McGrady To Houston Thread (Update: Francis will visit Orlando)

nWo34Life: "Why is the Florida Today and the Houston Chron reporting that Gaines is also involved in the deal?"

I think he is in the deal -- unless my math is off, the deal won't work without him.

Here's some info on Gaines. He's done nothing in the pros so far, but had a great career at louisville. (From NBADraft.net)

Reece Gaines

Birthdate: 1/7/81
NBA Position: PG/SG
College: Louisville
Ht: 6-6
Wt: 195

NBA Comparison: Jim Jackson

Strengths: Very smooth combo guard. Played point his first two seasons, and can legitimately play the point guard position. Excllent ball handling ability and composure. A smart player with great maturity. Passes well, and has a solid overall game. Has a quick first step and takes players to the basket well or can find an open man off the drive. Strong character guy, not arrogant. Really passes well of the drive.

Weaknesses: He doesn't do anything amazingly well, very solid, but he isn't fantastic at anything, Must continue to develop his game. Needs to become a little more selfish and take over offensively. A little better in the half court set, than on the break. He can definitely improve on is finishing with authority.

Notes: Reece once was held scoreless for the first 29 minutes and ended up with 26 in a last-second win.

Career Highlights: Named Third Team All-America by AP as a senior. Named First Team All-Conference USA following junior and senior seasons. Finished career as Louisville’s fourth all-time leading scorer, trailing only Darrell Griffith, DeJuan Wheat and Pervis Ellison. Also ranks second all-time in three-point field goals made (225), fifth in assists (475), and fifth in steals (191). Was a finalist for the 2003 Naismith and Wooden Awards.

 

Hey, festive.

DoD's only 25?

Have a Happy Birthday (maybe Weisass will give you a present )

 

Well, the Washington Post and MSNBC says Gaines isn't in the deal.

 

nWo34Life: "Well, the Washington Post and MSNBC says Gaines isn't in the deal."

I could be wrong. So could they.

 

maybe he is such a throw in that he does not merit even mentioning... most of the early trade reports said Francis, Cat, and Cato for T-mac (and "pieces".... including former fab five Jwanna-mann Howard)

 

i wouldn't care either way. as long as tmac is in the deal im fine

 

From what I understoud from preious posts is that 2 deals have been set up:
-if a deal goes down before thursday Gaines will be included to make salaries match
-if Francis is trade after his BYC thing(?), only Howard and Lue will follow McGrady
Or is it the other way around...
Can somebody please confirme?

ALA

 

Question on Francis' BYC status. It was recently reported that the deal will change somewhat depending on whether it is done before July 1 or after July 14 because Francis' BYC status will expire. My understanding is that this status means Francis will count for his full salary when makign Orlando's calculation as to whether the salaries match up sufficiently. But, he will count for only 75% of his salary when figuring the Rockets calculation. This rule usually necessitates a third team with cap room to absorb the difference in these two calculations. Currently, there is no 3rd team in this trade. Does that mean the Rockets are using their trade exception to make this deal work? If so, that's $2.75 million of our trade exception, very very roughly. However, I didn't think the exception could be combined with other salaries like that (why, I don't know). So, if they don't use a 3rd team and don't use the TE, just how are they getting around the BYC status?

 

This deal is inching closer.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...62904,0,3056239.story?coll=orl-home-headlines


HOUSTON -- Houston Rockets guard Steve Francis met with Orlando Magic officials today, possibly paving the way for a multiplayer trade that would include NBA scoring leader Tracy McGrady.

Francis' agent, Jeff Fried, said if all went well during the meeting with Magic general manager John Weisbrod and other team officials, a deal could be announced as early as Wednesday.

"I think that would be a fair statement, yes," Fried told The Associated Press. "We'll continue to go over the positive aspects of such a move with the Magic."

Magic officials didn't return calls seeking comment.

The proposed trade would reportedly have the Rockets sending Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Kelvin Cato to Orlando for McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines. If a deal isn't completed before Wednesday, both teams will have to wait until after a two-week player movement moratorium ends.

Weisbrod has said he's considering offers from at least three other teams and is in no hurry to make a move.

When reports of a prospective deal came out last week, Francis balked at leaving Houston for rebuilding Orlando. But Fried said a talk between Francis and Weisbrod after Thursday's draft helped alleviate some of the All-Star guard's concerns about joining the Magic.

Fried said Weisbrod convinced Francis that the Magic could improve quickly with the additions of No. 1 draft pick Dwight Howard, a 6-foot-11 high school star from Atlanta, and point guard Jameer Nelson, the 5-11 point guard from St. Joseph's who won virtually every college player of the year award last season.

Francis was also impressed that the Magic wanted to make him the centerpiece of the rebuilding franchise.

"I think that he certainly believes in what John is trying to build," Fried said. The Magic "could well have gotten almost any player in the league for Tracy McGrady. Steve felt pretty pleased with their reasons for talking to him and what his role might be in the rebuilding process."

