while the suns and clips might have better deals.. those team suck too and T-mac wants to play for a winner only the Pacers offer might challege the ROx (and I don't think T-mac wants to live in Indy)
I would trust Gray and Aldridge before I would even listen to what numbnuts..er..I mean Ford had to say.
Man Ford never quits does he: Clippers : You get a couple of good players but you get pick number 4 in a 2 pick draft. You'd be taking a chance on a player that may or may not be worth a crap and would probably take at least 4 years to develop anyway. Had the Clippers been offering number 2 then I might be a little more worried. Pacers: You trade your star and get no real marketable figure. If I trade with Indy I better get at least Artest and not Harrington and some tall under acheivers. Suns: If the Suns offered Marion, Johnson and Jacobsen, I'd consider it. Problem is they don't seem to want to offer Johnson. If they offer the 7 pick (see Clippers above). It's a crapshoot as to what you are going to get. Rockets: We can really only speculate as to the specifics of the deal, since it has been reported as several iterations. You get SF a somewhat marketable player, a solid 2 in Mobes and most likely Cato who is a decent and serviceable C for an EC team. Are the Rockets offering the best deal on the table? Probably not if the Suns are offering the deal with Johnson but I really don't think they are. In essence I think this is another attempt for Ford to try and stroke his ego and make people think he has some say in what teams do. In reality it is once again him spouting off his opinions and proving he has issues with SF.
I've talked to Chad a few times in the past - he's a good guy. I certainly have nothing against him personally. But he should have come clean. It was only a couple of hours after he posted his article yesterday that he was made to look so wrong, so there is a clear attempt to save some face here. There will be a writing attempt to gradually go to the other side until McGrady is dealt to Houston. Don't expect an admission that there was cluelessness on the matter yesterday morning.
Now the article is saying that Francis can't be traded till July 15th, citing that there's no trades during the FA period between the 1st and the 15th. But, we're working around the BYC issue with some balanced money, right? Also, this is an "insider" article... shows how much espn really cares about this info.
If this deal does not happen, it will be a huge disappointment. Man, Chad Ford please lay low for a day. I can't believe how high my hopes are right now. Who will we blame if this falls through? I don't want to face the thought of this failing!
For what it's worth, Daliti of 610 sports in one of his morning updates said: 'the deal is finalized, they're waiting to see if Gaines can be included in the deal, and if not, its no big deal, the deal is still done'
I agree Clutch. If you refreshed the ESPN page as much as me yesterday, you probably noticed that the link started "Mcgrady heading west (not rockets)" and then after the other ESPN story broke, it was changed to "Mcgrady heading West".
it is really embarrassing (if the trade happens and Ford was SO worng) when you consider that people actually PAY to be "insiders" (I got my membership because I am a fantasy sports junkie) - so the info they post needs to be accurate and exclusive
What exactly is his problem with the Rockets? 610 is reporting that the deal has been finalized and is simply waiting on the expansion draft, but is NOT contingent upon it.
Its not a problem with the Rockets... I think he's just trying to cover his own ass with that article he wrote yesterday. Also, he feels that insider articles have to offer something different than what is currently known... in this case, pure skepticism and bullsh**.
I just hope this doesn't turn into another Glen Grunwald episode. IMO there has been way too much communication leaked to the public. Hopefully all of that means the deal just needs the "I's' dotted and "T's" crossed.
That worries me also, the fact that so much of this is public is bad. Unless it is a definate done deal. Too much public leakage here could really sabotage this deal. That's why teams keep it confidential, too many other teams would play to kill the deal. The NBA is highly! competitive. Don't think if this drags out all is OK
