really? i hate the dude because he used to kill us when we played the mavs... i still do not know what the mavs were thinking when they traded him away... he was good with the mavs.. they just didn't know it.. muahahaha mavs suck!!
LMFAO Wow. its funny how all of a sudden guys have the nerve to bring up Von Wafer and McGrady in the same sentence. SHAME ON YALL... If thats the Case might As well put Dream and Landry in the same sentence.
The Von Wafer comparison was horrible. Same with Trevor Ariza. Tmac was better in high school than they are now. He was just that talented. It took some experience, hard work, and an opportunity for that talent to translate to the NBA. Theres a reason why Tmac was offered a max contract in 2000 despite being a bench player that year. He was 20 years old when he was given this contract from Orlando. Wafer and Ariza are great athletes, no doubt about that, but they simply don't have the talent. They are both 24 years old now, and neither has shown anything on a consistent basis. Wafer went to college for 2 years and Ariza went to college for 1 year. Yet, after 4-5 years in the NBA, they've shown very little in offensive skills, Basketball IQ, and consistency. Wafer is a decent scorer and he can get off his own shot. However, he forces the issue, he doesn't know how to pass, he doesn't know how to run a pick n' roll, he can't post up on the high block and use the triple threat (too small). He's a pretty good athlete and finsher, but he doesn't look up when he dribbles, and therefore takes away all his passing options. He can be a good spark off the bench, thats about as far as I think he'll ever get in the NBA. He's only 6'5, and he doesn't have any great offensive moves (very predictable), his shot is streaky, and he is a horrible defender considering his athleticism...though he showed flashes of good defense chasing around Jason Terry and Rudy Fernandez off screens. Ariza, is minimally skilled on offense. He can't create his own shot. His shot is streaky at best and needs to be wide open to hit it. He has no offensive moves off the dribble, and he has zero post up game. He's a poor rebounder for his height. He's a good athlete and long, and is an okay defender on the ball. His strength is playing the passing lanes. He has the potential to be a great defender and I'm sure Shane will teach him the ropes...but he'll never become a star in this league, which is okay. He can be a very good role player if he improves his shooting and rebounding as well. Maybe a young horry type with more speed and quickness. Tracy McGrady was/is a special talent at a long 6'8 who can create for himself, create for others, can drive, can dribble very well, can post up in the high or low block, great mid range game, decent 3 point shooting (Lebron/Dwade %'s), and can finish at the rim when healthy. If it was easy for every long 6'8 + wing player to become a star, then Marvin Williams, Josh Smith Jonathan Bender, Travis Outlaw, Hakeem Warrick, Tayshaun Prince, Bargnani, Luol Deng, AK 47, Thad Young, Al Thornton, Yi, Joe Alexander would all be stars in this league. I think Ariza is closer to these guys and is miles away from becoming Tmac. The guys I could see having a chance to being atleast as good a scorer as Tmac are Danny Granger, Wilson Chandler, Kevin Durant, and Rudy Gay, atleast right now. Maybe Thad Young and Thornton in a few years, but only scoring wise. But none of these players are as good at playmaking for others as Tmac was in back in 2001, when he himself wasn't as good at making plays as he later became. Thats why I feel Tmac is in a small class of elite wing players with his talents, such as scoring ability, shooting, defense, playmaking, atheticism, ability to finish at the rim, etc. Very few wing players can do all of those things... Lebron, Kobe, Wade are obviously the cream of the crop, but right after them I would put Tmac, Pierce, Roy, 3rd tier to me would be Joe Johnson, Ray Allen, Ginobili, and Melo (great scorer, but lack of playmaking ability) Obviously, point guards who would fit are Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Billups, and Rondo. But this is for another discussion. But simply put, there are very few wing players out there that can do ALL the things that Tmac, Lebron, Kobe, Wade, Pierce, Johnson, Roy, Allen, Ginobili, etc. can do. These are special players with a unique combination of talents and athleticism and scoring/playmaking ability.
I think what SHOULD be implied there is that you can have all the talent in the world, but without some sort of inner motivation and hard work, you can never achieve what you want. Tmac, for all of his criticism about his work ethic and hunger, really worked his tail off to make it to where he is now. Tmac may play lazily or appear to be at times (make that 80% of the regular season), but people overlook the fact that he went from a defensive stopper scoring averaging less than 10 pts a game to 20+ points as a franchise player, and the leading scorer a couple of years later after that. He really worked hard on his game during the offseason to develop and fine tune his skills. HOWEVER, while he was naturally gifted physically in the first place, he also likely already possessed the demeaner and "special something" that allowed him to evolve into the superstar. In that sense, you could say that he was "mentally tough" in the first place. You don't come into a league as a skinny 18 year old out of high school and just dominate without hard work, sacrifice, and the right mentality to self motivate despite the critics. This is why I laughed when someone back a while ago said that Ariza can be "like" Kobe.
This ones easy. But unlike T Slack everybody said this Guy would be the it guy when he was drafted. So for his numbers look like a number from a role player. But I have always thought if he wasn't on a team, that had a guy that chunked up 30 shots a game, he would of been rookie of the year. The guy I'm talking about? Micheal Beasley If he was the main focus of a offense he would easily be a 25+ player.
He has talent, I could see him as a more finesse and athletic Corliss Williamson/Mo Taylor type of player. A scoring power forward who can score in many ways. He is still a little undersized for a power forward and to me looked a little soft and timid in the NBA, unlike his college days. But he has the talent and skill to be a good scorer in this league. Needs to improve his rebounding and defense a lot though.
To a lesser extent but with much more success overalll, Ginobili came into the league as a no star, drafted 57, and as a role player. He performed better and better untill he became a star in the league and recently earned All-NBA second team honors, that´s huge climbing also. He was also one vote away for Finals MVP in 2005 if i recall correctly, also won a gold medal with Argentina, where he started as a backup to Juan Espil.
He does have a lot of talent. But for a combo forward he doesn't play with a lot of toughness down low nor is he an overbearing athlete such that he can just blow by people, change directions quickly, etc. He's a GOOD athlete, not great, which is important to have if you're an undersized combo forward who likes to hang out in the perimeter. He does have a really soft tough though. He can be like a more skilled version of David West, except a little bit quicker. Joe Alexander has the potential to be like that too, even though he needs to work on his understanding of defense a little bit more because he averaged like 4 fouls/game last year simply because he always reacted so late and just relied so much on his athletic ability to bail him out, only to foul the shooter late. But watching him on offense, he has one of the most explosive first steps in the game for a young player and has a decent midrange.
Honestly I wouldn't consider Tmac a true superstar except in fan popularity. Superstars should be franchise players and perenial MVP candidates, but most importantly they are measured by what they do in the post-season. Is there another "superstar" who hasn't won a first round series after 12 years in the league? Most superstars are getting heat for not having won a ring by that point in their careers.
I also forgot to add that Tmac athletically was only behind Lebron outside of strength. He has a higher vertical than Kobe, Wade, Pierce, Melo, Roy, and Joe Johnson. http://vertcoach.com/highest-vertical-leap.html He also ran a 40 yard dash of 4.2 before. http://armchairgm.wikia.com/Tracy_McGrady (all the info is correct on this page). Also has a 7'2 wingspan, 2 inches longer than Lebron James. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/LeBron-James-2967/ He was a freak of an athlete before injuries took away most of it. THat also helped alot in his development. Speed, explosiveness, quickness, and length. THe only thing he didn't have was strength and body weight on Lebron. Otherwise, he would've been one of the best athletes ever in the NBA.
Quiz: Who was this guy? Was Florida's Mr. Basketball his senior year in high school and was also an all-state defensive back in football