McGrady, tired of carrying a mediocre franchise, has said he wants out of Orlando and vowed to exercise the opt-out clause that goes into effect at the end of next season.

But the Magic will almost certainly trade McGrady, the NBA's two-time scoring champion, because they don't want him to leave without the team receiving compensation -- like Shaquille O'Neal did eight years ago.

Francis, a three-time All-Star, averaged 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists last season to join Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Grant Hill as the only players in league history to average at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in each of their first five years.

Francis, Mobley and 7-5 center Yao Ming led the Rockets to the playoffs last season for the first time in five years. Houston lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.

But Francis, who flourished in an up-tempo offense for the past four years, was put on the summer trading block after posting the worst numbers of his career in new coach Jeff Van Gundy's slower-paced offensive scheme.

 

Francis meets with Magic officials

By JOEL ANDERSON
The Associated Press
6/29/04 3:18 PM


HOUSTON (AP) -- Houston Rockets guard Steve Francis met with Orlando Magic officials on Tuesday, possibly paving the way for a multiplayer trade that would include NBA scoring leader Tracy McGrady.

Francis' agent, Jeff Fried, said if all went well during the meeting with Magic general manager John Weisbrod and other team officials, a deal could be announced as early as Wednesday.

"I think that would be a fair statement, yes," Fried told The Associated Press. "We'll continue to go over the positive aspects of such a move with the Magic."

Magic officials didn't return calls seeking comment.

The proposed trade would reportedly have the Rockets sending Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Kelvin Cato to Orlando for McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines. If a deal isn't completed before Wednesday, both teams will have to wait until after a two-week player movement moratorium ends.

Weisbrod has said he's considering offers from at least three other teams and is in no hurry to make a move.

When reports of a prospective deal came out last week, Francis balked at leaving Houston for rebuilding Orlando. But Fried said a talk between Francis and Weisbrod after Thursday's draft helped alleviate some of the All-Star guard's concerns about joining the Magic.

Fried said Weisbrod convinced Francis that the Magic could improve quickly with the additions of No. 1 draft pick Dwight Howard, a 6-foot-11 high school star from Atlanta, and point guard Jameer Nelson, the 5-11 point guard from St. Joseph's who won virtually every college player of the year award last season.

Francis was also impressed that the Magic wanted to make him the centerpiece of the rebuilding franchise.

"I think that he certainly believes in what John is trying to build," Fried said. The Magic "could well have gotten almost any player in the league for Tracy McGrady. Steve felt pretty pleased with their reasons for talking to him and what his role might be in the rebuilding process."

McGrady, tired of carrying a mediocre franchise, has said he wants out of Orlando and vowed to exercise the opt-out clause that goes into effect at the end of next season.

But the Magic will almost certainly trade McGrady, the NBA's two-time scoring champion, because they don't want him to leave without the team receiving compensation -- like Shaquille O'Neal did eight years ago.

Francis, a three-time All-Star, averaged 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists last season to join Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Grant Hill as the only players in league history to average at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in each of their first five years.

Francis, Mobley and 7-5 center Yao Ming led the Rockets to the playoffs last season for the first time in five years. Houston lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.

But Francis, who flourished in an up-tempo offense for the past four years, was put on the summer trading block after posting the worst numbers of his career in new coach Jeff Van Gundy's slower-paced offensive scheme.



Copyright 2004 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.


http://www.mlive.com/printer/printe...BC_BKN--Magic-Francis&&sports&mi-nba?aponline

 

Rockets supposedly want the deal to go down sooner rather than later. So you have to figure the terms get less attractive for us after tomorrow.

 

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5326009/

Trade makes players happy,
but keeps teams same
Houston can contend for Western crown,
while Orlando still stuck in Eastern dregs
Magic guard Trady McGrady, headed to Houston in a trade for Steve Francis and two other players, will make the Rockets serious contenders for the Western Conference crown next year, writes NBCSports.com's Michael Ventre.
COMMENTARY
By Michael Ventre
NBCSports.com contributor
Updated: 3:28 p.m. ET June 29, 2004Certain trades transform franchises, and others merely serve to remodel. Welcome to the Tracy McGrady-for-Steve Francis swap, which falls somewhere in between.

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It won’t send tremors through the sporting landscape, like the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar deal did in 1975 or the Wayne Gretzky move to Los Angeles in 1988. But it does deserve a special place in sports for possibly being the longest-rumored transaction that has ever percolated before the parties got around to pulling the trigger. The current presidential election campaign is a blip on history’s radar compared to this.

Francis has been holding up the process because he wasn’t sure he wanted to leave Houston for Orlando. It matters not that, contractually, he really has no choice. This is the era of disrespect. If a player decides that being shipped to another city will somehow diminish his stature in the eyes of his posse, he can stomp his feet and threaten to spoil the trade waters with a poisonous attitude if he is not placated.

