I wonder if anyone else might agree with this theory. The way the situation has been handled, I expect Houston to back out of the T-Mac deal. It makes perfect sense if you think about it. Orlando is in the process of screwing themselves in a BIG way. Here's why: 1. T-Mac has made it very clear he wants to play in Houston. If we back out of the trade, all we have to do is wait a year and sign him as a free agent next year. This allows us to move some dead weight in other directions and to stabilize other positions in advance knowing that we are going to get him next year anyway. Moving Francis anywhere should open enough cap space for us to sign T-Mac without making a trade for him. Anything we pick up for Francis in trade now is simply a bonus for next year. 2. If we don't make the move now, we can possibly keep Cato and Mobley for another year. Maybe longer. Mobley was very good last year. Cato as a backup center to Yao is ideal. Hanging on to these two for another year or so while waiting for T-Mac to join us next year doesn't hurt the Rockets much at all. If Mobley and Cato are not too badly damaged from all of these discussions, we could be pretty good this coming year even without T-Mac. Cato and Mobley were not the primary problems with the Rockets last year. Point guard and depth could both be addressed in a Francis deal that does not include T-Mac. 3. Orlando is not going to get much in return if the Rockets decide to back out of the deal. Other teams will decrease what they are offering due to decreases in demand. The only other team that would probably stay in the mix is Indiana. Why would they offer as much as they have been rumored to be offering if there was no other competition involved? They wouldn't. The deal they put on the table would be promptly removed the instant Houston told Orlando they are no longer interested in playing the game any longer. It seems like Orlando has forgotten who is in the drivers seat on this deal. It is NOT them. If T-Mac had a long term deal it would be a different situation, but as things currently sit, T-Mac is the one in the drivers seat and he has already made his preference known. This screws Orlando HUGE and the longer they wait the more it is going to do so. The Houston offer is more than fair. Under the current circumstances, we may even be offering too much. In my opinion, if a deal is not done soon, Orlando will be left holding the bag in a major way, and this will go down as one of the biggest mistakes that franchise has ever made. I'd like to see us walk away from this whole thing. T-Mac is a special player, but the other pieces involved really do not benefit us much. With some minor tweaking and a little patience the Rockets could be MUCH better in two years if they don't make the Orlando trade now. Am I nuts for thinking this way?
We don't have the Cap space to sign big name free agent. Be patient. Eventually TMac will press the wiseass.
the problem with that is if t-mac gets traded to indiana or even phoenix, he may end up liking it more than he thought he would like houston. therefore, he would likely either sign an extension with them or waive his right to opt out of his contract by next year. its too big of a risk to take, especially after seeing rasheed wallace likely staying with the pistons.
You don't screw around when you have the chance to get a top five player. Not to mention the fact that Steve has worn out his welcome with JVG, and probably a number of the fans.
