Leeb, come on, get real, you are comparing one of the few times a fractured locker room actually didn't matter. A vast majority of the time a fractured locker room is a bad thing, I can't believe you would even think of saying it is ok. I mean everyone gets mad at their brother, but when they start airing that anger in public it is a much worse thing. DD
1970s Oakland A's 1970s New York Yankees 1980s Detroit Pistons 1990s Chicago Bulls (don't believe me? Read Phil Jackson's bio about the 1997 season) 2000s LA Lakers 1985 Chicago Bears 2004 Miami Heat 2005 St. Louis Cardinals (but LaRussa and Rolen were buddies, right?) 1980s Celtics (Larry Bird says his teammates have "no heart") 2007 New York Giants (players complaining about Coughlin openly in public) 1994 Rockets (the Horry trade- Bullard and Horry definitely aired their resentment in the papers, from what I remember) 2001 Baltimore Ravens (definitely arguing teammates on that team) Overdramatization. OK, so we had a bad couple of weeks, so McGrady quit playing in a couple of games- big effin deal. Drama queens galore. We all know what McGrady's about- he has a period or two throughout a year (no pun intended) in which he plays lackadaisacal, lets personal stuff get to him, etc. Compared to the number of wins he has almost single-handedly help us get over the years, I'll take the few lapses. Hey, if we can get equal talent, well maybe he has to go. But only for equal talent, none of this addition-by-subtraction nonsense. When healthy, at full peak, Tracy McGrady is still the best player on this team. Period.
No argument from me, but he has to play within the system as part of the team, and not as the guy that dominates and stops the ball, because that type of team is doomed to failure and is too easy to stop in the playoffs. DD
Yeah, but we've dealt with this before. He's tired, he's thinking of quitting, "it's all on me"- I just don't pay attention to all that stuff anymore. I was angry about a few of the games that we lost due to Mac, but then again, Alston, Yao, and Artest have not helped in several circumstances, either. Bottom line is you can have a player who busts their ass all the time and another who gives suspect effort occasionally, and if the suspect player contributes more to wins due to talent, I'm taking that player. It's not fair, but it's reality. And it doesn't matter whether all of the players, Bucher, Blinebury, etc, are all getting on Mac. It's only been primarily for a few games' worth of incidents, and everything will get better from this point on. The main thing to see is (1) how well we do from this point on - I'm guessing it will go well, but who really knows? and (2) how we do in the playoffs. We get past the first round, and possibly the WCF, and all of this will be completely, utterly forgotten by almost everyone.
Dandor, How long do you let something go on if it is affecting the rest of the team? Do you let it sink the season? Or do you deal with the issue? DD
What's crazy is, I'm not arguing with anyone about the situation except if it was as bad as they say, what is the gm waiting on? What hasn't someone started a fight and challenged tracy. We know Jordan pimp slapped kerr cause he wasn't playing right, then fed him for the game winning fg. That goes back to what we've talked about the lack of leadership. No one other than Artest or Yao is good enough to call tracy to the carpet. Artest is new and Yao is a wuss. That's the way power works in the locker room. Since they don't have any players that can/will do it, coaches or management has to do it.
QFT. if it's that bad, someone would have pimp slapped tracy across the head, and morey and adelman would have embarrassed him publicly already, then bench him.
Actually, it doesn't matter what I think because I'm not running the team. If they can make a positive deal for Mac, they will. If not, they don't. Either way, I trust that Morey will make a decision in the best interest of the team. Maybe he'll float it out to Mac that they are seriously considering dealing him and Mac shapes up. Maybe they actually do trade him. What I do know is that, after the trading deadline, if he's still pulling something, Adelman and Morey will be more willing to do a quick little suspension "for the betterment of the team" if they feel Mac is faking an injury or quitting on the team. I think that Mac is one of those types of bi-polar individuals that lets his personal life affect his game. Just like right before the All-Star Game in Houston, he'll go through his thing, make things better with his teammates, and everything will be fine. If not, I trust Rockets management to do the right thing. My main focus is on the guys that are playing. We have enough talent without Mac to win most of our games, so I'm concentrating the rest of the year only on those players on the court. Same with Yao last year- hate to say it, but I was really not interested at all in Yao's rehab progress while the season was going on- I've got too much to do normally (except today), and I can only focus on what the team does on the court. When they lose a game like the one to Washington, I get ticked for about 9 minutes and then I get over it. So, for me, I'm done with reading Blinebury and Feigen and the NY Post. Long as they perform on the court, let the drama continue.
