No doubt, the Rockets landed a superstar By Sean Deveney - SportingNews Perhaps last season, as miserable as it happened to be, was the best thing that could have happened to Tracy McGrady. There was a brutal 19-game losing streak. There was a dip in his shooting from 45.7 to 41.7 percent and a slide in his scoring average from 32.1 to 28.0 points. There were 61 losses, a fired coach and a good deal of pouting. Amid all this, there was a major dent in McGrady's status as a superstar and the league's best perimeter player. After the season, as the possibility that Orlando would trade McGrady turned into a reality, whispers trickled throughout the league that McGrady was a divisive presence with the Magic, that he skipped practices and generally was lazy. Those whispers originated in Orlando, of course, the subtle sort of smear campaign that often pops up when an All-Star is traded. Magic general manager John Weisbrod even openly questioned McGrady's status as a superstar last week, saying, "I think a superstar is defined by wins, by making the players around him better and by making the team better. On that part, my perception is a little different than most." But McGrady is a superstar and, arguably, the best player in the league. Now that he is in Houston, he will reassume that stature. McGrady, remember, had three tremendous seasons in Orlando before last year's debacle, and he was just too good during that span -- a good shooter, passer, rebounder, ballhandler, creator -- to let one bad year spoil his reputation. In those three years, he averaged 28.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists, with just 2.6 turnovers. Weisbrod is off-base when speaking about McGrady's ability to win -- he managed to get the Magic to the playoffs three times with virtually no supporting cast. Last year was a tough one for Orlando, and McGrady -- who seemed to give half-hearted efforts -- is partly to blame. But if Magic management wants to lay the losing on McGrady's shoulders, shouldn't it credit him with the success of the previous three years? McGrady will get better in Houston, and the Rockets will be a title contender. He has been criticized as selfish, but he averaged 5.2 assists in his Orlando career, and the Magic never really gave him anyone worthy of receiving a pass. He is injecting himself into a situation where he will have to sacrifice his own offense for the betterment of the team -- particularly for the betterment of the league's best young center, 23-year-old Yao Ming. During his introductory press conference in Houston, McGrady seemed to mention Yao at least twice per sentence. Clearly, years of playing with starting centers such as Pat Burke, Andrew DeClercq, Shawn Kemp and Steven Hunter have opened McGrady's consciousness to the benefits of playing with a big man. "Me and Yao can be a dominant force in this league for a long time," McGrady said. Bear in mind, McGrady has done this willingly. Because he had the power to opt out of his contract, he had some say in where he wound up. He decided he wanted to go to Houston, even though it meant giving up shots to Yao. That's a mature decision for a 25-year-old, and the notion of McGrady freezing out Yao so he can score 30 per night is ludicrous. McGrady is a solid midrange shooter and will be tough for defenses to handle when teamed with Yao on pick-and-rolls. McGrady must be double-teamed, and the result will be easy baskets for Yao or easy passes to open teammates. Most impressive, McGrady decided he wanted to be coached by Jeff Van Gundy, a tough taskmaster who plays a slow-down, defense-oriented game. Van Gundy will help dispel the myths about McGrady that have been showing up in unattributed insinuations around the league. # McGrady is not lazy -- just look at the work he put in on his body, transforming himself from a lanky pushover into one of the league's strongest shooting guards. # McGrady is not an awful defender. He's 6-8, long and athletic, and though his defensive effort has not always been top-notch, he recognizes that must change under Van Gundy. # McGrady is not a selfish player whose style begets losing. The Magic would not have made those three playoff appearances, and he would not have chosen to play for Houston if he did not have a championship in mind. In the Magic's defense, the team had little choice but to trade McGrady because it was unable to make the kind of dramatic improvements to the roster that would have persuaded him to stick around for the long term. A package of Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato is a pretty good haul for Orlando. But Weisbrod is wrong to tarnish everything McGrady did for the Magic solely because he had one bad year. If it was that one bad year that pushed McGrady to Houston, though, then that one bad year will lead to many more productive years. Sean Deveney is a staff writer for Sporting News. Email him at sdeveney@sportingnews.com. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=nodoubttherocketslandeda&prov=tsn&type=lgns
YES! Excellent article- not because it favors the Rockets, but because it's about the only article that focuses on all the good he did in the 3 previous years with Orlando. S.D. Rocks!
