I would like to think it was us, but with magic being real good, and tmacs 23 mil on the bench it might be the magic now. It sucks being a rockets fan.
We had a short window where we could've gone all the way, 2 years specifically: against Dallas and Utah. We just didnt get it done....as far as who won the trade, i guess its a tie. We got to a higher level of play, but didnt make it very far. Orlando initially stunk w/o TMAC, but then rebuilt. Its not like Steve and Cat directly made them better, it was a rebuilding effort. The Rockets will be / are doing the same now. I guess nobody really won....which is pretty sad considering the talent in that trade
the magic traded steve francis and everyone else they got in the houston trade...you can't evalute the trade based on how good they are now. IF that's the case then you can evaluate it for years to come too. And Tm-ac is still here, which is another reason why you can't know who's won yet. As of now, i'd say the magic are losing because they got the "bust" part of the deal. They weren't happy with their guys and had to trade them. We've had tmac do more for us, and the issues with him (injuries) aren't based on the quality of the trade.
They are better because of chance and luck, they got the 1st pick in the draft of 2004 and took the right player in Dwight Howard. They've built around him and now have a winning team, I don't think you can place that all directly on the trading of Tracy although I'm sure that helped their chances of getting worse to get better.
TMac injured Yao injured again The Rockets have suffered with injuries, while the Magic hit the lottery when the selected Dwight Howard, a dominant big, who defends, rebounds, and stays healthy. Their only significant injury in recent time, was the Nelson injury from last season.
TMac not living up to expectations (getting us back to at least the conference finals) got us: Rick Adelman Morey For the record, we did the right thing, even though Steve Francis will always be more loved (he's an original Rocket), Tmac was clearly a better player back in the day and even now. However, I wonder if we got Cat Mobley and Sam Cassell (rumor Juwan for Sam trade) as our backcourt with Yao Ming and JVG as our coach, I think we'd be in the Finals. Remember, Cat/Sam led the Clippers to the 2nd round.
Francis, Cato and Cat all out of the league. Winner: Houston ...but neither team profited much by the trades in the long run.
That was a good trade. TMAC got them No.1 pick. SF got us No.1 pick. The JVG hiring was the ultimate killer.
question is, if Magic decided to build around TMac and make him happy, would they have drafted Okafur who was NBA-ready instead of Dwight?
At least those contracts are gone, and they have 23mil worth of players not on the bench. I think getting rid of Tmac was the right move for them. Plus they got rid howards contract.
if you assume Tmac will get the same injuries as he has with the Rockets, then the Magic still wouldn't get past the first round.
Interesting question but before I address it...IT DOESNT SUCK TO BE A ROCKETS FAN, sure we have been through some tough times but also some moments that have made me be as proud as any team I've ever followed! At first I thought it was the Rox hands down after all the Rox got a top 10 player(at the time) and Orlando would have lost him anyway when his contract was up. At a second glance, The Magic bascially banked on being bad and cheap to be able pick up Howard, Nelson, Lewis and Turk. I think all these moves came under Otis Smith not the GM that traded TMAC so a change in philosphy helped a ton too. I guess I still say we won the trade because of the talent we got from them and the fact there moves where not made because of the TMAC trade but the circumstances dictated there choices.
So the Magic won because they sucked so bad they got Howard???? That was a gutsy trade by their GM (maybe the grizz are winning the the Gasol trade because they're stinking it up pretty good right now).
Pretty much sums it up. Tmac still has some gas in the tank, but its old and stale. I wouldn't consider the magic great. They are 1 short of a locker room problem that will send them back to the bottom of the playoff bracket. But then again, its no rose garden here in Houston either.
hindsight, singing him to that max 3 year deal was the right move. he came off a playoff series where he seemed like the best player in the L (an all-world player). resigning him was a no-brainer. who would have anticipated those injuries not only to him, but also yao? injuries really derail tmac's career.
