If you go to any of three Orlando meesage boards most Magic fans are hot for the Clipper's deal, a few like the Sun's deal. Nobody has any interest in the Rocket's offer. If that's a gauge of Magic fan interest it isn't Stevie that would be getting Orlando fans excited to buy season tickets this summer.
And I sense nervousness from you. You seem REALLY concerned that the Rockets might actually get McGrady. You seem to be going out of your way to prove that Houston can't get him. If you know that Houston can't get him why bother trying to prove it? As for deals comparing favorably to others you are missing one point, McGrady can opt out of a deal and if he doesn't want to go to Phoenix or LA he's not going there. Indiana has apparently dropped out so it's probably the Rockets or Clippers and really, deals aside, which team has the best chance to win?
Chicago did something similar to this when they traded away Brand and got 2 young, untested, 'talented' guys in Curry and Chandler...yeah, that worked out well for them...
Cool. I'd much rather have Gooden, but we might see something like this go down. Starting to get a bit antsy here. Although this wouldn't be ideal, from my perspective, it gets us McGrady, it gets Francis and Mobes in LA, which they would probably like, and it gets mfclark the deal he seems to want.
This just goes to show how much trade value Francis has lost, at least in the eyes of the media and fans. 2 years ago, lots of teams would have traded for him. I think Steve couldn't really play worse than he did last year.
I can see the Magic really liking the Clippers' offer. They can do the whole Jerry Krause scenario from a few years ago (where they already had a lotto pick + traded their star for another high lotto pick) and they would be the only team in history to have the #1 and #2 picks in the same year, correct? If the two players they selected panned out, that would be a great marketing scheme for the franchise. However, is Emeka Okafor the guy to turn around a franchise? How sure are they that the HS kid is going to pan out? Francis is a known turnover machine, but look at Magette, last year he averaged 2.84 turnovers per game, which was the 14th most in the NBA. Now, don't even get me started on the Phoenix Suns' offer. Marion? C'mon, nice player...But Marion +#7 pick is better than Francis + Cat + Cato? I know there might be one other player involved, but I seriously don't understand how that is going to turn around the Orlando Magic since some Magic fans say they don't want to be a perennial 41-41 franchise. Is Marion + the 7th pick really going to get you above the .500 level? If T-Mac + #1 pick wont get you above that mark, Marion + #1 + #7 will? Just don't see it. Especially when you might also be losing Juwon Howard in the deal. What it comes down to is how much the Magic GM is willing to gamble. From Houston, you are getting three players that you know all about. You know Francis is a spectacular player that, on any given night, can turn in the best performance in the league. With Cuttino, you are getting a guy with a lot of heart that can put the ball in the basket. Don't forget Clutch's little statistic posted a few months ago that showed Cuttino's numbers are significantly higher when playing Eastern teams. With Cato, you are getting a serviceable seven footer that could only get better playing against the East night in, night out. I tend to think that some of the people on this BBS overvalue Cato, since he had sucked so bad before the start of last season. Cato is still only a 6 ppg 6.8 rpg guy. Honestly, with your #1 draft pick and some decent free agent signings, I think that the Houston trade would help Orlando the most. Not only do they immediately improve, they have room to grow with their lottery pick. The East is a guard dominated league, and the Magic can not only improve their guard play, they can strenghten their frontcourt with Cato + Okafor. Sounds like a pretty darn good team in an extremely weak new division.
Let's all give Chad Ford a break. He's just saying he doesn't like Houston's offer. He's fully entitled to that opinion. Now, all he needs to do to translate that opinion into reality is to become McGrady's agent or GM of the Magic.
Those offers are fantasized by magic fans. They want marrion, Johnson, and #7 for Tmac. Sure, I will like that trade if I am a magic fan. BUT, the offer was not made! Similiarly, Indy media claims that Pacers hasn't talked to Magic about Tmac since early last week. I bet the reason is that Pacers offered a package not any where close to rumored and Magic is not interested. It is likely that only Rockets made an offer that is worth considering, and Orlando media created these many phantom trade offers just to get Rockets to raise the offer.
its not like orlando can't rebuild after trading with us. they still have the freakin' #1! cat and cato would be great additions to them. steve would carry them like he used to for us. after a couple of playoff years, hills contract will be up and they can afford to sign some nice players, and maybe trade steve for some younger guys and picks. its easier to rebuild when you aren't a pathetic team every year. look at the bulls and the clipps. every lotto pick they get leaves after the rookie contract is up. and no FA will come close to them. they also have little to offer in trade to get better. thats what happens when you base your franchise around unproven players, picks, and cash. now if the magic make the playoffs, with a promissing okafor, there will be FA's that want to play for them. they will still have tradable commodities to find better fitting players. the only deal that rivals ours is the suns. the clipps have nothing, the pacers, can offer 3 small fowards, none of which can be marketed or carry a team. tmac doesnt even want to go to the clippers, so it is even more so down to the rox and suns.
