Here is the link to the failed chandler story. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3917505 I posted it because I don't know how many people have taken a physical for a life insurance policy,a physical for high school, a physical for college sports, and a physical for pro sports. I can only tell you from my college experience that the physical given in college is a lot more intense and strenuous than the high school and life insurance policy physical. I can also tell you from having family members playing pro football that the pro physical is totally different from the college physical. I'm not good at taking the article and lining it up like my man durvasa, but in short, N.O. was trying to dump him and his 30m and the thunder wanted another big body. N.O. was getting expiring contracts back and the thunder was getting a shot blocker/rebounder in chandler. Although he had missed games with his ankle, which ok city knew about, their doctors failed him on a big toe. A big toe in which he never missed games for, but they didn't think it would hold up through the duration of his contract, thus failing him on a physical. Now, rod thorn and his people have pulled every play of mcgrady last season. I guess in this case they would believ their lying eyes and deem mcgrady healthy enough to play? I also guess they were going to tell their doctors not to worry about the season long limp or the in season rehab in which he came back and struggled again. Also, don't worry about the non lift on his jumper or non existing lateral movement? No, lets trade for tracy because of his star appeal, don't worry about our medical staff, lets take the rockets medical staff's word and their history with tracy and yao's diagnosis. To me, it sounds crazy to think rod thorn, the ex nba executive would be that dumb especially when he has a history of always wanting to win a trade. He always wants to feel like he wins a trade, yet he would make this trade knowing the current injury of mcgrady and not get another player from the rockets? OK
we don't know what the exact deal would have been though. all we know (now) is that the major pieces were tracy and vince. maybe the nets were willing to take the risk on tracy because the rockets were going to give them other appealing pieces, or picks, or whatever. maybe they thought that tracy was just dogging it in houston because he was unhappy here. he does have a history of quitting when he feels unappreciated, so its not too much of a stretch. maybe they listened to all 500 doctors who said the prescription for tracy was simple rest, NOT surgery. maybe the nets believed all those doctors instead of the single doctor who thought this injury required major surgery, despite being a tiny lesion on a non weight bearing part of his knee. maybe they thought tracy was playing badly because he was in bad shape, had no cardio, and had no core strength, all of which were true. maybe they thought that it was a problem with tracy's attitude, and not his body. i'm just saying, theres more to it than just what would show up in a physical. if, after all the mri's and tests, doctors were still telling him to just rest up and play through it . . . could it really have been that bad? jsut as an example, if the lakers said they would trade you kobe bryant for tracy right now, would you reject it because kobe has broken fingers? he'd probably fail a physical because his hand doesnt work, but hell no you wouldn't turn that deal down.
you really think that trade fell threw on the worries of the big toe? that trade fell through not because of a toe, but because of cold feet. The toe was soley an excuse. however, i am impressed with your limited college experience and family members in the nfl. I will forever believe anything you say.
I clearly remember Magic saying on TNT last year that Vince Carter's knees were shot and his whole game was kind of post-knees now, clearly best days behind him. Similar to T-Mac, I think, in career stage, maybe slightly advanced. Plays offense as if the team should center on him, but it no longer should, perhaps also a little lax on defense, as if he has that privilege. I must say in general I enjoy Adelman's up-and-down game with this team more than the old half-court style of McGrady-Yao or--egad--Francis-Yao. At least you knew Steve Francis was going to scrap away, even if each victory seemed like a huge adventure. T-Mac's head is just not in basketball. I often complain that he get slacks off for his huge pay, but it is still a job to him. How many people can stay world-class intense in their jobs for over ten or fifteen years?
Structural/ligament damage to a toe is totally different than a knee that may be low on cartilage. Hell, most NBA players have aching knees. The point isn't whether or not the trade was 100% going down...the point is that there were major media reports that we were seriously talking and that is when TMac decided to skip the Rockets wishes of seeing more doctors and went instead on the same day ESPN had it on their front page (featured item) and told Screamin A Smith that his season was over and that he was going to have microfracture surgery...despite other doctors saying he didn't need it. So, there were major talks about the trade and media reports about it and Tmac alerted the media and didn't see the doctors we requested. What part of these two facts are you actually trying to contradict?
