Ok so do we give Tmac another year, or shop him this summer?

you only trade tmac straight up for 2 players: bron/kobe/paul. those guys are better than him so that won't happen.

he's the 4th best perimeter player right now overall so i'm not gonna trade him straight up for anybody (unless those 3 teams are crazy and traded those 3 players). if teams offer us pierce/melo/iverson/ray allen... right now, morey would not even answer the phone.

HOWEVER, i would trade him for multiple players/picks that fill our multiple positions. if i can get a legit starting PG + a decent scorer, then yea, i'd be hard-pressed to pull on that trade. like i said, i would say yes to the trade if we get hinrich/deng/thomas or a pick. that fills 3 positions and strengthen our big man core.

i'd trade yao for howard/amare right now without hesitation, esp. amare. those guys may not have yao' post game, but they would fit this offense to a T. imagine the pick and rolls with tmac and those guys amare would explode in our offense even more b/c we LOVE our big man to take that mid-range J. but again, it won't happen.

tmac and yao will stay. so might as well just upgrade the role players b/c we can win with these 2 guys, believe it or not.

 

if the suns offer us amare right now (maybe amare is frustrated and asks for a trade), and we say no b/c of his marketabilty, it'd be a mistake.

look at tim duncan. the way he dominates the suns is more on the perimeter moreso than the post. it's so easy to take away post players now.

but this is a business after all. but it sucks if that ever was offered and we would reject it.

 

iguodala has been completely shut down by the pistons so no. give me andre miller and dalembert, i'll do it though.

 

You won't get equal value back for Tmac, which means that the Rockets will be screwed. I'll be happy cause I'm not happy about sth the organisation has done to Tmac. Sorry for your fans. I also believe that after recovering from all the injuries in this offseason, Mac will be back on top of his game again. He can succeed anywhere.

 

It's a tough call on whether to trade McGrady. The biggest question is can you get equal value back on a trade or is considered damaged goods.

Worst case scenario if he stays: He can't adjust to playing as the second option behind Yao and the offense suffers as a result or he can't get used to playing Adelman's offense and the offense suffers as a result.

I think it's going to take a major adjustment in his attitude to play a successful role with the team next year. Maybe he can do it, maybe not. Again, it's a tough decision.

I will say this though: if Denver self destructs and the decision is made to break up the core of Iverson and Melo I would take a straight up trade of T-Mac for Iverson. AI's gotten a lot better about sharing the ball and he can penetrate. Given that the Rockets' glaring weakness is at the PG spot I think you have to pull the trigger on this one.

 

I don't know if they are going to look to trade McGrady (though I don't think there are any realistic scenarios for trading him that would improve this team), but I can tell you that we would NOT get any better if we tried to trade him for Carmelo or Iverson.

 

Iverson's numbers look nice this season. Even if his scoring is inflated by the Denver system you can't argue with 46% FG, 81% FT and 7 Assists per game.

 

now you watch him play and does he mesh with how we play or with yao?

his #s are nice in the playoffs too offensively but look at how he plays. tmac has more impact on this team so far in the playoffs than iverson AND melo combined.

 

Maybe you're right and maybe not but you can be sure that Iverson would not disappear in the 4th quarter nearly every game.

 

I don't know how he would mesh. Honestly, I have never been a fan of the guy but this team needs someone who can score in the clutch. McGrady can't do that anymore. Certainly, Tmac is the better all around player but seeing how our roster has gotten better (and will continue to under Morey I believe) then maybe a pure scorer is exactly what this team will need as opposed to a multi-talented swing man who has endurance problems and Can't-get-to-the-rim-itis in the 4th quarter.

 

I don't think Melo's the answer, but I'd take a long, hard look at Iverson.

T-Mac this season is at 21.6 ppg on 0.419 shooting. He's also averaging 5.9 apg and his ft% is at 0.684.

Iverson, by contrast, is at 26.5 ppg on 0.456 shooting. He's at 7.1 apg and his ft% is at 0.809. He's also much better from the 3---.345 compared to Tracy's 0.292.

What's more, look at the Rockets as a unit. The team's glaring weakness is at the point guard spot. Iverson is arguably an upgrade on McGrady, but more importantly he plugs the glaring weakness in the Rockets' roster.

With Iverson at the point you can trade Jackson and Alston for talent at the SG or forward position--Mike Miller maybe.

