Not with the trade. Not with McGrady. I am Jeff Van Gundys basketball lover. I love the man. I do. I love him tons. Oodles of love for this man. I do love him. Mucho! Mucho! MUCHO! And after hearing him in this interview...the way he broke down my team...the way he broke down the future of the Rocks and the analysis of the past season...the way he talks basketball... What can I say. I LOVE HIM. I just do. If you don't agree this is one of the absolute best interviews you ever heard from a coach...if you don't love him or at the very least appreciate the man and his knowledge...hey, maybe you are just GAY.. This is a long interview. Twenty three minutes and change. Excerpts won't do it justice. Just take time to listen. Its an absolute classic in my opinion. Jeff, I LOVE GUNDY! Realplayer Needed Gundy
I notice he doesn't even mention Reece Gaines at all - he said "we got Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard and Ty Lue in the trade"...
Maybe he sucks that bad? He was the 15th overall. Thats pretty high. But I never seen him play. We will see.
Or maybe he will score 24 instead of 30. And who cares as long as we win. I want rings. I don't care how that happens. Not like the 94 team were the Lakers circa 1980's.
"Yao and Tracy will not be butting heads over the ball. Yao is to the extreme of unselfishness and Tracy puts an emphasis on passing..." "I think he is a 2/3 position-wise." What about Howard and Lue? "Howard has been on the losingest teams in basketball. Everyone tells me he is serious, professional and hard-working. He will help transform our locker room into a more serious, professional place." "Lue is a solid backup, good shooter, we need to surround McGrady and Yao with good shooters offensively so that they have enough space on the floor and defenisvely we need hard-nosed guys." Jimmy Jackson? "One of the best values in professional sports last year. You have to surround your main guys with tough guys who can shoot, but also do the dirty work to help you win games." T-Mac's defense? "I think Tracy will be one of the top perimeter defenders in the game. Yao improved tremendously defensively last year in several aspects, he just needs to stay away from the unnecessary fouls."
I think it is pretty obvious that Derek Fisher is near the top, if not the top choice for JVG. I'm fine with bringing in Fisher. Just say no to Snow.
Is McGrady the equal of Kobe Bryant? "I don't like to get into comparing, but his time in Orlando would have been evaluated differently had Hill not gotten hurt, while Kobe had the most dominant player next to him. We want Tracy to be a dominant force in this league." Shaq "I would not trade Shaq or Kobe if I was Mitch Kupchak. I would just keep them both and if Kobe wants to leave via free agency, so be it. I expect Shaq to be back in LA next year." Were you more impressed with Prince's defense in the finals or with Billups' play? "Billups should have been in the all-star game, but Prince's defense changed the whole dynamics of the series. Great strategy and great defense by the players. Joe Dumars got the type of depth you need by signing Elden Campbell for little money." Length "We are not very long at the 4 spot, but long at the 3 with T-Mac and at the 5 with Yao." "There are still some holes to be filled on the roster. We don't like to see the three guys leave to Orlando, but you have to give to get." What about coaching Yao Ming on a day-to-day basis? "He is in Dallas with the Chinese national team right now. I went to watch him. He always wants to just blend in. But he does have a fire inside him to want to be great. But he still has a long way to go to even be considered in the same class as O'Neal. Duncan is the superior player right now. Perhaps Yao Ming will never reach Duncan's greatness, Hall of Fame class, but he can try to get close, he still has a lot of potential. Next year, Yao Ming will have to guard Duncan because we are small at the 4. Yao Ming is much more mobile than you would think, he can run and move when challenged." Does Yao really want to strive to be a great player? "Yes. Sometimes we confuse the bravado of some with a desire for greatness [subtle jab at Francis and Mobley? ]. Yao does not show bravado. He comes early, stays late, wants to learn. He wants to be great."
Is Yao too soft going for the rebound and not intimidating enough when people come down the lane? "He needs to improve his conditioning. He gets tired more quickly than others, perhaps because of his size. He can only play 7 to 9 straight minutes at the top level, but he needs to get to 13-15 minutes." Will he be Rik Smits or a Hall of Famer? "Rik Smits was a heck of an NBA player. But is he going to be Rik Smits or one of the all-time greats? Yao has everything he needs at his disposal, from teammates, coaches, talent, potential, to become one of the all-time greats. It is up to him." Back to T-Mac "Patrick Ewing played with him in Orlando. He would have died to have a teammate with McGrady's caliber in New York. Tracy and Yao have a great opportunity. They have a lot to prove. I have a lot to prove. Hopefully we can meet or exceed expectations. Tracy is only 24 and has been in the league 7 years. In his first playoff series, when we swept them, but it was always close in each game, I thought he was already better than Carter, this guy kept coming at us with his length, poise and demeanor. You will now read a lot of knocks on him, but that is because of the losing. When you win, you are respected, when you lose, people take shots at you."
I don't know if you guys know this but I think ESPNews is broadcasting the press conference. I mean, if you outside of Houston like I am. I actually left work early so that I can get a chance to see it. If you in the car, thank Satellite Radio!!
Yes, sometimes we confuse coaching genius with a show of stubborness. He talks to the media to show he's a jerk. He talks to the media again to show he's won the showdown. He wishes he was a great coach. That only comes after a title is won. btw- it looks to me like Patrick was the one that pulled the hardest to have T-Mac here.
