McGrady: If traded from Orlando, Rockets are first choice

Welcome to the BBS, Brad. The Elton Brand idea has been tossed around, just a bit less than the T-mac talks. But, so far the only things questioned or "iffy" of Brand, is his lack of a "killer instinct", so if that were true. We'd have two good frontcour players on the floor at the sametime, who can play good enough to win lots of games, probably close ones, but can't take charge in the end.

 

TMac hasn't proved he is a good leader or has "killer instinct". For that, I consider Kobe better than him. But Kobe isn't available, at least not for Houston--he probably doesn't want to play in the shadow of another dominant big man and LA doesn't seem to be interested in Francis.

That said, I'd be more than happy to settle with TMac. He does have some issues, bad back, whiny, etc. But by and large he doesn't seem to be too bad. Plus he is still quite young, he and Yao can do some developing together.

The bottomline is he will help the team to win a lot more games because he commands constant double team and is still able to score a ton of points. His presence will make Yao's or other teammates' life much easier--the opposing team will have a nightmare to deal with two tremendous offensive options.

In a way, Yao + TMac > Shaq + Kobe because Yao can be effective both inside and outside.

 

I was watching an economics program the other day. Specifically dealing with trades. And what you have to rmember is that next season each team wants their "glee" units to increase. That is the whole point of trading. The #1 Pick already gives Orlando a high number of glee units. Without it, they would want a high number of glee units in exchange for McGrady. But they don't need as many given that they have the #1. This should help our position. We should be able to steal McGrady based on simple economic theory. Based on Human nature. Let's see what happens.

 

you spelled "spelling" wrong. im gonna have to write you a citation for that.

 

Plus he's stuck there for the next season. He can't opt out of his contract until the 2005-2006 season. This entire episode smacks of much ado about nothing.

 

You underestimate the ineptness of this franchise. The Rockets organization and CD in particular couldn't steal McGrady even if he was sitting on the street in front of the TC with a "free to a good home" sign around his neck.

 

The guy you're replying to may be right, but you are missing some key points yoruself..

The whole point of this is that the GM said he WILL trade T-Mac if T-Mac doesn't commit to an extension THIS summer. T-Mac has not committed yet, and until they tell him what they're doing with the pick, nothign will happen.

So it's not a matter of him opting out, it's a matter of which direction the francshie will take.

 

TMac please sign back up with Orlando, so the Clutch BBS can return to some level of sanity.

 

'Killer instinct' is underrated. At least 2 players w/ the 'killer instinct' is a prerequisite for a team to survive in the playoffs. Along the lines of Junkyard Dog, and 1 could even come off the bench.

(And did Sprewell surprise anyone else? He's got it, as does Sam the Man ... series would have been different if Sam was healthy)

BTW, which current Rocket's have a killer instinct?

 

None

 

Francis actually did last year and a couple of years before. But now it seems that he lost his mojo. He started to get some of it back against the Lakers in the playoffs until he air ball the last regulation shot in game 4.

 

That would be awesome...I would hate SF to leave, but the outside threat is a must is the inside/out game is to work...

I would love a straight up SF/Tmac, but would be hesitant to let go of CAT...

 

Could TMAC retire from the NBA and unretire and join the Rockets as a Free Agent sort of like what clemens did?

 

Your right WizKid, he did look like he got his swagger back against the Lakers if only he couldve hit that jumper

 

Just my 2 cents.

To everyone who thinks we should keep Francis: You're rignt, the man left his blood sweat and tears on the court almost every night. The Amare fiasco, all his technical fouls, the emotion he showed after our only win in the playoffs. He has a fire and a passion for winning that is up there with the likes of KG. How many guys his size would be willing to barrel head-first into Shaq with the game on the line? Of all the guys on this team, I think he has done the most to earn respect and recieved the least of it.

It will break my heart to see him traded but if he has to go to bring T-Mac in, I'll be cheering as loud as anybody.

It's simply not every day that the league's top scorer for the past two years becomes available and it's NEVER that said scoring champion names your team as the one he wants to go to.

However, you still don't go trading away the heart and soul of your team for the scoring champion just because you can. McGrady is just more the type of player we need than Francis is. Now Francis has done a great deal this year to become the type of player we need. That should be celebrated because it's a rarity in professional sports. The problem is that his abilities are best suited for iso which does not work in a Yao-centered team.

Steve is also not the type of player that commands double teams, he struggles with turnovers, and doesn't seem to be able to hit the set shots that our offense is set up to create. Yes, Steve can change but why ask him to when there is a player like McGrady available that we can trade him for? Loyalty? --- "Steve, we know your statistics are down across the board this year and we could get the top scorer in the league if we send you, your best friend, and your ally-oop partner to an eastern conference team where all three of you would probably have exceptional years... but the fans really like you and you did such a good job in the playoffs that we would like you to continue trying to be a player you're not."

I don't think that's right for Steve, the fans, or the Rockets.

Now, if this trade happens, JVG, CD, and Les are not stupid. Yes, some sort of extension will be worked out so we can't lose him after one year. Yes, he would buckle down and play defence more than he has in the past. We would not trade for him period if we didn't have assurance or at least an excellent reason to believe that he would do his part to make the system and the team work.

If we do this, we start next season with one of, if not the most prolific scorer in the league, and one of the most skilled big men ever to work with (who will be 25 and 24 respectively). We also have possibly the best devensive coach in the league. Yes, we'll have holes at the 1 and 4 (emphasis on 1) but those can be filled. Maybe (or probably) next year will be a step backwards. But Yao and McGrady will be called the team of the future and trust me, in two years, by the 05-06 season, those holes are plugged and we're a condender if not a favorite for a long time to come.

Again, just my 2 cents.

 

Nice post.

Agree with all points.

 

According to the trade checker, there will have to be another player to be traded wth McGrady if the deal went down. Possibly something like this

G S. Francis and G C. Mobley for F Grant Hill and G/F Tracy McGrady

or

G T. Lue and G/F Tracy McGrady for G S. Francis and G C. Mobley


I think Lue would be a pretty good pick up for a back up point. If we could land someone like Rafer Alston or Brent Barry, then our line up could potentially look like this

Guards- Alston or Barry/ Lue
Shooting Guards- McGrady/ Piatkowski
Small Forwards- JJ/ Piatkowski/ Nachbar / A griffin (probably gone)
Power Forwards- Taylor/Cato/Weatherspoon/ Padgett
Center - Yao Ming/ Cato/ Free Agent

I think a team like that could probably bring us to the next level.

Barry or Alston are high impact energy players.

McGrady is a future hall of famer, top 3 player in the NBA

JJ is as solid as a rock

Taylor may beef up this summer and learn how to play defense

Yao will be the future of this team

NBA Championship in 3 years, you have my word!

 

We stole Francis, didn't we?

 

How many guys his size would have the brains not to barrel head-first into Shaq with the game on the line?

Just playing with you. I agree with all your other points.

 

Tmac isnt eligible to sign an extension to his contract if we traded for him. THe only thing the rockets can do is have tmac agree to void his opt out clause of his contract.