McGrady: If traded from Orlando, Rockets are first choice

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Stuck In The Middle
By Sean King
for HOOPSWORLD.com
May 29, 2004, 10:00 Email this article
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Sean King
Basketball News Services

Superstar Tracy McGrady doesn't want to have to bare the burden of a mediocre supporting cast. Then again, he also doesn't want to tag along Karl Malone or Gary Payton style en route to an easy NBA title. Just what does T-Mac want? Well, my guess is that it's something in the middle. He wants a good team around him but he doesn't want to feel like the team could win without him either. This is the reason McGrady is thinking of leaving Orlando and why he recently confessed that he doesn't want a trade to Los Angeles or San Antonio.

Those were thought to have been the preferred destinations for McGrady because it would give him the opportunity to play with either Tim Duncan or Shaquille O'Neal. McGrady wanting to avoid the surefire Spurs or Lakers is obviously due to the fact that both of these big men automatically get like 70% or more of the credit for any championship they win. It's what Kobe Bryant has to deal with and what McGrady is trying to avoid.

This works for Orlando, as they could have gotten nothing particularly great in a deal with those teams. Bryant would have to agree to sign with Orlando for any trade with the Lakers to work, which he would not likely do. While the best the Magic could get out of San Antonio would be swingman Emanuel Ginobili, who is good but not nearly as good as his fans in San Antonio seem to believe-- not to mention that his production is a joke in comparison with McGrady's. I mean really, 12 points and four rebounds on 41 percent shooting? Are you kidding me? No offense to Manu but that just wouldn't cut it.

Luckily, McGrady would prefer a trade to Indiana or Houston should it come to that. Even then though, the Magic would have to settle for second rate talent. The Rockets would never let Yao Ming go, so it would have to be Steve Francis and another player. It should be noted that Francis is so overrated that even the Rockets fanbase can't stand him. He makes terrible decisions with the ball, shoots to much and just generally acts nothing like a point guard. He basically only plays the position because of his size, which is the case with many of today's so-called playmakers. Oh they make plays, unfortunately most of these plays have just one option--- themselves.

Meanwhile, the Pacers would not part with Jermaine O'Neal or even Ron Artest most likely, leaving just the talented reserve Al Harrington. I know this kid has potential, but seriously, a top five player for a reserve?

Uh.... how 'bout NO!

You see this is one of the reasons why I don't see McGrady actually parting ways with Orlando in the end; he wants to be traded to teams that aren't willing to part with any of their primary cogs even if it means nabbing the two-time scoring champion. Basically, they're being selfish and seeing if newly appointed General Manager John Weisbrod is as much of a pushover as his predecessor John Gabriel was.

I don't think he is, but he still might make the mistake of trading McGrady for far less than ha can get, simply because he has an enormous ego and is trying to play hardball with the star. The constant ultimatums he throws out are enough to tell you that. But hey, he may just be trying to avoid the tragedy that was Shaq's departure so long ago. The difference is that O'Neal was intent on leaving regardless of what the Magic did; McGrady, on the other hand, would rather be in Orlando if given any reason at all to stay.

"I don't want to leave Orlando, not at all," he said yesterday. "Man, I'd love to win here more than anything."

And you believe McGrady when says that because he really does love this place where he has spent the majority of his life. It's the reason why reports that he has already decided to leave are bogus beyond belief and even laughable. McGrady may end up leaving Orlando, but it won't be as simple as a normal free agent exodus.

All things being even, heck, all things being close to even, T-Mac stays put. Unfortunately, the Magic may not have enough resources this off-season to even get McGrady into that comfort zone of the support being 'good, but not too good'. The number one pick in the draft is a nice start, but it's not enough. Not unless you turn it into a veteran All-Star, which isn't impossible actually. Package a player like Drew Gooden or Juwan Howard along with the pick and you could fetch a nice bounty.

McGrady's conditions for staying are pretty steep though---- a point guard, a shot-blocking center, a defensive guard and a perimeter shooter. Damn T-Mac, isn't that an entirely new starting five minus yourself? I thought you didn't want it to be that easy?

Either way, the question is whether or not the team will risk trading away a number one for a collection veterans when they aren't even sure that will appease McGrady. Trading off a possible star of the future like Emeka Okafor or Dwight Howard only to see McGrady bolt anyway would be even more crushing a blow than it already could potentially be. It's quite a pickle. You want to keep the star but you're afraid to take steps in that direction because if you end up losing the star anyway, the moves you made to keep him have now set you back a few more years.

