In the spirit of Winston Churchill and a 18 pack of misplaced celebratory beers... We shall go on to the end. We shall fight on the negotiating table, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our court, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the 3-point line, we shall fight in the paint, we shall fight on the fast break and in the zones! we shall fight in the Finals! we shall never surrender! Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrpp..........
Why hasn't TMac come out and say "Houston only"? That will put away all the uncertainties. CD, call Tmac now.
I have a question for you. (for the record im up in the air about the trade it dont mater to me either way) How can you sit here and slam Steve for not wanting to play for the Magic, when T-Mac is over there saying he will only play for Houston. they both sound like the same thing to me. the only difrence is one is to our advantege and the other is to our disadvantge. and suprise suprise you only seem to be mad about the one thats to our disadvantage
HUGE DIFFERENCE T-Mac is not saying he won't play for anyone but the Rockets. He's saying he won't promise to sign an extension this summer with anyone but the Rockets, causing his trade value to be less to other teams besides the Rockets. Steve is saying he doesn't want to play for Orlando, even though he has another 5 or 6 years on his contract. Big difference.
Francis never said he would NOT play for the magic, he just said simply he does not want to. T Mac by saying what he said not only said he does not want to play for another team but that he will LEAVE the team after 1 year. so if there is a diffrence its worse for TMac
Hell yeah! Steve is screwing things up for me as a fan. What do I care about his feelings. What about my feelings? He should suck it up and earn his money. He signed a eight figure contract without a no trade clause, without a trade kicker (which often times prevents trades), and without an opt out year. He negotiated away all his rights to moan about getting traded. Yes this is completely the case of supporting the view that's best for us, but that's the way the world works. People will always support the side that's more beneficial to themselves. So if Steve excercises his desire to b**** and moan about where he's going to play, then I have just as much right to rip him about it. Damn it Steve. How many players whine themselves out of two teams in their first five years in the league.
You are totally missing the point. T-Mac's contract is up. He has an opt-out clause after 2004-2005 season. Magic wants to trade him for THEIR interests instead of losing him for nothing. Francis's contract is still good for 6 years. He cannot decide who he should play with. He is b****ing to pull a Grizzilies stunt trying to kill the trade, which is totally unprofessional and childish like the Francis I am used to.
Hypothetically speaking, if the Rockets were in the same shoes as the Magic and Francis was the only positive on the team, would people give him the same respect and understanding T-Mac is getting if he said he wouldn't sign and ask to be traded to a winner? Nope. The difference here isn't their contracts or who has leverage, it's about perspective. T-Mac is a top 5 guy in the NBA and wants to come to Houston. Francis doesn't want to leave, especially if it means he's going to a losing team. By not wanting to leave Houston for a losing team, he's preventing us from getting T-Mac. That makes him the bad guy. It makes him the selfish guy.
Quick thought!!!!1 T-Mac say!!!!. Francis and the Magic GM have cold feet, but its T-Macs Decision. Even with Skeptical comments given, he wants to win and he see it in Houston and Yao. The Suns don't have that future. SO Francis is just delaying the inevitable and Since he "loves" Houston, he just burn what bridges he had left. He is gone and he will have to deal with it. Don't be suprised if they don't pull the deal off first thing tomorrow
I do get your point 100%, but what im getting at is most posters are demading steve to just shut his month and play where he ends up. If T Mac would have followed that same advice then the Pacers, Suns, and all the other teams that want him should be just as much in the running as houston because he forced the other teams out of it by saying he wont sign long term anywhere but here. And the Pacers and Suns fans are siting at thier computers slaming T Mac the same way were doing Steve and rightfully so Then if the trade does go down, your puting that same player who forced his teams hand to trade him to us on our team and who knows what he will be demanding in a year or two Your right about Steve possably hurting his own team, while T Mac is just hurting others. I have to agree there (can of worms offically opened)
Steve really has no one to blame for his current situation other than himself. Underachieve? Underperform? These are the consequences.
Too much ha gone into this Trade so it most likely will go Down. As For Stevie maybe he can endorse a Huggies or Gerber Ad. The Spoil child needs a spanking!!!!
Let Steve do whatever. If he lands somewhere he wants to, good for him. It's irritating for the fans, but not surprising. FWIW, I also don't see why he wouldn't want to head to Orlando with Cato and his bud Cuttino. No doubt that team would have an impact in the East. Maybe Steve has a problem with the coaching staff (how could they lost so many damn games last year?). Anyway, cannot see this halting the trade ... unless Harvard-boy Weisbrod really isn't too sharp. If it's 100% true that T-Mac won't sign an extension anywhere else, this is the best deal Orlando will get by far. Any delays are (likely) just to see what can be had for Stevie.
Deal for McGrady seems most likely (10 minutes ago) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040623/MCGRADY23/TPSports/Basketball By MICHAEL GRANGE With a report from Associated Press Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - Page S2 It may be the biggest deal in what could be one of the most active National Basketball Association off-seasons in recent memory, but it won't likely be official until mid-July. According to ESPN.com, the rumoured trade of two-time NBA leading scorer Tracy McGrady to Houston and Rockets guard Steve Francis to the Orlando Magic has been agreed to, but for a few conditions. One is that the other players featured in the multiplayer deal -- among them Orlando's Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines and Houston's Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato -- were not chosen in last night's NBA expansion draft by the Charlotte Bobcats. The other is the deal won't be made official until July 15 in order to comply with salary cap rules. If the deal is completed, it would remake the Western Conference, as it teams up McGrady, 25, with emerging star Yao Ming, the 7-foot-5 centre from China, entering his third year in the league at the precise moment when it appears the previously dominant centre-forward combination -- Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers -- is breaking up. Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird said yesterday he thought the Pacers made a better offer for McGrady. "My personal opinion is they might have got a better deal from us. Obviously they didn't like the players we put out there and really, we didn't get down to details. We just asked them what they would like and they threw some names out there and the price was really too high for us." While Bird would not say which players the Magic asked for, he did say the Pacers have received a number of inquiries regarding forwards Al Harrington and Ron Artest. The Magic had the NBA's worst record, 21-61, with McGrady in the lineup this past season. The record and the fact McGrady can opt out of his seven-year, $93-million (U.S.) contract after next season are reportedly why the club is considering dealing the 6-foot-8 slasher, who averaged an NBA-best 28 points a game last season. The Magic have never recovered from receiving nothing when O'Neal left Orlando in a similar situation after the 1995-96 season. Amazingly, a possible deal involving two of the NBA's brightest young stars may not be the biggest trade in what promises to be a tumultuous off-season. O'Neal, for example, has demanded a trade from the Lakers, while Bryant is a free agent. As well the likes of Philadelphia 76ers star Allan Iverson and the Toronto Raptors' Vince Carter could likely be had for a price. McGrady has indicated his preference is to land in Dallas as part of a deal that would bring O'Neal to the Mavericks, while Francis was quoted yesterday as saying that if he ends up in Orlando, he would want the Lakers centre to join him there. -------------- As the World Turns...
