Addition by subtraction (Tmac Apologists need not click)

It was Billups and Prince.That looks yummy compared to what we have going now.

 

then what do you have to say about brooksball's idea of miller + salmon? that fits your bill. actually the more i think about that, the more i feel it makes sense.

in terms of the physical, no worries. more than one doctor have said his knee is fine. and if both teams do trade, they'd make sure the players involved pass, in this case.

 

I can't believe I'm saying this, but he has more value as an expiring.

 

Yes, but the problem is that with the 80% guy, you have little or no chance of winning the championship, whereas if you can somehow get that prima donna to peak at the right time, you do.

In the world of business, there are many different goals and measurements of what construes a win. In the NBA, however, it is ultimately about giving your team the best chance at reaching and winning the finals.

 

There isn't a point where it becomes viable.

If you take 50 cents on the dollar for McGrady (or as you're proposing, 2 cents), maybe you end up with a better regular season record, but a team led by Yao/Artest is not going deep in the playoffs. That's what you're left with at the end of the day --it's a downgrade of the combo from the teams we've run out against Dallas and Utah. We may have a better supporting cast now, but McGrady has ALWAYS played his guts out in the playoffs.

Maybe he is a distraction to the team. Maybe they made a mistake not making a move in the offseason. The answer is probably yes to both.

At this point, though, McGrady is your hand. You dare to be great with him, hoping he will figure it out in time for the playoffs to put together a few more 25-7-7 type series. You hope he's just turning into the superstar version of Robert Horry.

To win the championship, we will need a vintage McGrady. We won't need him every game, but we'll need him some of the games. To me, he's shown it enough to know that it's still there. You take your chances and dare to be great, rather than have another season of just being "really good."

 

yup. ideally you'd like to get (100% talent * 100% effort). or better yet, (110% * 110% effort) on the court. but my math tells me -

mcgrady = 110% talent * half effort ("half" as in half-assed) = 55%
many others = 80% talent * 100% effort = 80%

55% < 80%. and that is not even considering distraction, drama and such.

 

One thing that just crossed my mind when somebody questioned whether McGrady would pass a physical is why Morey was involved in a sitdown with McGrady?

Sure, it may be that they just simply wanted to figure out what was going on and plan a course of action. That is the common perception. But based on the reports, it sounds like they also questioned his motivation and intensity.

I'm wondering if Morey is actually desperate to get him out there in order to increase his trade value with the trade deadline approaching. Otherwise, I'm not sure I see why they would go to that extent with so much time left in the regular season.

I have a feeling Morey wants to trade McGrady and took the extreme of questioning his motivation in order to get him back on the court and playing at least decently so the Rockets can show potential suitors that he can still give you something.

 

don't know about that. but i do know we haven't won nothing WITH him, for sho.

les should've taken the detroit offer this summer. but even now it's always not too late to cut losses. (i am a day trader and i certainly know a lot about cutting losses. )

 

Hard to believe isn't it? I agree with you.

 

If those two guys are the best out there available who can step right in and play that motion offense, then I would say go for it.

The only question I have is would the Maloofs care to make another deal with the Rockets?

 

Fan infatuation with McGrady will mimic the infatuation with Francis.

They won't let go until he's gone no matter how crappy he plays or how many games he misses.

They won't be able to admit that a no-name like John Salmons is a better player than him.

They love the nickname, T-Mac. They remember how good he used to be. They can't let go of the name even though it's just an illusion at this point.

I hope Morey gets him out of here ASAP so we can move in some new direction, any new direction. McGrady is not a $20 million franchise player and will never come close to meeting the level of expectations that comes with his contract. The sooner we end this mess, the better.

 

I think there might be a possibility of that, but I feel he wants him to play as best as he can with the rest of the guys and hope that we develop the chemistry and health with some luck needed to make a run in the 1st round of the playoffs. I'll admit I'm not optimistic at all about our chances of even making it to the playoffs right now.

 

That's what I thought up until a minute ago but I'm starting to wonder if Morey isn't already working the phones and trying to line something up.

Who knows, maybe another GM is interested but said something to Morey like "McGrady's not even out there competing right now. I need to see more out of him before we talk about any deals."

 

you "end the drama" by trading for Marbury? wtf? I'm no TMac apologist beyond respecting his 6th all-time NBA playoff PER. But this is just silly.

you want drama...trade for Marbury. Deke would probably quit.

 

I think Morey knows this very well,and isn't talking to anyone right now because of this reason.

 

Great post DD...First, I don't think Yao will step up even in the absence of Tmac. If your theory is correct, Artest is still there and with the type of on court personality that Artest seems to bring, I think Yao will again take a back seat. I also believe that every leader must be able to not only mentally lead a team but physically. This means holding the team accountable, making the big plays, and overall being the go to guy. In the end, I don't think Yao (or Tmac) will ever be this guy for one reason or another.

Second, I personally think you trade Tmac when you get a player(s) that will help this team the most. I probably would have jumped at Billups/Prince but will pass on Miller/Salmons or a straight up trade to Marbury. For Marbury, unless we are headed to the lottery, we will have the same problem we had under JVG - a lack of offense. A potentially healthy Tmac will still give us a big three...trading him now leaves us with a hobbled Artest who will have to play even more minutes and not rest, and a tired out Yao. I'll admit Brooksball's suggestion of Miller/Salmons is interesting but I don't know if Les is ready to give up Tmac. And truthfully, I wouldn't jump on them until I watched them play more often...it isn't hard to put up 20 points when the rest of your team doesn't do much (see Mike James).