This is why the Magic may be forced to make a choice. They can either trade their draft pick next month and just generally go for broke when it comes to adding veterans this summer- praying that it's enough to convince their resident superstar to stay- while risking the possibility that he may leave them in a very vulnerable position with little youth to rebuild. Or.... they can start building for the future and ask McGrady why it is that he doesn't feel capable of lifting a team to greatness unless it is fully loaded. Perhaps he has realized his own limits this past season yet still has enough pride not to jump on a championship bandwagon.

Whatever the case, the Magic don't seem to fit the profile for what he wants to win with. They have to make a change one way or another. Should they grant his modest wishes of an upgrade in teammates, even if it means forsaking youth? Or should they let him move on, admitting that they cannot rebuild this team in such a short time? That's the million dollar question, and it may help to decide this franchise's future, both on and off the court.

 

I'm very curious what trade package Feigen thinks could land us Okafor, while keeping Francis and Ming. I sure don't see it.

Maybe it would be giving us Hill's contract, and giving them Cato and Cat and part of the TE. If that could actually happen, it might set off a flurry of other moves in a totally different direction. If keeping Francis was the decision, then I'd look at trying to get Lewis as well, and signing Barry to play at SG or PG, and perhaps rotate. I think it would be safer and a quicker track to swap Okafor for Brand, but Okafor has a pretty major upside, is from Houston, and has the intelligence, hard work ethic, and humility that I'd love to see alongside Ming. I think he'd be worth the risk.

My next step would be to go for Lewis. Lewis and Barry already work well together, and I think many of us wish that he could come home. If SEA would take Juwan Howard for Lewis, then I'd add JJ to the ORL deal, which would give Orlando 3 new starters, which might be enough for the Magic to keep McGrady. But, earlier, SEA said they wanted Chandler or Brown. Perhaps we could get on the phone to Chicago and Washington, and see if there is some package of Taylor (he'd do well in the East, like Thomas), JJ and someone else (not Ming/Francis) with the rest of our TE to nab Chandler or Brown, while taking a bad contract, and maybe throwing in a draft pick. Then ship whichever PF to Seattle for Lewis. If it was at all possible to snag Murray in the deal, I'd sure try, but I doubt we'd have anything left to tempt them with.

It would be very cool to have hometown products Lewis and Okafor on this team. And, the future would be very bright with a starting lineup of Yao/Okafor/Lewis/Francis/Barry. But, even if we couldn't get Lewis, Yao/Okafor/JJ/Francis/Barry would be a team that I think could go for it all.

But, I have a feeling that Francis is on his way out of town ...

 

LOL.

this guy thinks Francis is second rate talent. who the **** does he think will trade them equal value when they have no f-ing leverage? what a r****d.

 

^^ I mean the columnist, obviously, not the poster.

 

I realize that this may not be a popular opinion but I just don't get a good feeling about T-Mac. By getting him, you'd be trading for another guy whose game has been severely impacted by the zone defense. Since we already have 2 such players on the roster now (Mobley & Francis) this would not address a major deficiency on this team. This season especially, T-Mac was clearly frustrated when teams threw the zone at him. And as Feigen pointed out, T-Mac does NOT play defense and that would put him clearly at odds with JVG.

He reminds me a lot of Dominique Wilkins. Like DW he's a vitrual human highlight machine on offense but his overall game and lack of commitment to working hard give me great pause. I feel that T-Mac is more of a gamble than a sure thing and could very well wind up as this year's version of Penny Hardeway. Plus, getting T-Mac does not fix the mess that CD & EG have created at the 4.

 

I'm not extremely familiar with T-Mac's game, but I'm also starting to have doubts. The more I hear of T-Mac, the less I like the sound of him. I think I like Francis as a competitor much more than T-Mac. Brand and Okafor also sound more like the kind of guys I want on the Rockets. I don't see T-Mac and JVG getting along, and some may scoff, but what happens in a year when T-Mac starts demanding a coaching change and threatening not to re-sign? I can possibly live with a player being assertive if I think he's mature. T-Mac is definitely not mature.

If we can get T-Mac, I would still be pleased, but I'm with Hillboy. I'm seeing more and more risks associated with T-Mac, and being risk-averse, I won't be sad to see T-Mac stay in the East.