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Fortunately for both sides, after much salaaming, Francis apparently was convinced that Orlando will give him the kind of welcome that the Apollo 11 astronauts received when they got back from the moon. So he gave his blessing.

The entire deal consists of Houston sending Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato to the Magic in exchange for McGrady, Juwan Howard, Reece Gaines and Tyronn Lue. The supporting casts are rather intriguing, but of course, it’s the leading men who will make the greatest impact on their new employers.

Of McGrady and Francis, the former is the better player by far. He can create his own shot, drive to the hole, shoot from the perimeter with some reliability, grab rebounds, defend a little (very little) and pass, even though passing wasn’t a priority while he was the Magic’s one-man band.

Often, the title of Best Overall Player in the NBA is bestowed upon Kobe Bryant without argument, but that’s a mistake. Bryant is a superb talent and a clutch player, but he also benefited from being on veteran teams with a great coach and the most dominant big man in the game drawing defenders to the paint.

McGrady’s reputation was tarnished somewhat this past season as the Magic disintegrated into a mess and T-Mac himself bristled at getting no help while absorbing most of the blame. But placed in a more positive environment, McGrady could again remind everyone that he belongs near the top of the league’s A-list.

ALSO ON THIS STORY
WP: Francis-McGrady deal to be announced Wednesday




Also, T-Mac has played the same number of seasons as Francis — five — but he’s almost two years younger. And he’s actually more mature in the sense that he makes wiser on-court decisions; Francis has a little too much Kobe/Allen Iverson in him, stubbornly trying to force his will against an opponent rather than taking what the defensive gives him.

Juwan Howard has never achieved the level of stardom predicted for him when he was a member of Michigan’s Fab Five, but in Houston, playing in the same lineup with T-Mac and Yao Ming, he will have much less pressure on him.

It was clear that this deal occurred because of two unhappy men: T-Mac and Jeff Van Gundy. McGrady got his wish — a fresh start with a franchise on the rise — and so did Van Gundy in getting rid of Francis.

In Houston, the meeting of Van Gundy and Francis was like two gunslingers squaring off, except one of them was run off for shooting too much. Van Gundy likes his point guards to play the point, which is to say, distribute the ball and serve as playmaker. Francis did not see his role that way. He wanted to have the same situation that Iverson has in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, Van Gundy didn’t want to have what Iverson has in Philly — a lousy team ruined by one ball hog.

With T-Mac, Van Gundy has a superstar on the perimeter and another inside in Yao, sort of like what the Lakers had before their recent offseason implosion. Now he can turn the point guard duties over to someone more suited to the role, like Lue or perhaps a candidate yet to be obtained in another deal. With McGrady, Yao, Howard, Jim Jackson and Maurice Taylor, the Rockets would have an impressive core to make a run at the West crown.

The news is not quite so good in Orlando, but then again, it rarely is. The Magic will change the focus of their team from one man — T-Mac — to a pair in Francis and Mobley, an underrated two-guard. The club also has Drew Gooden, who averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds during a dreary 2003-04 campaign. And they’ll welcome in two marquee rookies, 18-year-old Dwight Howard, a prep phenom who was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and 5-11 point guard Jameer Nelson.

This is a bizarre mixture, to be sure. Francis will hoist at least as many shots as he did in Houston, if not more. Dwight Howard will struggle, probably for a couple of years, enduring the rookie shellshock from which guys like Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry of the Bulls still haven’t recovered. Grant Hill will make his final comeback, and if history is any guide, the odds don’t look good. Also, Nelson will prove to be terrific, which will put the Magic in a situation where they have a star point guard (Francis) playing ahead of a rising star point guard (Nelson). But where would the Orlando Magic be without friction and controversy?

The Rockets got the better of this long-brewing transaction. But in one essential way, the status quo remains. Houston is still one of the best in the West, while Orlando will continue to be one of the least in the East.

Michael Ventre writes regularly for NBCSports.com and is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles.

 

ESPNEWS just reported the deal will become official tomorrow.

Hoora.......wait a tick......they said that last week.

Guess we will all have to wait till tomorrow to see if they got it correct this time.

Personally, I think they do this time........

 

I love this part of the article. Looks like it might be trouble for Orlando w/ this trade. Love the Francis comparison to Kobe/Iverson jacking up shots.

 

Ok, semantics are important. Did they say COULD become official tomorrow or WILL become official tomorrow?

 

610 just reported that the deal was done and would be announced at 4 today

 

T-MAC IN THE HIZ-OUSE! TRADE WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT 4 PM MY BRO JUST SENT ME A TEXT MESSAGE!

 

funny, thats what the title of the thread said when you clicked on it

 

I still am clueless as to why they passed on Okafor. Amateur hour.

 

In case it hasn't been posted:

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory2/2653523