posters here. (nevermind that the very fact Francis lives and breathes is enough to anger many posters here) Now, if his agent is saying that to the media, what exactly do you think he's telling the Magic management? He can be as frank with them as he likes. It's obviously alot worse than what he's telling the media if they're actually thinking of backing out. I really think Orlando has to take this trade anyway. If they don't, the offers are going to be worse and worse because it's been leaked in print all over the place (true or not) that McGrady will only sign an extension in Houston. Who is going to offer more now? I think the offers will actually get worse as it becomes more apparent Orlando is desperate. Especially if they're like "Well what else are you going to do? Take Francis?". And if they do take Francis, does it not hurt their ability to trade him that everybody knows he doesn't want to play there? I mean, I'm not offering nearly as much for a player who is stating he doesn't want to play there because common sense would dictate that Orlando wants to get rid of him a whole lot more than I want to acquire him.

So essentially, while yes, McGrady has preferences to where he wants to play and he is bailing out on his team, he's done so while respecting the wishes of his team and making it as easy as possible for them to get full value. He hasn't talked to the media much. The only time he did talk to the media he talked about how he didn't asked to be trade and he talked about how he wants to play with Shaq, and I think if anything that only increased the demand for him as no team in the league wanted to wait around and see if Cuban could make that happen. Francis on the other hand could be seriously hurting our team. If this trade doesn't go through, we're then going to be hard pressed to trade him for equal value. His relationship with the team and the city is going to unfathomably tarnished and it would now be the SECOND time he threw a tantrum and refused to play somewhere. Not to mention every GM in the league will cringe in sympathy for Carrol Dawson, imagining the horror of having a deal like that on the table and seeing it all fall apart because of one primadonna and thanking their lucky stars that that particular primadonna isn't on their roster. But after all of that, Francis would HAVE to be moved because who wants to see him suit up in a Rockets jersey if he alone ruined this trade? Again, if they know we HAVE to move him then we get less for him. And I'm telling you, If this trade gets nixed because of Steve Francis, I'll boo that b*stard every time he touches the ball from now til' eternity. Even if he is wearing a Rockets jersey. I sincerely doubt I'm alone on that.

So yeah, I really don't think these situations are all that similiar, but of course, if the trade goes through and McGrady is a Rocket, then I really don't care so much. I'd like to wish Francis the best, I always loved him honestly, but he's making it really hard for me to hope the best for him.

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...n23,1,3011300.story?coll=orl-sports-headlines

Working out the trade

The early returns on Weisbrod are in, and he's not winning many fan precincts. Judging from the sports-talk show magpies and e-mails to newspaper know-it-alls, he's already botching the Magic's rebuilding efforts.

There is enough public booing to think the Magic still are playing.

Fans were upset that the club is trading McGrady, a popular four-time all-star. Most of the Magic's starting lineup, including McGrady, reportedly are being traded to the Houston Rockets for Steve Francis and center Kelvin Cato and guard Cuttino Mobley.

Along with McGrady, forward Juwan Howard and point guards Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines are being shipped to Texas.

It doesn't appear to be a very good deal for the Magic.

Francis is a problem child with a long contract. He and the rest of the Rockets don't appear to fit the Magic's rebuilding plan.

Critics have wondered if more experienced general managers would welcome Weisbrod into their card game, feeling perhaps that he could be fleeced. Maybe Weisbrod is not showing all his cards now.

"I don't think anybody is going to put anything over on John," Phoenix Suns General Manager Bryan Colangelo said. "I know he comes from a hockey background and doesn't appear to have NBA experience. But I've dealt with John. He knows what he's doing."

Maybe Weisbrod is planning to trade the Rockets players to other teams, or maybe he's trying to smoke out a better deal for McGrady.

Last week, Weisbrod vowed that, "We will not make a bad deal."

Curiously, Weisbrod would not discuss the proposed trade Monday or Tuesday. He's turned away all interview requests. The mime act is unusual for him.

A hockey-playing poet

But there's a side of him that doesn't care about public perception or media criticism.

"I don't worry about public perception. We had 21 wins [last season]," he said. "You can talk and speculate, but nothing matters but results."

Brian Schmitz can be reached a bschmitz@orlandosentinel.com.

This Weisbrod fella, is former NHL player, and a first year basketball GM. He doesn't care about developing a good reputation with other GM's around the league. He seems like a real heavy hitter. He may very well screw CD over and not think twice about it. And his relationship with Jerry Colangelo, the preacher, that surely doesn't help the Rockets chances right about now.

 

The only leverage Francis has is to sit out and give up millions of dollars. I don't see that happening. He can't really make the Magic's life miserable except for asking for a trade. He can't torpedo the Magic because if he plays bad on purpose, who would want him?


I wouldn't put it past the Magic to be using this trade to pressure other teams to make desperate last minute offers.

 

ESPN did an update at 3:37 am Eastern, and they say the deal is finalized. Refutes NYtimes report by saying crybaby has no leverage. Deal must be finalized july 1st.

