Whats all this T-Mac trade about???... this is easy. Clyde the Glyde. No Clyde, no 2nd title. Championships override EVERYTHING. Case closed.
Hindsight is 20/20. Let say we disregard what happens after the trade. At the time of the trade, would you turn down a 6'10" 2 time scoring champion in his mid 20s with an elite all around game and at the same time dump rascals like steve francis, his buddy mobley and cato's awful contract?
HONESTLY October 11, 1988: Otis Thorpe traded by the Sacramento Kings to the Houston Rockets for Rodney McCray and Jim Petersen. We actually gave up an All-Star in Thrope to get Drexler. We gave up an old dude near the end of his career and a mediocre player to get Thrope
Okay, as bad as Max was, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one. Vernon Maxwell maintains to this day that the fan he attacked had not only been heckling him all night (it was an away game), but had been mocking his STILLBORN CHILD. If that's really what that fan was saying, I would have snapped, too!
If you are judging a trade on paper or by results my opinion still stands. HOF/Top 50 player of all time + Second Title for a borderline All-star level big man in Thorpe. Thorpe was solid, but it was the style of play that changed after Thorpe was traded that really gave Hakeem's offensive game a boost with the extra spacing in the paint to operate. + Clyde's boost that second half of the season was a game changer. Allowed the Rockets to get more points in the open court, and gave a secondary scorer to take pressure off of Hakeem. The T-Mac trade looked great on paper, but what results came from it in the end, and whats the legacy of Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady?? It was a great trade at the time, but pales in comparison to the Clyde/Thorpe trade.
I agree this has the POTENTIAL to go down as the best trade. That is if James Harden continues to improve. He's a #3 pick, 3 years away from being drafted. He's 23 years old. And he has definitely convinces many General Mangers that he is worth max money! Martin was disgruntled. Lamb is an unproven player - who could become a significant player. the draft picks --- well we Rocket fans have been through that way too oftern. Top trades by Rockets that i remembber. 1) acquiring Drexler 2) acquirng McGrady 3) acquring Steve Francis 4) acquiring Charles Barkley Hence, if Harden pans out, he could be the best trade of the list. He's proven, deemed worth the money, extremely talented, 23 years old.
No they didn't have a better team. The Rockets started the season 15-0 and they went into MSG and spanked the Knicks in front of their fans. Starks is a streaky shooter and is overrated. In game 7, Maxwell outplayed Starks and Clutch City became eternal and forever. Here's the video of game 7 and Maxwell throwing your beloved Starks out of the way like he's yesterdays newspaper <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ASxTyFlLYso" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Clutch City is forever and the Knicks were never
5 stars, repped and I will have to agree with the OP simply because he's a 99er and has fewer posts than I do. Trades that bring lurkers and semi-lurkers out are good trades.
Anyone who believes the Knicks were better than Clutch City, even knowing that it was Clutch City that beat their ass is not only not a Rockets fan, but completely delusional. There is overwhelming video evidence of this fact, here is one. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1Yam2Qav8wM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I say the Artest trade also had potential to be one of the best trades if it had pan out. Morey got Artest for peanuts for a mouthwatering trio of Tmac-Artest-Yao supported by great depth (Brooks, Landry, Scola, Lowry, Battier etc). Too bad they can't be healthy.. I remember when the trio played and we won at Dallas in a close game with Artest hitting the dagger 3 pointer, wow the potential was so great.
I'm not going to dwell on the past. I'm super excited about this upcoming season. Lets enjoy the team. This team might sneak into the second round. I won't be watching the knicks much this year. I can't stand Carmelo.
Once again stupid hypocrite is stupid hypocrite. You bag on TMac for being all world for the Rockets during their playoffs. For carrying the team. For being robbed against Dallas by the Refs, and for not having the second best players on his team. Yes the other 10 players the Rockets had were great players. You sir are a tool. You bag on Tmac for doing all that, but mostly for quitting during the infamous Toronto game. Yet you praise Mad max. Forgetting that he completely quit on the team during the playoffs. That he b****ed his way out of the playoffs, and basically got kicked off the team for his sh!tty attitude. Not only was he a crappy dude by quitting on his team, he punched fans in the stands. He also is a sh!tty person in real life later knowingly infecting a woman with herpes. Yeah, hes a freaking hero.
