That's what they said 2 or 3 years ago in orlando. Then last year he was fine. Can't make assumptions
he said 3 or 4 more years at his current level. even w/out a back injury he would probably start to go in decline after 30 anyway. and contract wise, mcgrady is signed until the 09-10 season (free agent in summer '10). so that's your 3 or 4 years at a 20 mil level right there. when that contract is up he'll get a new one worthy of whatever level he's at then. and kobe has yet to make it to the playoffs w/out shaq. but it's ok for them to talk about how getting bounced 3 times with the magic refelects on t-mac
Back problems are scary, Larry Bird retired because of his back, no? Hopefully, this makes the Rockets realize that they really can't take any season of the Yao Mac combo for granted, it can last for another 7 years or another 3, they might have to take some risks this offseason.
Yeah, but he was 35. Heck, Jordan 'pretty much' retired at 34, Washington doesn't really count and was actually pretty sad.
Well, he was a shell of himself in his last years, I don't think the Celtics did too much damage either, the Rockets just have to put together the best team possible before he turns 30 or so.
There was a time when i thought we could model this team after the Shaq-Kobe Lakers dynasty. Tracy is/was every bit of player that Kobe is but I'm afraid his back doesn't last until Yao reaches his full potential. Now it is painfully obvius that we need a third guy on this team. Not a role player, not a star but something in between. Somebody we can count on putting up 15 points and if Yao or T-Mac is injured, can take a bigger role. I envisioned that Juwan Howard could have been that player, but he is not efficient enough and doesn't bring enough intangibles ot table. Sure, he can score now, when he is the go-to guy but playing third option is different. Don't take it wrong, he is an utmost professional and a great guy to have on your team, but we need somebody younger and better to replace him soon anyways. Rafer Alston is a keeper in my mind, but I don't know if he is up to the task and I'd rather have a pass-first point guard and have somebody else be the 3rd option. I'm afraid that Stromile Swift is never going to be good or consistent enough to take that role. Still, he was a risk worth taking and certainly will be an useful player in the future especially considering the price if we want to keep him around. Somebody like Joe Johnson, Taushaun Prince etc. would be perfect. Somebody who doesn't command max money but can occasionally carry the team if needed. (I know JJ got the max, but I'm not sure he is worth it) Somebody younger than T-Mac and Yao would be ideal. Let's say T-Mac plays 3 more years and 70 games a year at this level. Then what? In a perfect world our new stud should be ready to "switch places" with Tracy and Tracy could play a few more years as a third option and ride to the sunset, maybe collecting more rings in a process. I'm thinking that this years draft is crucial in finding this new player. Either we hit the jackpot with the pick, which projects to be anywhere from mid-lottery to high tens OR we get a player which we can trade with some other pieces for our new 3rd "guy". Either way, we cannot afford to screw another draft up. I don't want to be in a situation where we only have Luther Head and some second round picks/ CBA finds as our young emerging players. If we get that young gun, IMO we can live with replacing our veterans with other vets. Yao, T-Mac, "3rd guy", Stro, Luther is young enough core for a few years anyway. And if you draft even reasonably well, you can fill some other holes too. But for now, our main focus should get somebody young and good to help our two stars.
If you mean being first in their conference and 2nd round loses(going a game 6 or 7 in both), as not much damage than yeah they didn't do much. Bird's final season he averaged 20.4/9.6/6.8. I see what you're saying, but using Larry Bird is a bad example IMO. I think people are taking his quotes to far...a lot of guys say they want to retire young, but never do, they keep holding on and get more out of their bodies than they think they can. I don't think Tmac will be any different.