Hey man, you don't have to quote the entire article just to say one sentence about it. Just post a reply, we all know what article you are talking about.
good find, nice read I wonder if that serious rompin we gave Orlando when Yao had a carreer high in points influenced him to want to come here. I think JVG is serious when they talk about a championship, unlike most coaches who always say it cause it's what you're supposed to say.
I don't doubt T-Mac's a "superstar." In fact, that's what I'm afraid of. He already knows he is one. Sorta like someone else we recently knew... What has he won again? Oh yea. Scoring titles. Which means exactly what in the way of rings? Or team achievements? I am beginning to have buyers remorse. Someone talk me out of the "on paper" syndrome... or make the clock jump to October.
If that article didn't ease any fears you may have, I don't think anything any of us can say will do the trick either. great article!
I always see how people on this bbs blast players who think of "me first" or go one-on-one and ignore other players on the teams. Yet I then see these same people attempt to judge a player individually. I don't have any problems with McGrady until he shows me he has one. The biggest fear I have is his back. To say he hasn't led a team anywhere is well... stating the obvious. But what on earth did he have to work with? Toronto and Orlando? All I have to say is at the age of 25, Jordan and Hakeem had yet to win rings. At the age of 25 Jordan and Hakeem were still thinking "me first". In retrospect and hindsight being 20/20 and all those cliches, would you have traded either of those players at 25? I'm willing to give Tracy a chance on his first real team - on his first team that was built to win anything other than a scoring title. The fact that the guy wants to win is obvious because he hated losing! People like Antoine Walker or maybe Ricky Davis would be ecstatic on a losing team where they could jack up 30 points a night. We just traded for a guy that hates it. We just traded for a guy that knows that a Yao can open things up for him and make it easier on him. We just traded for a guy who basically said scoring titles are nice, but I want the real title and I may need to take a step back in personal glory in order to get it. By all accounts, he hand-picked this team because he wanted to win. I've got nothing against that... bring him on and bring on some rings.
I'd say Steve and TMAC are about on par in terms of physical ability. BUT TMAC is 6-8. If you need somebody to get a shot off at the end of a game, Steve had to whirl around and do the impossible to get his shot. TMAC can just raise up and shoot over virtually anybody. If Garnett comes over to help, that leaves Yao virtually wide open. That's why we are better now. Ability to hit shots when it counts is what makes championship teams. Steve was never that person. We never had that person to just dump the ball into with the 2 minutes left (that is since Dream retired). Yao was that person sometimes but he is still young. Tmac IS that person. Nobody can guard him 1-on-1. If you double him, Yao is open. The only question in my mind is TMAC's "IQ." I know he is good but I figure he can't be worse than Steve...so that part is either a wash or an improvement. We'll see.
What does this mean? What has Kevin Garnett won? Would we trade Francis for Kevin Garnett? Just because you play on bad teams does not make you selfish or unworthy of great player status. Based on championships, we should trade Steve Francis for Robert Horry.
That basically it was a "change of scenery trade" in which we basically just swapped equal "ring bearers." They both had zero. It will change. For one, maybe both at some point.
Otis Thorpe was a one-time all-star who had a ring when we traded him for Clyde, a multiple all-star with no rings. Seriously, I think we'll be okay.
That would be true if both players were equal. They aren't. McGrady is a much much better player. We got lucky as hell McGrady helped steer the trade and could opt out of his contract. If McGrady didn't want to come here, no way we wouldve gotten this type talent at this age for Francis, Cat and Cato. Francis will never never be considered one of the top 5 players in the game - never. Francis-Yao - Rockets peaked and would rely on Yao's growth to make the team a championship contender. McGrady-Yao - Neither player has peaked. BOTH can improve their game. Instead of 1 potential franchise player, we just got 2.
While I am happy with the trade I don't believe we've cured all of our ills with this move. We're definately at another level - one that is yet to be determined. At least, before the deal we knew what our limitations were which made for smart, realistic discussion. Now the ceiling is so high now that its really difficult to measure. T-Mac will definately get us closer but lets be realistic. We still are needy at the 1, 4 and backup 5.
D.o.D. Well spoken....some players learn to trust their teamates much later in the game. Tracy already has an understanding of team play. That mindset alone will make the Rocks better. DD