T-mac, the gift that just keeps on giving! Whether the trade could have been completed or not is a moot point. Tracy took it upon himself to block any trade that might or might not have been completed, for his own selfish reasons. Single handily, stopping the Rockets from getting VC and single handily trying to stop the Rockets from having much success in the playoffs. In the long run Tracy probably did us a favor. In the short run, he keep the Rockets from having one more piece that probably could of put us over the edge against the Lakers and had us sitting in the Championship series. The only thing DM, Les and Rick owe Tracy is a big kick in the balls, on the way out the door. Please don't do Tracy any favors, if you can't get a deal that's good for the Rockets, let Tracy rot at the end of the bench.
Right. "From a reputable source". I'm sorry, but I just don't buy it. Maybe it happened, but I doubt it. Usually when a trade like that is agreed upon, even before it is finalized, it is ALL OVER the news, and fans are already getting all anxious and full of anticipation. We didn't hear anything except for rewind speculation AFTER McGrady announced his injury. I don't believe that Vince trade was ever in place. Maybe Morey was discussing it, but I doubt it was close to final.
Jesus. IT WAS ALL OVER THE NEWS. ESPN had it as their MAJOR headline on their front page with a giant freaking picture of Tmac on it. SI.com had it running at the top of their headlines. It wasn't agreed upon...but said they were in eleventh hour negotiations Then, hours later, Tmac talks to Stephen A Smith...
that's cool. it's your right to believe what you want. i think its hard to justify ignoring the published article, the insider perspective that stevierebel gave, and the perspective that i put out there, when they all agree on the major points. your perspective is based upon what makes sense to you, based on your interpretation of the events. mine is based on what i was explicitly told. i'll choose to believe mine, maybe even moreson now that the story i heard has been corroborated twice in this thread, by separate parties.
Assuming this is true, T-mac really didn't do himself any favors, even with what was known then. By blocking the trade, he put himself on permanent bad terms with the Rockets. His only hope was to play himself into a position where the Rockets staff had to just suck it up and play him regardless. If he really didn't want to play in New Jersey, why not wait till the trade went through, then request the surgery. He could have even been blunt about it and talked about it during the physical. New Jersey could have taken him any way, then let him get the surgery. Or rejected the trade. In both cases, t-mac looks out fine and the Rockets look like they're trying to pull a fast one on NJ. As said he would have been better off in NJ as they would have played him...they got nothing to lose by doing so. It's the contract they really wanted, and skills he may have is just gravy. Playing for NJ, I think he'd have a shot at a decent salary on a contending team. Now, he's either a decent salary on a crap team, or maybe vet min on a good team.
First of all, Second of all, I don't remember that being all over the news at all. If it the trade was as visible as you say it was, then yeah, this story is probably accurate, but I'm reasonably sure I would remember that. I was at a couple message boards like these, and I remember talks about a trade like that, but it was mostly speculative/rumor-based. Same thing with the articles about it. I don't remember there being anything definitive written, and there WOULD be if a major trade really was agreed upon in principle (for example like what happened with the Francis/McGrady trade, or the Garnett trade, etc.) I'm open to the possibility that I'm wrong here, but I definitely don't remember that trade sounding very official at the time. I remember it mostly being in the "I heard they were thinking about this" stage.
I know who you were responding to. I'm just saying that he said the Nets already had a young point guard in Harris and weren't looking for another. You were reading it wrong.
I agree this is really under handed on tracy's part. Unbelievably selfish, But tracy's orginal mri showed articular cartilage damage, not ligament damage. The mri's after that showed no change from the original. Yes the cartilage damage was in a small non weight bearing portion but was obiviously more than tracy could deal with. And articular cartilage damage is not the same as common knee cartilage damage which many athletes go through. That common cartilage damage is menisci. Articular cartilage damage usually requires microfracture Ie- kenyon martin, amare stoudemire.
That makes no sense from McGrady's point of view. His goal is to maximize his earnings, and foregoing over $12mm isn't the way to do it.
To top all that off, who wants to have microfracture surgery to prove a point? I mean, really? The successful revovery rate is well below 50-50. Allen Houston,Webber all had their career basically ended, yet a guy who thinks he has 1 more contract left is going to take this route? Ok
Absolutely. Theoretically, it put him in best possible scenario (healthy and rested) to maximize his contract year. He just didn't factor in the bridges he burnt.
this is what I was saying. he COULD have passed the physical...it's about pain tolerance. not saying it didn't hurt enough not to play or calling him out for being weak...just stating that structurally the knee was fine and it was about pain tolerance...which means he COULD have passed a physical if a trade had occurred. This was the point I was arguing
I'm not one to be a grammar nazi, but this post rules. Did you do this on purpose, as a joke? Intensive purposes, blessing in the skys? lmao
