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Orlando Sentinel: Magic don't plan to rush into T-Mac trade

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Rockets34Legend, Jun 26, 2004.

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  1. Rockets34Legend

    Rockets34Legend Member

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    http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...c26062604jun26,1,4109376.story?coll=orl-magic

    Houston and Indiana are eager to complete a deal, but no move is expected this weekend.

    The Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers are waiting not so patiently now, but the Orlando Magic don't seem to care.

    It's their timetable.

    Still basking in the glow of making Dwight Howard the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, the Magic showed no signs Friday of finalizing any trade involving star guard Tracy McGrady.

    Although a tentative agreement was reached with the Houston Rockets, McGrady will remain in limbo at least through this weekend.

    "We're not nearly as far down the line with this as some people have perceived. We're still open-minded," Magic General Manager John Weisbrod said Friday. "As long as we know what our options are, there is no rush, no pressure. If we don't formally resolve the Tracy situation until Aug. 10, it won't adversely affect our team-building."

    Rockets owner Les Alexander on Thursday night expressed some frustration with the speed of the trade talks, hoping to have it resolved quickly. The tentative deal involves McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines going to Houston in exchange for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato.

    "We'd like to get it done," Alexander told reporters in Houston. "I think we're going to get it done. But who knows, it's not up to me."

    Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird told reporters in Indianapolis that his team has continued its pursuit of McGrady but said he believed the Rockets remain the front-runner.

    "We're still in discussions, and obviously McGrady is high on our list," Bird told the Indianapolis Star. "It's according to what happens in Houston. If something breaks down there, we won't wait all summer, but we'll listen."

    McGrady has asked the Magic to trade him. He can opt out of his contract and become a free agent after next season.

    The Rockets and Pacers were noticeably quiet on draft night -- keeping their rosters intact, particularly players involved in any proposed deal for McGrady.

    Weisbrod spoke with Francis -- the key piece in the Rockets' trade proposal for McGrady -- early Friday. He spoke glowingly of him later in the day. Although Francis led the league in technical fouls this season, Weisbrod said the toughness of the Houston point guard would fit well with the team he envisions in Orlando.

    "He's my kind of guy because of the way he plays and the way that he is," Weisbrod said. "We're speaking the same language. He's stubborn, competitive. He wants to win."

    One topic of their 20-minute phone conversation Friday was last season when Francis belted much-larger Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns, who was celebrating excessively after dunking over Houston center Yao Ming.

    "The night he hit Stoudemire was probably the night I decided he's a guy I could get used to," Weisbrod said. "I don't know him very well yet, but he's a guy we've identified as someone who could help us."

    Jeff Fried, Francis' agent, expressed optimism that the common ground found Friday between Weisbrod and Francis was a positive step toward completing a deal with Houston.
     
    #1 Rockets34Legend, Jun 26, 2004
  2. Jeff

    Jeff Clutch Crew

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    This was posted in the big mutha thread also. Just fyi. :D
     
    #2 Jeff, Jun 26, 2004
  3. Rockets34Legend

    Rockets34Legend Member

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    Oh, my bad. Just saw the new article on the Sentinel. Been looking all day at that site.

    But your thread says it's done, but this article says it will be delayed. Is the article old?
     
    #3 Rockets34Legend, Jun 26, 2004
  4. DallasThomas

    DallasThomas Member

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    Steve hit Amare Stoudemire? That's wild. I'll miss his heart when he's gone.
     
    #4 DallasThomas, Jun 26, 2004
  5. Dave2000

    Dave2000 Member

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    Yup, at that OT game where apparently, he motivated the Suns to beat the Rockets in OT on TNT. I dont blame him that he did it, Amare basically screamed for dunking around/over Yao and Steve retaliated.
     
    #5 Dave2000, Jun 26, 2004
  6. Jeff

    Jeff Clutch Crew

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    I get the sense that the Sentinnel tends to spin things the way Wisebrod wants them spun whereas other outlets tend to go more with other sources. It is no surprise considering they are the only Orlando paper.

    I mean, why else are they still talking to Indiana when even Bird has indicated that it is Houston's deal to lose at this point. I just think they are trying to show that the Magic are doing EVERYTHING they can to get this right.

