It all depends on what all stars are being unloaded at the trade deadline by non-contenders. It tends to happen every year, and if Tmac is playing at even a decent level then it makes that salary cap dump a lot easier to sell for opposing teams than doing before the season starts. Can you imagine trying to sell season tickets or convince Steve Nash to stay in Phoenix if you just traded Stoudemire for an injured TMac before the season starts? But come the trade deadline if Phoenix isn't in contention? Fans are a lot more willing to consider such things and look forward to 2010 free agency.
I'm glad we have some dialogue on this instead of thee r****ded responses earlier in the thread. The rockets are in a bind with Tracy and Yao I think. Yao is easier because he opens so many doors for les that even when his on court presence doesn't match his salary, we just have to take it. Tracy is different in so many ways. He's in the last yr of his deal after coming off his worse year as a rockets. He's 30 but with high miles and still a talent. When healthy, he's very,very valuable to any team because he's basically a 6'9 pg. If he plays well, the rockets will be in playoff contention. Unless they can trade shane and move some salary, they will not be players in the free agent market in 2010. Tracy is comfortable in houston and playing with Yao and the organization may not like the career decision he made last year, but the understand his value on and off the court. What happens if the rockets are 2 games out of the playoff picture and the trade deadline is coming. Tracy isn't playing great, but he playing well and appears to get stronger and the team is on a somewhat roll, what do you do?Do you have a better chance to sign tracy at a reduced salary and add more pieces that way and go at it with Yao coming back in 10? That's the kind of pickle the rockets are in.
lol posted this again if it was done before. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVXI4AIJ6N8&NR=1 'I dunno' better than 'its on me'
With all due respect (I don't have a grudge with you).... 1. GM's are paid to make money. This is a business. Yes, long-term is important, but they are also measured on short-term performance. Morey has been here for a few years now. His number one goal is to sell season tickets, next season, the season after that, and the season after that. The long-term, is about making sure the team can sell season tickets in the long-term. 2. Risk has to be managed, and measured against reward. But if risk isn't simple to measure. People buy lottery tickets and insurance, even though on average, both are losing propositions. People buy stocks even though on average, it's a winning proposition, despite the high risk they could lose everything. These two factors leave more with a challenging position. There is a risk to giving up on T-mac and Yao (both). That is, it will be more difficult to find a 1-2 punch to lead to a ring. Upgrades over role-players help marginally...with Brooks, Scola, Battier, and Ariza - you have 3 solid role-players that isn't easy to improve upon dramatically. With Lowry, Landry, and the big austrailian - you now have a playoff rotation that is complete. Improving on the bottom 3 role-players isn't going to make your team that much greater. If you let t-mac go, you have some big holes to fill. You have to find a guy who can shoot off the dribble, pass, score from inside or outside, be a clutch shooter, and be able to penetrate. T-mac plays 3 roles at vairous times on the floor. Playmaker, Score, and Decoy. He also plays 3 positions: Small Forward, Shooting Guard, and at times, effectively, point guard. in 2010 or via trade - you will not find a better player. You give up on t-mac, and your chances for a ring diminish, but your chances to the playoffs increase. they increase because t-mac is injury prone, and that's the big risk. A lot of what will go in Morey's mind, is how healthy can he expect t-mac to be, and what is t-mac willing to take (in terms of salary and years). If Morey thinks he can get t-mac to re-sign for 1-2 years at 10 million a year - I guarantee you T-mac stays a rocket if he is 95% of what he was in 2008. If T-mac is 50% of what he was, still struggles, and the drama continues, he'll be gone before the trading deadline. If it's 75%, and he's good but not great, he might get traded to a playoff team for first round draft picks. But that range of 75%-95% is tougher to assess. And that's where morey really has to think - and right now, i bet he doesn't know what he'd do in that scenario for sure. I don't, and I don't think anyone does for sure until we see how things pan out with Yao and other players.
judging by what he said we have to feel optimistic. the elite tracy mcgrady sounds good to me. then again... it is mcgrady doing the talking.
it can also be a cash-strapped team who thought they were contending with their all-star but things didn't turn out well that they're headed to the lottery.. then their all-star suddenly becomes available.. you'll never know what happens come feb.. tmac may be done by that time and we may still move him for a decent player from team who badly needs relief.. no, it depends what the other teams' situations at that time and what they're willing to offer. then Morey chooses the best offer or stick with Tmac
Shane brings professionalism and respect to the team and locker room. Every team needs or wants a Shane. He may not be the most atheletic, but he brings alot of hard work and HEART to anty team. They brought in Mutombo to calm down all the tension that tracy created in the locker room last year for a reason. Everyone always talks about when and if tracy will come back and how good he will be. The truth is when someone is getting paid that much (20mil). He better have professionalism, character, locker room chemistry, set a good example for younger players, and not just BBall skills. tracy has showed us glimpse of good BBall skills when healthy, but to me to be a superstar in the NBA he has to have all of the above. Like tmacforlife#1 says you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
Haven't heard about him till now but even without him 6 months of hard work normally pays off eventually
I'll have to see it to believe it. Fact is he still looks "soft" in photos I have seen of him from this summer. Given that he has never been known to be a particularly hard worker, I'm inclined to think that even a hard workout for him is still is nothing compared to most other guys in the league. Besides, the athletic part of his game wasn't the only problem he had last year. His shot selection has gotten way too predictable and at times even abysmal. It's been a slow decline over the last 4-5 years and I'm extremely skeptical that Tmac can become even 80% the player he was in Orlando.
That's what it is all about. Nobody cares what Tracy said or says. He is not a reliable source, but hell, Tim is.
T-MAC WILL BE BACK 2 ELITE STATUS. HE IS WORKIN WIT GROVER IN HIS ATTACK ATHLETICS PPL C'MON! I WANT 2 SEE HIM DUNKING LIKE WHEN HE WAS WIT ORLANDO ND DA RAPTORS, HAVE DA LEADERSHIP LIKE HE HAD DURIN THE STREAK ND SCORE LIKE WHEN HE WAS IN ORLANDO ANOTHER THING HE WIIL BE BACK 2 ELITE STATUS CUZ HE NOT DOING WAT MARBURY IS DOIN WIT A WEBCAM EATING VASELINE ND DANCING
I usually lurk but I REALLY hate sycophantic newbies who harp on Tmac because its so En Vogue. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pwOiC8aJrs Yeah i had a thing for them too. That said, say something original. "T-Slack" shouldn't cut it around here...
Just asking, but what will shane bring that the rockets can't get from Ariza? A pregame speech? Media savvy? It will not be anything related to on court performance. Ariza makes shane expendable. That's not a knock, just as mason jr and jefferson will push finley and bowen out the way.