If I were the Orlando I would send crybaby to Atlanta for a pick or Utah, Millwauke. That'd teach him.

linkl is here http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1825839

 

That espn update does sound encouraging, but who freaking knows at this point. I really think it could go either way. Do you think it's really possible we're just going to hear this b.s. filler until July 1st?

 

Put me out of my misery please!

 

I got an email from my wife. She said that ESPN's Andy Katz was on ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike show this morning and that Katz said that "the deal IS done and that teams around the league are treating it that way."

It is worth noting that last night on SportsCenter Marc Stein said that the deal was "almost" done and that teams around the league were treating it that way. Tough to tell if Katz is just passing on Steins info OR if Katz has UPDATED info.

Just wanted to pass it on.

 

OK now this is what I was warning about when I said that ANYTHING can happen. The proposed Magic deal with Houston is not the best deal FOR THEM. Under the BEST of circumstances, they'd have a tough time selling this deal to their fans and with SF now publicly against playing in Orlando, this deal looks worse from their perspective (they'd be hacking off the few dozen fans they have left). They'd be trading a guy who doesn't want to play in Orlando for a guy who doesn't want to play in Orlando. If the situation was reversed and it was Yao on the trading block, this BBS would detonate from the sheer volume of outraged posts so it is perfectly UNDERSTANDABLE that Orlando is now looking at other, better deals.

Because of his public statements, Francis bashing has reached historic proportions but I can understand his frustrations with being traded to a last place team. After all, T-Mac himself wants out for the same reason so if it's a legitimate position for him, it's a legitimate position as well for SF to take. This increases the pressure on the Magic exponentially. Orlando has basically one shot at getting this deal right and if they botch it up, it will have severe ramifications on their franchise for years to come.

 

Makes me feel better than Stein is on the case for ESPN instead of Ford.

heh

 

Francis has no leverage. He has $75 million on the table. This is not a Terrell Owens, McGrady, Kobe, or even Shaq situation. He may whine, he may pout, but he can't stop the trade and Orlando shouldn't worry about it. The fact is, Orlando has to take this deal because McGrady prefers Houston. Indiana and Phoenix may have better offers, but he wants to play with us.

 

I don't know that it's all Bird's fault. I place a hefty bit of the blame on team Francis.

Bird is just doing what a good executive would do. He saw the doubt planted by Francis' not wanting to play in Orlando, and exploited it.. He's just using the media to put public pressure on Orlando management to reconsider his offer, and he's doing it in the best way possible, actually. By not mentioning his players in his offer specifically- as you mentioned, this avoids hurt feelings. (although Artest can't be so dense as to not realize he's probably in it).

If the Pacers had a deal this close to being finalized, and CD floated a story like this, and the Magic started waffling, and rumors spread about them reconsidering the Rockets offer, I think everyone on the board would congratulate CD for his shrewdness.

 

I don't blame Steve for not wanting to go to Orlando.
But his comments and his agents statements have hurt this deal.
Steve doesn't want to go to Orlando, so the statements are made to do what they can to prevent it.

So Steve has tried to kill the deal. Fine.

You can't say he hasn't tried to kill the deal, since he has said he is against the deal. That's why those statements were made, because he is against the deal.

So although I understand Steve not wanting this deal, it still hurts alot as a Rocket fan knowing we might lose one of the best deals we ever had...

How can any fan not be upset if this doesn't go down?

I wish Steve's camp had kept quiet, right or wrong, so that we
have the best chance of getting this done.

It's all about what's best for the Rockets.

Anyone think Les Alexander is glad Steve's agents have done their best to publicize Steve won't play in Orlando (hey, Orlando press remember Vancouver)

 

Nothing cures the blues like winning. You, and every fan in Orlando, may think this deal sucks, but Steve, Cat, and Cato (not to mention the #1 pick) can easily lead Orlando to 40+ wins in the East, especially with the sorry competition in their new division. If Orlando wins 20 more games than they did last year, and the Magic makes the playoffs in the process, the fans will come back... and they will cheer for their "new" team.

Plus, turning the team around in ONE year and getting to the playoffs will make Weisbrod look like a genius. He's got to be thinking short-term, because his job security is at stake (unlike CD, who just signed an extension). Win now... or else. With 3 starters from a Western Conference playoff team, Orlando can do just that. Sure, he could load his team up with kiddies in order to REALLY compete in 2007 (while being awful in the meantime), but by the time the kiddies hoist the trophy, he'll be watching Magic games like everyone else... as a fan and NOT as a member of the organization. As a new GM, I'm sure Weisbrod wants to build his reputation. The only way to do that is to win NOW. Granted, we don't know what the other offers are, but we do know that the Houston deal gives him that chance.

 

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Anyway, this is getting to be excruciating. Hopefully, the end is near and T-Mac will be a Rocket. I have to wonder, though, what happens if it doesn't happen and we (again) are left with unhappy nearly traded players. Who else could we possible go after?