McGrady:'When did wanting to play become a problem?' Here's the answer [Chron:Feigen]

Two things he isn't known for doing.

If AI comes back and plays/acts like a completely different person than he has been throughout his career he could help any team in the league.

If....If....If......

 

I know, right? People assume that Tracy is going to completely change his style of play, coming back from a major injury, in a contract year, when he's pissed at the organization and coach?

uh, no. he's going to be a ball-hogging, me-first diva, even more so because now he has something to prove. the last time anyone saw this guy was him missing a breakaway dunk and embarrassing himself. he's going to come back and try to put on a show.

its not rocket science. (cue laugh track).

 

He isn't nearly the defender Battier is on a consistent basis but he's a better offensive player. Shane looks bad this year yet he is still shooting the same as Trevor from the field and from 3 point land.

By the way, whatever happened to all your hype about Ariza being this "lights-out" shooter? He's popping about 34% from behind the arc.

Hey, you wanna address that microfracture question since I've asked it 4 or 5 times now?

 

Even if he did decide to consciously change the way he plays (which he won't) I'm not sure he could. For all of his natural basketball talent I don't think he has much of a basketball IQ. I say that because he does not move without the ball and gives up on plays when the defender denies him the ball (Kobe Bryant said this).

So why would a player actually make the game harder for himself by not doing those things? The answer can only be that he doesn't understand that by doing those things the game will be easier for him.

 

I know this isn't directed at me, but anyway. Ariza defends differently than shane, so its not really a good comparison. Ariza is more about using his physical skillset to defend, staying closeby and then trying to disrupt the rhythm of the shooter with his huge reach. Its the same way that AK47 defends. Battier is more similar to chuck hayes in that he is more about court positioning and creating known situations that minimize efficiency (we all know this, but just for the sake of comparison), like forcing someone to drive left or lean right or take a contested shot.

on the shooting thing, i want to say this again: the first year a developing player gets a true green-light like Ariza has, you can pretty much expect high-volume and low-efficiency. this tends to correct itself as the player develops. if Ariza continues to develop, and is really more talented than he's been getting credit for, he'll improve as time goes on. since he's a long-term investment here, its worth letting him get the shots up so he figures it out faster. same thing that happened with AB. He's still inconsistent but he's getting better as he gets more confident in what he can and can't do well at the NBA level.

 

Ariza's efficiency would go through the roof alongside a playmaking point guard like Chris Paul or Rajon Rondo.

 

Either way, McGrady's career is not going to slip away the way Steve Francis' did. Francis, at the end, never was able to prove it in practices and his last three teams (not including the Trail Blazers, who just bought him out) could not use him, despite the pleas of his numerous and loyal fans.

Why does this feel like Steve Francis part 2? I fear this may have the same ending.

 

There's an article in CNN.com talking about TMac:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/11/24/roundtable/index.html

some notes:

Thomsen: The Rockets are doing fine without him, and it's not like his return would transform them into championship contenders. His value to them is based on his expiring contract, whether the Rockets trade his $22.5 million salary for talent or let it expire to leave them potentially $10 million or more under the cap next summer. Coming off knee surgeries the last two years, McGrady needs to showcase himself in order to earn a new contract next summer. But he needs to be careful about coming back too soon, because if his athleticism hasn't improved since last year, then he'll have no takers. And his market will decline even further if his return has a negative impact on the Rockets.

In the meantime, his high-maintenance dramatics aren't improving his woeful reputation among GMs around the league. If this turns into one of those Stephon Marbury situations, with the Rockets paying McGrady his salary and refusing to play him all year, that would murder his career. He needs to work with his team in a constructive way. And if that means a deal to another team, he could provide short-term relief to the Knicks or 76ers, but New York has nothing to trade (the Rockets have no need for David Lee), and Philadelphia isn't likely to dangle Andre Iguodala.

