I wasn't a member of the forum when this stuff was fresh topics, but I've always wanted to know the forums takes on these subjects. What was the reaction when the organization traded Rudy Gay for Shane Battier on draft day? Why does clutch fans hate Scottie Pippen? I wasn't a Rockets fan at the time but I see him get bashed on here a lot. I'm not saying you don't have a reason not to like the dude, but I wasn't here to see what he did. Overall I'm disappointed by the Yao/Mcgrady era like everybody else, I've never seen a team have as much bad luck with injuries ever (except Portland). I'm aware of the "Toronto Game" but it seems like Yao gets a pass for being injured and Mcgrady doesn't. Why? Sorry if this is a lame thread or beating a dead horse but I'm not from Houston and I wanted to be educated on the topics. Thanks lol
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=114437 He bailed on the Rockets, publicly seeking a trade that was tough to pull off (given the money Houston had just given him). http://www.clutchfans.net/feature.cfm?FeatureID=27 <iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8-ugxfIYANA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Re: Yao vs. T-Mac. T-Mac threw the Rockets under the bus by announcing a season-ending surgery without really talking to the organization. He also visibly dogged it afterwards, see the infamous Raptors game. Yao did nothing but give 100% towards rehab and wanting to get back on the court while always being upfront with the front office. That's the difference.
TMac got the reputation as someone who didn't work hard and relied on his talent. Plus his choking in Orlando and then quitting on that franchise and our team.
1) Mostly negative 2) Pippen was unhappy with his role, thought Rudy wasn't utilizing him and turned him into a spot-up shooter. Basically, he had never played with a dominant big like Dream and had showed no inclination to adapt his game to fit in. He became a whiny baby. No class. Pippen should have kept his grievances within the team, but he chose to air them instead. Houston fans loved their team and felt dissed. 3) Yao was a warrior. McGrady was a harder worker than given credit for at times, but once a player's heart comes into question they seldom get the benefit of the doubt. Announcing his microfracture surgery in the press before telling the team was the final straw, but there were lapses in maturity before that. I think some of the criticism is warranted, but there were plenty of times he gave his all. That's the long answer. The short answer — Yao was all about the team. TMac appeared to be more about TMac.
#3 TMac: Yao is a very good character guy and almost flawlessly quiet and reserved. Therefore all of the ire of losing had to be directed at someone, and fellow mega-fat-contract Tracy McGrady became the unfortunate brunt of all Clutchfans hatred for a little while. Add in the fact that he talks before he thinks to the media, wasn't on the same page as the coaching staff in terms of pain and injuries, and even seemed to be giving up during games (esp. the infamous Toronto game), and it was a recipe for PR disaster. Every hater on Clutchfans assumes they know exactly what was going through McGrady's mind and tries to play arm chair MD and GM. The GARM went into full war mode for a few months.
Trust what Clutch says about these topics. He speaks from a pure Rocket fan standpoint. Trust the fans at the games. When Pippen and Mcgrady returned to Houston as opposing players, the fans booed.
Fans are allowed to have differing opinions, boss. Clutch does a great job of compiling facts and being rational, but his opinion is still his own.
#3) This sums up why McGrady is NOT ok in my book. Yao would never hang it up like this. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TjbkXewxlGI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Clutch's opinion reflects a good portion of true rocket fans who have loved the rockets for many generations. You can quiz him about players of today and of the past and he will answer them all accurately. As a long time member of this board, I believe the majority of fans at the time agree 100% about his take on Pippen. For McGrady, because of popularity, he has fans who are sympathetic toward him. Clutch has a legendary article explaining his view from a rockets standpoint which is opposite of the legion of mcgrady fans.
I appreciate the feed back...after "lurking" the forum for quite awhile that answers alot of questions. Especially the Pippen question, because he seems to be hated by Rockets fans but he wasnt even here long enough.
I get you. But I've always been more sympathetic towards McGrady. Here's an exact Clutch quote that represents how I feel about McGrady (angry, but not vindictive): http://rockets.clutchfans.net/1008/tracy-mcgrady-houston-rockets-return/
Classic Clutch, a well reasoned perspective on the truth. Fans always have a perspective but the truth and reason at times can be far removed.
Battier: Good trade; too bad it didn't work out; but Gay isn't anyone to cry over anyway. Pippen: Sucked and then blamed his teammates for his sucking, stealing the team's last real shot at contending; forced the team to trade him for pennies on the dollar. McGrady: Great player cut down by injuries and then mistreated by the organization. Public brainwashed by Rockets PR to hate him.
McGrady has played longer for the Rockets than Pippen, so therefore he deserves more sympathy. However, it's not really close on why Rocket fans dislike Pippen. He was paid like the guy who won all those championships to help lead a team of veterans to the championship. He was not as good as advertised and he wanted to leave the team after one year. When he went to the Blazers, he failed to lead that team to a NBA finals also. McGrady never won 6 championships like Pippen. So the bar was set higher for Pippen. However being a scoring champion and talented player, McGrady never led the Rockets to a playoff victory, it was more hype and excitement than results. McGrady came to the Rockets as an All star. Pippen came to the Rockets as a Dream teamer, all time great, 6 time champion.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/1999.html Salaries Rk Player Salary 1 Hakeem Olajuwon $12,943,000 2 Scottie Pippen $11,000,000 3 Brent Price $2,240,000 4 Charles Barkley $1,000,000 5 Michael Dickerson $949,600 6 Bryce Drew $857,000 7 Sam Mack $545,000 8 Anthony Miller $475,000 9 Cuttino Mobley $287,500
1. Most of the board didn't like the Battier trade. A few still has not forgiven Morey for it. Some of us felt that it might not be a good trade but was a reasonable trade, especially considering it got rid of Swift's contract. Gay didn't turn out to be the franchise player many hoped he would be. 2. Pippen was simply a selfish prick. As far as the Rockets are concerned, he didn't so anything positive and cost us any chances of becoming a contender in many years. He deservedly is the number one hate object for Rockets fans. 3. What McGrady did at the end of his tenure in Houston was inexcusable. But he did contribute to a few highly productive seasons. Many people jeer of his inability to advance past the first round. But that shouldn't be all on him. If Yao was more healthy, and/or if we had Morey sooner to get better role players around him, we could have gone on to the Finals.