i think the biggest thing you have to take into consideration is, how will this deal affect our team 3, 4 or 5 years down the road. In the short term, particularly next year it could be a struggle due to the lack of depth, etc... but 3 years from now when McGrady is 28 and Yao is 26, watch out NBA
I like your point. But just for the sake of typing lets consider this. I dont have the stats in front of me but my question is this. Will there be enough shots to go around to keep McGrady happy and Yao dominate? Steve conceded to Yao, Mobley did the same. Will a man with an ego the size of the state of Texas defer to Yao Ming? We both know if we go all the way it wont be T-Mac that takes us there, it will be Yao!
People here are acting like its a done deal....quit the freaking enthusiasm as this is not a done deal till the announce it!!! The odds that we get McGrady are standing at 33%...meaning there are at least 10 teams out of 31 that are asking about him, so anything can happen. Hopefully on draft night, they will announce the deal. If the Rockets dont make this deal then we will probably be a 4-8th seed every year with no chance of winning a championship!!!
Tracy has seen whats its like to put an entire team on his shoulders, and i think he would welcome the chance to have a dominate big man like Yao on his team. Talent wise, i could see a Shaq/Kobe tandem without all the in house fighting between the two. Both guys would still get their shots, and as it stands right now, Yao can barely log 30 minutes a night, which would leave plenty of opportunities for Tracy.
So, you think the 15,000+ of us here at ClutchFans should ignore the biggest, current story and not chat about it during the offseason? LOL!
Well with the emergance of the Pistons and Pacers in the East, the power switch in the west, teams like the Lakers (losing shaq, kobe and Phil) the Kings declining, and the Mavs sucking. Teams rising in the west like the Grizzles, Rockets, and T-Wolves, I think its impossible to predict what team will be where. Dont be too discouraged too fast.
First, its really between 3 teams. Phoenix, Indiana and Houston, with the rockets having the inside track as it stands right now. Second, even if they don't make this deal they have a solid foundation with witch to build upon. Either way the rockets are on the up and up.
Well, Steve and Cat took 28 shots per game between them last season and Mcgrady took 23 shots, so that’s 5 extra shots there for Yao. No. It won’t be Yao alone. The only way it will be Yao alone is if he reaches Hakeem, Duncan, Shaq (in his prime) level, which isn’t likely. I think the most realistic comparison for Yao is an old Jabbar or an old Shaq, both of whom needed a superstar guard to win championships.
Well, I will disagree with you here. For starters unless your Guard is named Jordan you won’t be winning. If McGrady was the answer he would have lead his team at least to a winning season and not to the worst record in the league. For another, everyone gives Kobe too much credit. He wouldn’t have ONE ring if it wasn’t for that dominating force in the middle named Shaq. Yao may not be Shaq or Dream or some other great dominate big man, but in a league where your best big man is an as you call it, “old Shaq” then I think that Yao will dominate just fine. What teams have “great” big men? Whoever gets Shaq, the Pistons Big Ben (dominates Defense), Pacers O’neal, Pau Gasol, and that’s it. I think Yao will dominate soon.
I love this board. One minute you get sh*tted on because you think you're giving up too much for McGrady. "Once in a lifetime chance and you're only trading away 1 all-star and 2 REPLACEABLE role players" they said before. The next minute everyone has doubts about the trade just as things get interesting. "Is he worth trading 3 starters away for" they say now.
I never tried to compare what Steve has done in his career to Hakeem. I just said that Francis was the most fun to watch. I like the fancy dribbling and the way he slaps glass after he dunks on a center. I pay to see that type of stuff. Dream is the greatest big man to ever play the game so I don't need to speak on that much.
Of course Kobe wouldn't have one ring without Shaq, but the same could be said about Shaq if he didn't have Kobe. I don't expect Mcgrady alone to lead this team to a championship. Nor do I expect Yao to. They are both going to need each other to win, just like Shaq and Kobe need each other. Just look at the NBA finals. The Pistons single covered Shaq and Shaq dominated. Guess what? The Lakers still got pummeled. Shaq needed a second superstar to show up and Kobe didn’t. Just goes to show, Shaq can’t do it alone anymore, and Yao will not be able to do it alone either.