McCallum: Man, you just tossed this one up and asked me to knock it out of the park, didn't you? T-Mac is one of the biggest squanderers of talent in the history of the NBA. The Rockets without him are a nice surprise. They play hard, they play defense and they will stay in the playoff hunt, albeit the bottom of the hunt. I doubt if they will be worse, but they won't be any better when he comes back. McGrady is not the kind of blend-in player to help a playoff team -- he would have to go to a bad team where he would at least draw some fans, whom he will torture with spurts of brilliance amid long periods of ineffectiveness.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/11/24/roundtable/index.html#ixzz0XtKgAPRf
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This is exactly what I have been saying......he just doesn't help the team that much and his only value is as an expiring contract.

DD

 

The only way the Rockets could obtain any semblance of equal value talent-wise is for the Washington Wizards to absolutely kill this season.

"Wait...are you saying trade for Arenas???"

Nope.

Trade McGrady's contract to the Wizards for Caron Butler, Mike Miller, and Nick Young.

The Rockets take on one more year of Butler's and Young's contract but you're not getting untalented players and these are players that can actually help your team. Give the Wizards the salary cap break to get under the cap and rebuild (again) around Arenas and Jamison.

 

there is no way you get three good players for tracy. if you want butler, you would get butler + overpaid garbage, not butler + two good, affordable players.

 

Bottom line.

Do it in practice... Go against Shane on offense, go against Ariza and Chase on D. Rebound like Dream and move the ball like Lowry.

He doesn't get on the floor if he's not doing the following.
1. Running the floor at both ends
2. Playing D at a high level, which means help D
3. Rebounding at a high level, 7 or more per game
4. Playing within the offense sets and moving the ball
5. Efficient scoring of 15 pts plus on 45% shooting and 40% 3 pt shooting

 

I'm not overvaluing Tracy, the player. I'm valuing Tracy, the albatross contract.

Lets say the Wizards really stink it up and, by February's trade deadline, looks to be missing the playoffs this year. Questions will loom:

1. Why should we keep Jamison, Arenas and Butler if this team is healthy and is still underachieving?

They most likely won't part with Jamison because he's been as good as good can get for them the past few years. They have a slim to nil chance of trading Arenas and his contract so moving Butler seems to be the most plausible thing to do.

2. We traded away our draft pick this summer for Miller and Foye, hoping that win-now would happen and it didn't. Do we want to put ourselves in a position to re-sign Miller or try to get cap room?

No team is going to want to sign Miller, again, for $9 mil a season and this might actually work out for the Wizards if the Rockets let Miller walk after the season and he re-signs with Washington on the cheap.

As for Young, it was either him or Blatche. Why either one and not McGee or Crittenton? It's 1) wishful thinking on my part and 2) I'm hoping Morey is going to try not only to get ready-to-play value (i.e. Butler) but also some kind of future value (draft pick or young player) out of McGrady's contract. Sure Morey don't have a lot of wiggle room due to McGrady's acts but it is STILL a big chunk of potential cap room for any team.

 

I'm assuming that he's not going to get on the floor then

 

I disagree, one thing that T-Mac can do is make the players around him better. I can't wait to see him draw the defense and pass off to a wide open Brooks (No more Rafer). Look for Chuck Hayes to get a few more easy baskets.

 

well that's the thing - iirc miller's $9m contract is expiring, so he has almost half the value of tracy's monstrous contract. nick young is an affordable young player. butler is a versatile, productive player.

the wizards have two horrible contracts in Arenas & Jamison, and the rest of their cap situation is actually quite well managed at the moment. That means that unless a deal involves you taking back one of their bad contracts, the Wiz just aren't a likely trading partner.

I'll put it this way: is it the contracts of Butler, Young, and Miller that are holding the Wiz back?

 

tracy makes the reporters around him better, that's about it.

 

Oh no doubt that it's not the main thing that holds the Wizards back but I'm sure that, with the Wizards playing like crap right now, someone in the front office is going to wonder if it's worth it to pay these players if the underachieving continues.

I guess Butler, Stevenson, and the for-the-3rd-time Mike James would be a more reasonable trade.

 

I don't think you're talking about anybody from the Chronicle. :grin:

 

Funny how everyone not on the Rockets payroll but who has NBA knowledge and inside sources says the same thing about McGrady. It's those who are either forced to say "the right thing" within the organization or delusional McGrady fans who have anything positive to say about him or his return.