    I also suspect that the longer they delay, the better their fans feel about management. It gives Steve a chance to recant and the fans to grow attached as well as build the resentment for T-Mac, which will help them forget that they are as much at fault as anyone that he isn't re-signing.

    When you have agents, GM's and even the primary player involved saying they think it will get done over the weekend, no matter what the Magic GM says, the cat is WAY out of the bag.
     
    #6 Jeff, Jun 26, 2004
  7. RocketForever

    RocketForever Member

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    Yes...after he went like 1-11 ... I can understand why Amare was so excited coz that was about the only thing he has done right in that game.
     
    #7 RocketForever, Jun 26, 2004
  8. Chicken Boy

    Chicken Boy Member

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    Didn't Orlando demand that Tracy decide where he wanted to be traded before the summer started? I could be wrong, but if not, all this smells of poo.
     
    #8 Chicken Boy, Jun 26, 2004
  9. Jeff

    Jeff Clutch Crew

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    Wisebrod reminds me of this quote Al Pacino's character in The Insider:

    The Wall Street Journal, here, not exactly a bastion of anti-capitalist sentiment, refutes Big Tobacco's smear campaign as the lowest form of character assassination! And now, even now, when every word of what Wigand has said on our show is printed, the entire deposition of his testimony in a court of law in the State of Mississippi, the cat TOTALLY out of the bag, you're still standing here debating!
     
    #9 Jeff, Jun 26, 2004
  10. silent j

    silent j Member

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    Maybe it would get Weis-guys attention if we started looking into some of the deals he was going to make with our players once he got them?

    What if CD went to Miami and said he'd take Caron Butler for Mobely and Cato? Then maybe he could go to Seattle with the Francis for Ray Allen deal? Or my favorite would be going to Bird and offering Steve, Cuttino and Cato for Bender, Harrington and Tinsley?

    Would that put enough pressure on him to make the deal?

    j
     
    #10 silent j, Jun 26, 2004
  11. reptilexcq

    reptilexcq Member

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    It's done deal...just a matter of time. I think Orlando want Cato and Houston say no. So the deal is delay as a result.
     
    #11 reptilexcq, Jun 26, 2004
  12. Jeff

    Jeff Clutch Crew

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    I think it is pretty clear the deal is set. This is just their way of showing they aren't going to just jump at anything. EVERYONE BUT Wisebrod and the Sentinnel are saying this thing is done. Even Wisebrod himself has made some VERY strong statements that this deal is there and they are ready to go.

    BELIEVE ME, if they bail on this, there will be a LOT of pissed off players, GM's, agents, etc. Not that he doesn't already look like an amateur, but he would be villified EVERYWHERE if he decided to completely switch gears now.
     
    #12 Jeff, Jun 26, 2004
  13. RunninRaven

    RunninRaven Member
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    Plus, if you think about it, the only thing the Magic organization is under total control here is the timing of which this deal gets done. They know McGrady has them bent over with his contract being up in a year. He is quite obviously using that leverage. That narrows down their potential trade partners, and the potential trade partners know it. So it is almost as if Weisbrod and the Magic org. are purposefully dragging their feet just so they can feel, and give the appearance, that they are somehow in control.
     
    #13 RunninRaven, Jun 26, 2004
  14. blazer_ben

    blazer_ben Rookie

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    #14 blazer_ben, Jun 26, 2004
  15. Willis25

    Willis25 Member

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    dude are you a ROCKET fan ?!?! you just suggested we screw ourselves TWICE (that'll teach Orlando :rolleyes: ) !
     
    #15 Willis25, Jun 26, 2004
  16. feishen

    feishen Member

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    "The night he hit Stoudemire was probably the night I decided he's a guy I could get used to," Weisbrod said. "I don't know him very well yet, but he's a guy we've identified as someone who could help us."

    This shows how ignorant this guy is. Steve is going to help Magic, but not for the reason he described. A controlled Steve is far more effective than a big heart, wild Steve. As Rocket fans, we have all see that. Weisbrod is an idiot.
     
    #16 feishen, Jun 26, 2004
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