IF tracy's contract expires Is there any value in a sign and trade? I got the feeling that the value in sign and trade would be significantly less than simply trading Rocket River
i dont think its smart to hold on to tracy until his contract expires. next year is a big year for this team. people expect continued progress. do you trust another year of yao's prime to the whims of an unreliable petulant former superstar? i think you deal him now (as in now, the offseason, not the trade deadline) and get the best package you can of productive players to fill that $23M hole. some of what you get back could be assets to trade again at the deadline if possible, but you simply cannot have 1/3 of your salary cap tied up in tracy in such an important year. it would be stupid, unless you are so confident he will come back and be productive that you will get significantly more for him after he has proven himself in NBA action.
Dude, I'm talking NBA and max contract guys taking significant pay cuts. Cassell was never a max contract guy. Marbury was being blackballed by NY and got paid for not playing most of the season and then got a buyout on top of it. He still made a ton of money not playing for the Knicks. Plus, nobody's going to get any money signing with a team in mid-season. There's no money available to do it. Lebron James could be waived in the middle and the season and nobody would be able to pay him anywhere close to what he was making.
I read somewhere that Wayne Hall was introduced to Tracy back when he was still in high school (still trying to find the source). And that when he was in the pros, Tracy hired him as a personal trainer. Pretty much, Tmac was Wayne Hall's big break. Tracy should have dumped Hall a long time ago and trained with Grover. Can't go wrong with Michael Jordan's trainer.
Kobe and Lebron have been working hard. Kobe's probably work hardest in NBA history. Talent decides the possible height one can reach, work makes one reach that height. TMac will always be remembered as an underachiever.
injuries have messed up the careers of some potential great players (grant, penny, walton...). you can work as hard as you want, to have consistency and longevity, you need some luck to avoid the injury bug.
I believe Tim Duncan fits your criteria. Earlier, you addressed him by saying "Tim Duncan may not have taken as much as he could have, but his salary has gone up every year he's been in the league. He didn't actually take a cut." Sorry, but that's a weak attempt to discredit a correct answer. Couldn't he have have gotten a $50 million contract but chose instead to have a $40 million one so the Spurs could retain talent? Seems to me like accepting $40 mil when he's worth $50 mil is the definition of taking a pay cut. Its irrelevant whether or not his salary has increased.
Good for him, still wish him the best Never doubted about the trio of Yao-Tmac-Artest, they can win a championship if they are all healthy! Mark my words
RR, you have to admit, this situation is a win-win situation. If McGrady comes back with no pain in his left knee, he can still put up career averages and even triple doubles. (We saw last season) If we trade him, we wont get enough value for him because of his injuries. Or we can let his contract expire, which would give us much cap room. Lets hope he gets healthy! Not only for him, I hope Yao Ming gets healthy with his full summer off!
We're in a very flexible situation. Either we get a healthy enough McGrady to go deep (which will most likely happen), or we trade him for young talent. Even if McGrady comes back healthy and strong but falls to injury later, his main value is still his ending contract. We can't lose unless we pull a memphis.
Cannonball is having fun with making up reasons that a pay cut isn't a pay cut. Let him have his fun, wekko368.
That is IF it happens before the deadline. I am not so hot on Tracy coming back for Training Camp. I don't want him to rush it. Though I am sure it is important for him to rush it because he has to PROVE he is healed. Senarios for me. 1. Tracy is completely healed and is the TMAC of old --a. Do you reup his contract at the current rate? --b. Playing like Tracy of Old . . .does he *take* a lesser contract 2. Tracy comes back and is a decent player but not TMac of Old --a. Does he understand that and take a position as a role player --b. Does he take a *reasonable* contract --c. Do you trade him as an Expiring Contact for something younger better more potential 3. Tracy comes back as Penny Hardaway --a. You trade him . . it is that simple. 1a - I don't there is any way in hell Morey invest TMAC type money in Tmac again. Mainly based on potential for more injury. So If TMac proves to be TMAC of old. . . Either you Sign and Trade him at the end of the season or He simply walks. 1b. No way in Hell TMAC of Old will take a lesser contract imo. I think he would find it insulting 2a. I dunno if TMAC's Pride and mentality are able to do this. 2b. See 2a 2c. I think this is the simpler option. Most likely in this senario. Even If Tmac accepts the subordinate role His contract would have to be significantly less. I'm thinking under 10 million. Maybe under 8. 3a is a no brainer. Rocket River
Grover is seriously overrated. He made all his fame from training Jordan. I believe his background was as a physical therapy assistant, and some friends of his that knew Jordan suggested they meet and he became Jordan's trainer. He has built an impressive business off that, but he is just a average trainer. In fact he wrote a vertical jump training book that was laughable called Air Attack I believe. There is a saying in the fitness industry, "the fastest way to become an excellent trainer is to work with excellent athletes" I think this fits Grover to a tee. Jordan was born phenomenal, he didn't need much help. I think the reason the other guys train with Grover is because he was Jordan's guy, and there is little doubt that these guy loved Jordan as they were growing up. I wish Falsone hadn't left the Rockets as he does a terrific job. Too many pros want to train with "their" guy because they are too cool to train with the team's staff. This is a shame because in my 15 years as a strength and conditioning coach I can count the number of good trainers I have seen on maybe two hands.
What seperates the GOOD trainers from the Also Rans Rocket River this is more on a personal level .. as a what should I look for in a trainer
You are undervaluing the amount that trust plays into these decisions for athletes. if i work with a bad trainer, then maybe i get into bad habits or tweak something. worst case i mess myself up for a little while. but i can still do my job and get paid, even with a strained muscle or some soreness. if an athlete works with a bad trainer, their entire career is at risk (like tracy) so they want to go with a guy who is a known quantity like grover. sure, he might be a little overrated but he is proven, and when superstars see other superstars putting their careers in his hands, that means a lot. also, i'm sure many of these athletes don't really want to know how the sausage is made so to speak. they don't really care why they have to do the workout they are given, they just care about the endpoint - will i be more durable, stronger, jump higher, be more explosive etc. so they arent really equipped to ask the kinds of questions that will identify which trainers are good or bad. so they trust the people that their agents give them, or they see other people of their caliber go to.
Great news. Hope Tmac comes back strong like Wade did after his injury. Winning in the playoffs must motivate him to work harder to get back into shape and help the Rockets next season.
i dont think he's overrated, overhyped maybe...i think the problem is he's had opportunities open up to just make money, like that book, so he's just kind of throwing stuff out there to make extra bucks...but i think he does a good job with training and with his background it's not all about lifting and running. He adds a twist with rehab type exercises, making sure the muscles are balanced and things like that, which are often overlooked by the average trainer, like Tmac's.