 

iverson is a guy who CANNOT and WILL NOT play off the ball. he needs to handle the ball a lot to do what he does. look at how he plays with denver. he dribbles around the court for 15-18 seconds looking for his shot, if it's not there, he'll pass it off. his game will never fit with another star and will definitely not fit with yao ming.

if you think tmac is not adapting to this system, iverson will demand a trade before he'll play with this system. iverson only looks to pass if he can't get a shot up.

morey will not even respond to denver if they made that call. if anything, i'd trade tmac for melo if we do come to that point. melo's game is perfect for our system if you just want a scorer. however, you will lack a lot of playmaking and basketball IQ and overall play that tmac provides.

and he's too damn small. we have already how many midgets on this team? with tmac, we've been able to switch off. he might not try on defense every possession, but he allows us to be flexible defensively.

do you know how much foul trouble our big man will be in with iverson, alston, head, brooks, jackson out there?

 

I think he's arguably an upgrade on McGrady. More importantly, the PG position has been a glaring weakness for the Rockets for years. AI might finally be able to plug that hole.

AI in Houston would also mean that you could get rid of Jackson and Alston. That's a sizable chunk of cash to bring in a talented SG or forward.

 

watch him play ever since he came into this league. he has never changed the way he plays. he needs the ball. he likes to hold the ball and penetrate. him and yao will never fit.

plus, our defense will suck like crazy with midgets all around.

 

he's disappeared in all 3 games this yr.

 

With the way he's been shooting these past few WEEKS and the way he's disappeared in the playoffs, he's not even in the list of top 10 perimeter players right now. And if you're counting chris paul as a perimeter player, then tmac isnt in the top 15.

If pierce, melo, iverson, or ray allen were offered to us, morey would definitely consider it as the cornerstone of a trade. too bad none of those guys are being offered.

 

Alston and Jackson probably wouldn't be in Houston anymore if AI's in town. Jackson's a semi-large expiring contract and Alston can be shipped East where a mediocre point guard can still you get you somewhere in the playoffs.

As for AI's passing, he's averaging over 7 a game right now. That's not too shabby for a point guard. He's also getting old and he doesn't have his ring. He's made a real effort to become a better distributor since coming to Denver.

He's also got a ton of grit. He may not be a wiz at practice but no one in the league questions his heart. That could be valuable, or even be magnified on a team that already features gritty competitors like Scola, Battier, Hayes, Landry. The Rockets could be a team that just works the opposition to death.

Finally, look at the Rockets as an organization. The glaring weakness in the roster is at the PG spot. Getting AI could plug that hole. It could also mean the Rockets would be free to ship out Jackson and Alston. That's a ton of money to get some new talent--maybe Mike Miller or something.

 

One more thing: I already mentioned that Iverson's convert at 45% this year. Keep in mind that not only is that an upgrade on T-Mac's 41% but it's also a sizable upgrade on Alston's 39.5%.

 

seriously? go ask morey. they might score more (2-3 pts more??), but in no way can they replace his all-around play?

let's put your stupidity on display:
these players' stats in the playoffs with LESS defensive pressure

1) ray allen - 15.3ppg, 3.3rpg, 3.3apg on 41% shooting
2) pierce - 15.7ppg, 3.0rpg, 4.7apg, on 42% shooting
3) melo - 23ppg, 9rpg, 1.7 apg on 35% shooting
4) iverson - 25.3ppg, 3.3rpg, 5.3 apg on 42% shooting

tmac: 23.3ppg, 8.5rpg, 7.8apg, on 39% shooting

REALLY, tmac is not a top 15 perimeter player. i've been arguing with you and notice your arguments lack a lot of knowledge, but i'll stop arguing with you after this point.

this is tmac's worst offensive show yet, and yet he's still doing better than anybody in this playoffs (perimeter players-wise) outside of kobe/bron/paul, the 3 players i said were better than tmac to begin with.

pierce, allen, melo, iverson? go ask morey and he'll prollie laugh at you and give you free NBA league-pass so you can know more about the game of basketball.

 

Thats what people said about iverson and carmelo. And they were wrong then. Iverson's game is everything we want Tmac's to be.

And in any case, holding the ball and penetrating is better than holding the ball and shooting a long jumper.

You're making the incorrect assumption that we'd keep our undersized players if we picked up iverson. logically, we'd get rid of luther, bobby jackson, and possibly brooks.