I hope after we sale them the farm that they will share the ball well. I agree with you, I just hope they share.
i dont know about that. they almost won 60 games when it was shaq/eddie jones/van exel. surely if they kept that core, and with the monster seasons shaq put together the next 3 years, theres no doubt in my mind they wouldve won a couple rings.
What do you mean when you say, "not winning anything." You mean, you don't like Howard because he hasn't lead his team to a championship like Shaq and Hakeem? Or, that he has not won a rebounding tittle? What?
The Indystar thinks Houston is the frontrunner too. McGrady not likely headed to Pacers By Mark Montieth mark.montieth@indystar.com June 20, 2004 Houston appears to be the front-runner to acquire the Magic star before NBA draft. A trade involving Orlando guard Tracy McGrady appears imminent, but the Indiana Pacers don't appear to be his likeliest destination. Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said Saturday he has not talked with Magic general manager John Weisbrod since early last week, and that no formal offer has been made. "If there's going to be interest in doing a deal with us, he's going to get back to me," Walsh said of Weisbrod. "He hasn't done that. I don't know where it stands." McGrady, according to newspaper reports out of Orlando, told Magic owner Rich DeVos on Friday he wants to be traded. Weisbrod said he has been in constant communication with McGrady's agent, Arn Tellem, and indicated he expects to have a deal -- at least orally -- before Thursday's NBA draft. Orlando, which finished with a league-worst 21-61 record last season, has the No. 1 pick. McGrady has stated various preferences in recent weeks, but the current consensus within the league is that he's most likely to go to Houston. Rockets point guard Steve Francis and coach Jeff Van Gundy were at odds last season, and McGrady has stated a desire to play with Houston's Yao Ming. Any trade involving Francis would likely be made after July 1, when he loses his base-year compensation status that reduces his trade value to half of his $12.3 million salary for next season. The Magic and Rockets, however, could agree on a deal before then. McGrady also has expressed a desire to play for San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers, and mentioned interest in the Pacers and Detroit when those two teams met in the Eastern Conference finals. Saturday, he told a Florida Today reporter he and Shaquille O'Neal are attempting to work trades that would unite them in Dallas. "The kid's been all over the board emotionally," Weisbrod told Orlando reporters Saturday. "He's a little inconsistent but that's pretty understandable. Arn's job is to sort of stay close to him and make sure he's representing however (McGrady) feels that day." McGrady has some control over his future because he can opt out of his contract after next season. The Magic want to trade him now so they don't risk losing him without getting anything in return, as happened with O'Neal in 1996. If the Magic offer a trade that doesn't appeal to him, he could opt out after next season and become a free agent. Any team that trades for him will want assurances that he will re-sign next year. Tellem also represents the Pacers' Jermaine O'Neal and Reggie Miller. Various trade packages between the Pacers and Magic have been rumored, although most of them could not be done within NBA rules that require all traded players' salaries to match within 15 percent plus $100,000. McGrady will be paid $14.5 million next season. The Pacers mentioned most prominently in rumors are Al Harrington ($6.3 million), Jonathan Bender ($6.5 million) and Ron Artest ($6.2 million). Jeff Foster ($4.5 million) and Jamaal Tinsley ($1.5 million) also have been mentioned. Walsh, however, moved to downplay the rumors. "It isn't the players mentioned in these accounts," he said. "That's not the correct group of players." Harrington appears to be the most likely Pacer to be included in a trade because of his desire for more playing time and a greater role in the offense. He said Saturday he has heard nothing about the possibility of being traded to Orlando, and has in fact cooled on the desire to be traded that he expressed to team president Larry Bird after the Pacers lost to Detroit in the conference finals.
LOL. I agree. If we can land T-Mac without trading Steve im all for it. Its hard to trade a player like Steve for a guy who may play only 30 games next season.