 

I think the fact that USA bsketball can get hardly any stars to committ to playing in the Olympics and still Francis isn't getting a whiff of interest from the committee shows you how highly his talents are regarded by those that count.

 

Mmmm...The combo of McGrady and Yao is very, very appealing!

 

Great! Another reason to bring back Rudy. Watching Rudy run a T-Mac/Yao offense would be a dream.

 

Just my opinion, but how much frustration does a 28 ppg player get? You want frustration? How about playing in a conference where sub .500 teams make the playoffs and you're surrouned by Lue, Gooden, DeClerq, Garrity, Stevenson, Hunter and Howard?

The zone analogy doesn't hold water IMO. Apart from the fact that few teams (except DAL) play zone with much regularity, at 6'8", McGrady can spot up over most perimeter defenders in a zone. The problem with the 6'3" Francis is he wants to drive into a zone or through a double team in man to man.

BTW, Francis never received a single NBA All Defensive team vote until JVG sold him on the idea that there are two ends to a basketball court. After a 23 win season in ORL, I don't think the long-armed McGrady would take issue with playing some D and winning.

 

If averaging 30 points per game and 5 assists is called being severely impacted by a zone defense, then I guess I agree with you.

 

guys... you gotta remember that Tmac wanted to even retire from basketball... he's never blamed himself.. always calling out his teamates when they lose... and this is the guy you want to lead us to the championship? it's definitely a really big risk... what if he alienates Yao and he leaves?

 

geez, guys, some of you sound like a girlfriend who starts talking bad about a guy, because your afraid you're going to get jilted.

TMac is the leading scorer in the whole league the last 2 years, and is the youngest guy to average 30 points since McAdoo in 75-75. His numbers are incredible. He's a top 5 player. If we can get him, and Yao matures, we'll have 2 of the top 5 players, and we'll be winning championships, no matter who we put around them. Besides, we'll be able to sign all sorts of free agents who want to be on a championship team. It won't be that hard. Now, TMac may not want us to trade too much, and that may be why he's come out and stated he wants to come to the Rockets so early.

If Orlando lets us have him, let's do it, no matter what the cost, as long as he signs an extension, of course. This is not a time to get chincy or to self-sabatauge. As THACABBAGE has much more elequently put it, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. From what insiders said, we could have had him before very cheaply, but maybe its turned out for the best, because we wouldn't have gotten Yao if McGrady had come here and blossomed. So, now we HAVE the opportunity to bring two championship players together. Let's not talk ourselves out of it.

I don't deny that neither Yao or McGrady have shown leadership qualities yet, but we can sign others who do. All these other things you guys are saying just seems to be nitpicking.

 

Well, looking at how people hold on to Francis after his Vancouver stunt and superbowl incident makes you wonder if they'd do the same with T-Mac... Both had questionable remarks in the past. Seriously, speaking of maturity level I don't see much difference between the two but T-Mac is younger, and better.

The bottomline is, you go for Mike Tyson and not some Mike Tyson wannabes(Francis etc). Not to mention I don't think T-Mac character issue is as big as painted out to be.

 

I thought about Dominique Wilkins also but I don't think that's a really fair comparison. McGrady has more skill than Wilkins. Wilkins was strictly a scorer, and it was really unfair for people to expect him to be more of playmaker. Sort of like Vince Carter is strictly a scorer.

 

I thought of a combo. of Wilkens and Pippen in their prime...

Either way, this is a chance to get top notch, or near so at two important positions...

 

roxran do you mind telling me what your sig means...?

 

I would take T-Mac in a Heart beat.
It all comes down to wanting Yao or Franchise. I think the Rox need to worry about Yao and making him a part of this league that can become a force, i mean 30ppg 18 rebounds 5 blocks.
It will never happen with Franchise and Mobley.
I agree, T-Mac with Yao can = Kobe+ Shaq but better

 

Feigan tries to back up his points by saying that Tmac doesn't play D and we should be cautious because of how Penny turned out when he went to Phoenix....more reasons for me to believe that you don't need any kind of degree or schooling to be a sports writer.

 

All I want is to get McGrady here. Then we can worry about the D later.

Imagine this...

McGrady: "Glad to be here in Houston!"

JVG: "We need to talk about your D..."

McGrady: "Uh, ok...what's the problem?"

JVG: "Like I said...step into my office."