I'm considering using your sig as bit of a GARM guideline If McGrady's ATTITUDE is a cancer why keep him, and if his actual ON-COURT play is not working within the system and is detrimental then why keep him? BOTH TOGETHER makes for a tradeable player If its 1 but not the other then I'll take a chance and go with on-court with bad attitude, or hard working attitude but on-court a work in progess and adjusting to the team concept as you go (which McGrady showed last year) If its BOTH attitude and on-court play hurting the team then how can you not think about trading the player?
A blockbuster to me is when there are a lot of players and 3 teams or so. Last year, shaq and kidd all switched teams as well as gasol. This year we've had Billups and iverson. Also Bibby last year. Deal makers make deal. The neat thing about the nba is the pay structure is in 5 levels. No bonus money like football or prospect in A ball like baseball. Since most teams are over the cap, just get within 15% and it done. Tracy for Marion and Magloire. What could hold that deal up? Tracy and Head for Harrington, Thomas, and James. What could hold that deal up? I have looked at depth charts, studied gm tendacies and tried to find matches. The 2 teams I gave you they have a similar theme. They both are burning time until the 2010 sweeps. The rox are probably in that boat also. So both deals make both parties happy. That doesn't mean all three teams are better, but they can all feel like they didn't get robbed. Its not that hard.
The locker room fractured as they failed in their title defense. So 2 + 2 = Shaq was gone. Dynasty, too.
what holds that deal up is that you are assuming that some other team out there actually wants tracy. big assumption when he's showing himself to be an expensive, broken, bad attitude quitter that makes $20m+.
Why is this man so worried about Tracy? My godlet it go right about something else! Give us more than just T-Mac! There are 11 other guys who play for the Rockets! Please check out my blog Rockets fans! Its www.clutchcentral.blogspot.com and please leave a comment to let me know what you guys think!
First of all your Knicks trade is the worst thing I have ever heard. Why in the hell would we want Harrington, Thomas and James. That would give us Yao, Deke, Scola, Hayes, Landry, Dorsey, Harrington, Thomas and James at the Center and PF position. Then it would leave, Battier, Artest, Alston, Brooks, Wafer, Barry to play SF, SG and PG. Maybe Harrington and Thomas and play some SF, but they both suck balls when not in the D'Antoni free shooting system. How does that possibly make us a better team, and it does nothing to better our situation in 2010. Your Miami deal again leaves us short in the backcourt, but at least Marion gives us cap space sooner, and a PF who can hit the three. Problem is, it cuts into Landry or Scola's time, while increasing demands on Battier and Artest's minutes. Not to mention, the whole board here cries and moans about Mcgrady being a p***y and a quiter and a failure and overpaid and a drama queen, yet wonders why Morey cant trade him and make the team better right now.
I think you are forgetting that Tmac is coming off of playing great last year. Its not like he has been this way for a few season now. He lead them during the streak, to 55 wins, and was great in the playoffs LAST YEAR, without Yao and then even Alston in the playoffs. Also, dont overdramatize the "sink the season" crap at this point. How can you say the season is sunk or sinking when we are still winning at a .615 clip. If you get a great deal offered then take it. But simply unloading him at this point doesnt make any sense this season or long term.
Agreed, but I have said all along I don't think he is tradeable, but you need to trade one of Tmac, Battier or Artest as they are all redundant, especially with Von Wafer's emergence. If you can't trade Tmac....because of his contract etc....and Battier is still very valuable, then Ron and his expiring reasonable contract is the most viable option. Heck I don't care anymore.....I do think something is going on in the clubhouse....and I just wish Morey/Adelman would deal with it. DD
