Ford is NOT citing sources. He is stating his opinion that this is a bad deal for Orlando. There is a HUGE difference. If you don't believe that, then you know absolutely nothing about sports journalism. Neither does Ford.
This is NOT source-based material. It is an opinion on the value of the deal. Thus far, no one has made one statement that the Clippers are in the drivers seat, only that they THINK they have the better package to offer, but no one is citing ANY sources, just copying material from columnists in other cities.
The Magic might just be the worst team in the NBA for several years if they take the Clippers deal. I mean look at last year's Clippers squad: Quentin, Brand, Wilcox, Maggette, Ely, etc. couldn't win more than like 34 games.
1) Drobjnak is on the unprotected list. I am not sure if he can even be traded in a package until after the expansion draft. 2) Ely, Wilcox, the # 2 pick don't match McGrady's salary. 3) That package is not near the quality of Francis/Cat/Cato. 4) The Magic would be silly not to get either Maggette or Brand in return, seeing as how names like Marion, Artest and Francis are allegedly being offered.
I honestly think the clippers deal is the best one for the magic... they can draft okafor, trade down the #2 pick + unwanted fillers to the hawks for #6 and #17... draft gordon and maybe a high schooler (Wright/telfair/etc etc).. and on top of that they get maggette and wilcox.. that's a pretty good and young team....
I think in terms of a Houston/Orlando deal it all depends on how the Orlando management value Francis. It can be either of two ways: 1) knucklehead that doesnt play with other teammates. has baggage, is a selfish player etc 2) A 20/6/6 guy that plays well against eastern conference teams, is flashy like McGrady, can score and contribute now and at the same time sell jerseys and merchandise that is important to the "business" of basketball. I am not sure how the Orlando GM values Steve. But if he values Steve more in example #2 then the deal might go down as other than Jermaine O'neal or Amare Stoudamire there isnt any other players as high profile as Francis from the Indiana/Suns trade options. And Stoudamire and Oneal are off the table. Marion and Artest are good but not nearly the marketing ace that Francis is. And that could be a big factor! We just dont know. I can say this, fans on other BBS and columnists like Chad Ford totally dont take the "marketability" aspect into the equation. They just look at the pure talent. And while that is important it isnt the whole ball of wax. It is a business after all.
Exactly. Where else do you think Ford got the deal information from? It's also mentioned in the Orlando Sentinel this morning. The point is the "terrible trade" thing was nothing more than his opinion, and it looked like he had a motivation for saying it. I'll give you this: For a rebuilding team starting from complete scratch, the offer from the Clippers would be better than that of the Rockets. Fewer contracts and good young players. I guess it depends on what Orlando thinks of Howard and Okafor after working them out (seems like one hell of a lot of power forwards though - especially if they got Wilcox in the deal) and where they want the team to go. I think it's an insult to Francis' skills though to call him "Houston's trash" (not that you are saying that specifically). If McGrady does in fact want to play for the Clippers, then this could be the deal. The Clippers though have shown in the past that they don't care if a player threatens to not re-sign with them or not, so this could be a potential deal anyhow, which is a little scary. I still believe at the end of the day that Houston and Orlando will work it out, but you never know.
Jealousy? No. Trust me -- I don't really even want McGrady that badly and am unsure if I would do the deal at all -- but that doesn't mean that Chad Ford isn't an idiot and is frequently wrong/making stuff up. He is, and I don't think his opinion carries much weight at all. That's all there is to that.
I guess we can think of it this way: Francis: he's locked in for another, what, 5 years? The Magic wouldn't have much to worry about in terms of Francis wanting to bolt. I'm pretty sure as long as he gets the ball X amount of time, the team is doing well, he wouldn't bolt. Mobley: has a player option to opt out after next year. Which means his 5 mil will come off the books. Or the Magic can peddle him come trade deadline time to Philly or whomever for draft picks or players. Cato: i'm sorry but i think Cato would do a more than admirable job in the East. Granted, he's not gonna go Wilt Chamberlain or even Brad Doherty on anyone but he'll contribute in a solid form. And remember that there's a new divisional alignment. It's Orlando, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, and Washington. The only competition Orlando has is Miami for tops of the division. And with a lineup of: C-Cato PF-Okafur SF-Gooden(??) SG-Mobley PG-Francis I'm pretty sure they got enough fire power to win the division...not a promise or a guarantee..just a belief. And I would hope that the Orlando Magic and especially their fans remember what happend the last time a lottery team got two top 5 picks in the draft (Curry and Chandler).
Today's stories sound like disinformation out to either scuttle a (done?) deal, or at least impact it, 'placed' by other teams' 'peeps'.
One thing nobody seems to remember - TMac can still opt out of any deal after this coming season. If TMac doesn't WANT to play for the Clips or the Suns, then he will probably make it very clear to those teams, and would they then still be willing to give up so much just to rent him for one year? The only one in this deal with any real clout is TMac himself. Orlando cannot afford to pi$$ him off on this, or else he will just stay there and pull a Shaq on them, and they absolutely will NOT allow that to happen. Therefore, when TMac says he WANTS to play for Houston, then he can either play for us this coming season, or play for us the season after that. If it happens the latter way, then some other team out there is going to lose BIG TIME, and nobody can really afford to do that. If he really wants to play here, seems to me that we will be the only team that has a serious shot at getting him, and not having to give up TOO much either.
I'm not a big fan of this trade, at least in its current form, that is depending on what the Rockets do on the market. If the Rockets clean up the PF and PG position after a trade for McGrady then it's a great deal. That being said, Chad Ford IS NOT quoting sources, it's an opinion. Read the article, he basically says that the Rockets deal isn't going to be done because it's a terrible deal. His OPINION, not from a source. Whether it's a done deal or not Chad Ford doesn't have know anymore then we do apparently.
I see a straight deal, but there could be a three way. That works very well with the Clippers involved. Tmac, Howard, Lue - Houston SF3, Cat, Cato - Clippers Maggette, Wilcox, picks - Orlando Rox get Tmac but have to take trash in Howard Clips get the rest of a team with Brand - locked up contracts Orlando gets young talent and picks. Of course, I'd prefer the clips give us Wilcox for letting them play, but you can't have everything. Everybody wins.
I guess its just a matter of preference because in my opinion the Rockets have a much better deal on the table than the damn Clippers. Maggette is a role player at best!! Wilcox is Garbag!! and the Pick is the only decent return!! Not to mention this is the worst draft in recent history!! Anyways, Chad Ford seems to forget one minute detail. McGrady has already stated that he wants to play with a BIG MAN!!! So, in essence, it does not really matter waht deal any team has on the table if McGrady does not want to play with them.... of the three teams he mentioned (Phoenix, Hou, Clippers) Houston by far has the best after trade roster including the BIGGEST man of them all.... Chad Ford Shut Neck!!!!
Interesting take, pasox. How does Steve's BYC enter in to this? We've got some hints that the deal might not wait for that to be resolved and that a 3rd team could take care of it. I'm no capologist, so I'm curious.
Exactly. I said this in another thread I believe. There could be a third team involved here where McGrady still comes to Houston but Orlando doesn't get all of the Rockets players but some players from another team.
Deckard, I believe that a deal can be made regardless of BYC...it just wouldn't be 'consumated' until July 1st. A deal can be made and then not "offcially" announced until July 1st. But of course it would probably be leaked somehow. They always seem to. I wouldn't worry about BYC right now.
