Exactly right! I really wish that Larry would just shut up and mind his OWN business. Could it be that Larry fears what Orlando will do in the east if they have Steve, Cat , Cato, and a bunch of young guns flying all over the court. The Magic have the potential of being a very exciting and VERY good team in the east.
First, I think Larry says whatever the hell he wants to say. That is just how he is. Second, I'm sure he wants it to be known to fans and to other teams that they are serious about making deals this offseason. Third, he could be right, but even if he is, they are still McGrady's SECOND choice. As much as Artest and Harrington are good players, they don't really fit positions they need on the floor at the moment. The Rockets still have the best package on the table.
I dont think that can be understated enough. The Magic need a CENTER and a PG the most. That's what we provide in our trade, not to mention that Francis is much more marketable than Artest is.
I'll take Larry Bird's quoted word over "unnamed NBA sources" anyday, dunno about you guys. Until TMac comes out and says it, take it with a grain of salt - particularly if it comes without names attached to the quotes.
we surely have the best offer. steve and cat, cato marion, jj, voskul artest, harrington, bender thats the order i see it. we offer a better player at every position. also, why would orlando have any interest in the indianna trade? artest i can see, but the others are just gonna take time away from howard/gooden. i woud've ranked the suns a little higher than us before they gave away the #7. but at any rate, the fact remains that tmac wants to go here more than anywhere else. orlando will try to get better offers by saying nothing is done yet we are still listening to offers, but the truth is unless they get an offer that blows ours out of the watter (and that team is willing to give up that much w/o tmac signing an extention) then we will work something out for him soon.
HAHA! Still holding out hope aren't you? Well, if you take Bird's word for it then you should take it as fact that he basically said McGrady is going to Houston unless something breaks down and that Houston is still his #1 choice.
I know we shouldnt post from other boards but this has been confirmed by Orladno news on their late nite broadcast. Bird and Walsh were in orlando to make a pitch to orlando and Tmac . Somebody confirmed he was staying at a certain hotel. The most discouraging thing was that somebody said Wiesbrod was estatic about getting Artest, Bender and Harrington and all they needed was Tmacs okay. If Larry Bird came to Orlando to talk to Tmac directly, I bet Tmac would listen. I dont think all these things are just a coincidence. After losing out on luke jackson I bet Bird must be going after Tmac hard. The only thing we have going for us is that Indiana is basically Gutting their team in order to get Tmac. From watching JO in the playoffs last year he isnt anywhere near a MVP canidate. He barely average 20/10 in the east and shot a blistering 43% from the field. I dont think JO creates as many shots for his teamates as Yao creates for us. Tmac coming to Houston looks like its not going to happen as more days go by. After Draft day a trade with houston would make absolutely no sense for the Magic.
and who said Orlando news confirmed it. Francis is getting on a plane and meeting with the Magic's owner. Sounds made up to me
Of course, Bird said in a statement to the press that he was NOT involved in talks and that the owners were handling it from this point forward. He did that interview, supposedly, from his offices in Indiana.
I just don't get the feeling that Bird is aggressively going after Mcgrady. He's kind of acting nonchalant, like “If the Rockets don’t want him, sure, I guess we’ll take him”. Makes me highly question if Bird would offer Artest/Harrington/Bender. I think Bird only wants Mcgrady if he can get him cheap (without giving up O’Neal or Artest).
