http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2007/01/doc_says_tmac_w.html Posted on Jan 28, 2007 12:23:04 PM Funny, how the truth --- or the perceived truth --- comes out in time. When they were both with the Magic, Doc Rivers and T-Mac tried to bond to make Orlando a winner. Rivers even named T-Mac the captain of the team to begin the 2003-04 training camp. The next day, I basically lampooned the move, eliciting the wrath of Doc. Doc was angry and upset, but in his heart or hearts, he knew: The Magic had blundered by forcing T-Mac to become something he wasn't. While a great player, the young T-Mac wasn't the sort who wanted that responsibility --- or could have even handled it at his age. You can't force somebody to be a leader if it's not in them, no matter if you sew a "C" on their uniform for "Captain." I wrote that it was nothing more than a love letter from the Magic. Today, with the Houston Rockets, T-Mac appears mature enough to handle the role. Just not back then. Rivers, now the Boston Celtics coach, told the Boston Globe that he should have kept Darrell Armstrong around to assume the leadership of the team. Armstrong was no re-signed after the 2002-03 season. "The biggest mistake I have made as a coach was when we decided in Orlando that Tracy [ McGrady] was going to be the leader," Doc said. " That meant we had to remove Darrell. I knew on the first day of training camp that we had made a huge mistake because Tracy wasn't ready and Darrell's presence was missed. It was a horrible decision. You needed his energy, his drive. He makes people practice. He plays with a will, a drive, and he really believes that his will and effort can change a game." Obviously, that's why Armstrong is still in the league, and why the Indiana Pacers wanted him in a trade last summer. And he is kind of what today's version of the Magic is still missing.
Holly cow, even Sentinel is giving tracy props. that paper has been a renouned tracy hater. tracy's play without yao has even converted the even biggest skeptics. tracy as i have said before, is a better allround player then he was in orlando. now he knows howto control he's game. he knows when to turn it on andwhen to save he's energy. he knows how to make the right passes now.he dosent force it anymore.
didnt tmac publically say that he wanted armstrong back on that team? wussybroad should have stayed with hockey
Revisiting the trade: Rox rec'd, essentially: TMac Rafer JuHo Magic rec'd, essentially: Ariza Darko Arroyo (and lost a #1 to Pistons) Pretty good deal, CD, pretty good.
He couldn't even practice, what young guy is gonna hustle for him? Not to mention, he's not really a rah rah type guy.
There were more problems in ORL besides an immature Tmac. They traded Tmac's best friend and a good player in Mike Miller They traded DA for nothing, and picked up Tyron Lue-ser They had Drew Gooden and instead of checking with their star player and captian, they signed Juwan Howard (glutted at the PF) They hired a Jr Hockey Gm who would sow discord in the lockerroom between the star player and the team They hired a lameduck yes man coach in Johnny Davis (by orl fans;nicknamed Johnny Moral Victory Davis) That team was completely, no that organiztion was in self inflicted turmoil. They wouldn't go over the luxuxry tax to get rela help in there. Signed a scrub in Stephen Hunter, and they hardly played him. It was an awful situation. They just blamed T-Mac for it all. Notice since he was traded they still dont have it together.
Wasn't it just one writer who hated Tracy to an extreme? He went way past the point of being professional with some of the stuff he wrote. It was like he was obsessed with wanting Tracy to fail once he left the Magic.
yeah i remember reading some of his articles. it seemed like he was rejoicing whenever tmac would go down with an injury
i think it was reece gaines and a 2nd rounder for mike james...so yeah reece gains + 2nd rounder = rafer
I remember there was one Sentinel writer that absolutely hated T-Mac that I got into an e-mail argument with a while back. Before the Magic dealt Francis and while we were struggling with injuries last year he tried arguing that T-Mac disappeared and quit on the team in Game 7, that he's a loser and that the Magic got the better end of that trade. Needless to say I had a field day dismantling that baseless argument (I practically had him on the verge of admitting he didn't even watch Game 7) and I made sure to send him a "Are you happy to have Penny Hardaway back?" joke once the Magic dealt Francis.
don't forget that for a while we had jon barry thanks to that trade as well. CD owns weisbrod. no doubt about it.
