Please note the ridiculous part I put in bold. Feigen, are you afraid to lose interview access? http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/feigen/2599908.html May 30, 2004, 1:40AM NBA NOTEBOOK McGrady may be just a flirtation Joining Rockets is not as simple as it would seem By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle So now Tracy McGrady really and truly wants to play for the Rockets. This is sort of like the prettiest girl in junior high telling her best friend to tell your best friend that she kind of likes you. NBA and junior high logic are not far apart, and tomorrow he could be batting his eyes at another. But McGrady does turn heads. McGrady, who led the league in scoring the past two seasons, can score with his eyes closed and often does. This is not just an automatic All-Star. McGrady impresses the other All-Stars. Sounds pretty good. And he really and truly wants to play for the Rockets. Sorry, but it's not that easy. We start with the reason the Magic would ever consider trading him. McGrady, who Friday told the Orlando Sentinel that the Rockets are his first choice if he gets traded, can opt out of his seven-year, $93 million contract after next season. For some reason, Magic general manager John Weisbrod has insisted on a decision from McGrady about his plans before next season and has not backed down on the ultimatum. McGrady said Thursday he was 90 percent sure of his decision and would share it in July (that was back when his first choices were the Lakers and Spurs). The Magic did land the first pick of the draft, but McGrady said he doesn't want to wait for a draft pick to develop (McGrady being unwilling to wait for a draft pick to develop is sort of like Larry Brown complaining about coaching changes in the NBA). There is no such thing as a sign-an-extension-and-trade deal, but McGrady can void his opt-out option to make a deal work. No one could consider giving up all it would take to trade for McGrady to go through it all again next summer. But that's the easy part. As great a scorer as McGrady is, maybe the league's best, he does not defend, does not lead and is an arrive-late, leave-early sort of worker. That does not quite sound like a Jeff Van Gundy guy, and that's before considering he is a high-volume shooter far removed from Van Gundy's inside-out style. The biggest concern of all might be that he is 25 years old and has back problems and does not seem to work hard enough to prevent them. To get McGrady, the Rockets would have to offer Steve Francis (Yao Ming is untouchable). The Rockets are not looking to deal Francis. He and Van Gundy do not have the problems with one another that many believe. But after five seasons with Francis, the Rockets can understandably wonder if they can do better with an MVP candidate. Funny thing is, Francis seems to have become much more of a Van Gundy kind of guy. His strong playoff showing was encouraging, but his shortcomings remain. He is turnover-prone and had his worst shooting season from the perimeter and as a finisher. But he does get teammates open outside shots every night, and he is willing to defer to Yao. If the Rockets had McGrady, they would have to make major changes around him. But free agents that like the idea of playing with Yao would rush to join McGrady and Yao. Still, there is a feeling that if not another Grant Hill, McGrady could be the next Penny Hardaway. Twice an All-NBA first-team pick, Hardaway went to Phoenix and only showed glimpses of what he was. All of which makes the choice tough, but the decision easy. Keep Francis and load up enough to trade for the first pick, take Emeka Okafor and don't look back. [editorial] - Wwwhaaa? Howsa? [/edit] Telfair's stock taking a dive NBA executives have begun talking about how fast New York high school point guard Sebastian Telfair is dropping. He has dropped toward the last third of the first round. The Clippers have been said to be enamored, but don't need to spend a lottery pick. Shaun Livingston, the 6-7, 185-pound point guard prodigy out of Chicago, is drawing raves and could go in the top eight. Saint Joseph's point guard and national player of the year Jameer Nelson isn't falling. He was never considered a top 10 guy. But he could also last as late as until the last third of the first round. Nelson will always be small, but has an NBA game. He'll probably move back up when teams begin dealing first-round picks. Badiane rising With no rookies on last season's teams and no first-round pick this season or last, the Rockets will not put together a summer league team. They will, however, get a good look at last season's second-round pick, Malick Badiane. Badiane, a high-energy power forward in the Bo Outlaw mold but longer, moved up to the A-1 German league this season and has reached the league's finals. He still comes off the bench behind a NBA-caliber big man, Mario Kasun. The Rockets will bring him in for workouts in the offseason, which will go a long way toward deciding whether to sign him to an NBA contract or wait a season. "I think we've got a really good asset," Rockets vice president Dennis Lindsey said. "I don't know when is the right time to bring him over. "He's been a pretty good rebounder and shot-blocker, is, still developing as scorer. But they don't go to him. We know he can score more. He's really basketball young, but he has the right characteristics and likes to play." Heard it here first NBA commissioner David Stern, in another indication that he gets some of his best ideas here, has continued to push for an expansion of the NBDL to use the league for developing young future stars, instead of just players hoping for a 10-day contract and another NBA chance. The plan would work well for young players with NBA contracts but no chance of playing in the NBA. Some (Darko Milicic) might remain in Europe for an extra year or two, which would not be a bad thing. Others might try a year in college first, which also wouldn't hurt. But teams would not have to use roster spots to invest in players with potential that are not close to ready to help. More players, especially veterans, would get NBA contracts. Union membership would grow. And maybe young players might learn to make a jump shot. What a proposal Larry Brown was just sort of on-the-record spitballing with writers when he said Tracy McGrady backed out of the Olympic team to get married. Brown was clearly unsure, but he got it half right. McGrady declined because of terrorism. "I woke up and read that in the papers and I was shocked," McGrady said. "Next thing I know, my girl is calling me and saying, 'I didn't know we were getting married.' I just had concerns about the whole thing and decided to stay home and be safe." Jonathan Feigen covers the NBA for the Chronicle. He can be reached at jonathan.feigen@chron.com