I agree with you SirCharles. I don't understand what mfclark is trying to say. It's like he's upset that he might be losing T-mac,but if he goes, he only wants players that'll take the Magic to the finals next year.. . Which no one is offering. The Suns will NOT trade Marion,#7 AND Joe Johnson. JJ has played too well recently and has the Suns fans thinking he could put up almost the same points as T-mac. Probably just Marion and the #7. And T-mac to the clippers? If T-mac was upset about going nowhere with Orlando he's definitely not going to the Clips...he knows Sterling isn't going to shell out the cash to surround him with good players.
What people seem to be forgetting is that the Magic might like the Clippers deal but does McGrady like the deal? The reason McGrady wants out of Orlando is because he wants to play for a winning team, the Clippers aren't that. He also wants to play with a prominent big man, so is McGrady going to be happy that the Magic passed over that type of team to deal him to the Clippers? He can opt out of his contract, which would be disasterous, even for a money hungry owner like Sterling.
Comparing our deal and LA's... IMO, Francis is better than Magette....Cato and Wilcox are a wash and given the fact that Orlando has Howard AND Gooden already, how is Wilcox going to help them? Cato can at least start at center for them. As for Mobs vs the #2...I guess to rebuild and have the top 2 picks in the draft (Okafor and Howard?) is a definite plus...but again, getting Francis and Cato is going to help them a lot more than getting Magette and Wilcox.
A couple of things: 1. Chad Ford is known to make a living by calling his "Copy and Paste" job "Journalism" and "Insider Info". They are NOT from any creditable resources, but merely info posted on other websites. 2. It is debatable whether Sun or Clippers offers are better than Rockets. But that doesn't matter as long when T-Mac doesn't want to play in those teams. T-Mac said multiple times in the past that he wants to play with a dominate big man. Elton Brand and Amare Stoudemire are clearly not dominate big man. The only doiminate big men in the leage are Shaq, Yao, Duncan. Spurs have been ruled out in the hunt for T-Mac and they are not mentioned in anywhere in the media. 3. Shaq wants to be traded out of LA. The only team has a remote chance of pulling Shaq and T-Mac is Dallas. Cuban is rich, but Dallas does not have enough talent to land both Shaq and T-Mac. Steve Nash is a free agent. Daniel is a restricted free agent. That leaves these big names in their roster: Dirk, Finley, Jamison, Walker, Howard. Both LA and Oranldo would want Dirk. Finley is getting old and overpaid. Jamison is overpaid. Walker is overpaid. Howard is a good player and no way near star level. Besides, LA would never want to trade Shaq to a western conference contender, which has a chance of landing T-Mac. This deal is Mark Cuban's dream, but it will never happen.
mfclark and all, Don't forget that if traded to LAC, PHX, or IND, McGrady could opt out of his contract if that's not where he wants to play after next season. A sign and trade would only assure that TMac plays in whatever city he's going to throughout the prime of his career. That has to make any front office nervous IF McGrady actually lands somewhere (because of a "better deal") HE has no real desire play for. Ala Gary Payton in Milwaukee, oh and btw, Jeff Posey anyone???
If this BS from Ford, Smith et al is true then I hope TMac winds up with the Clips. It will be the kiss of death for him and his career, and will not likely affect Rox future like him going to Suns would. Re: Clips. Does anyone actually envision Donnie Sterling OK'ing a max contract for TMac (at twice the size of Brand's)?
Everyone is a GM!! Figures. Francis, Mobley, and Cato will lead the Magic to the Easter Conference Playoffs. You add Gooden and Okafor. All of a sudden you have a depth on the front court. Then Gran Hill might still come back. The Magic have a lineup that will put up points and defense. Francis Mobley Hill Gooden Okafor Cato This team competes for not only a playoff but the chance to represent the East in The Finals NEXT Year.
I agree with Smoothie, with a slighly different bent. The past, present and future of Orlando all suggest to me that they will take the Rockets deal. 1. If Orlando takes the Rockets deal, they will likely make the playoffs this year. Instant gratification. But, they still have the upside of improving b/c of Hill's contract going away . . . and more importantly, their No. 1 draft pick. If their brain trust think that Howard's or Okafor's upside potential is at the superstar level, then they should do the Rocket's deal. They get instant gratification and can tell the fans that the future championship is coming. LIke him or not, Francis can be a key piece of a championship team. He just needs to be teamed with the right player and system. 2. Conversely, the Phx and LAC deals are riskier. I think few GM's consider Marion, Johnson or Maguette as potential key pieces of championship teams. Then, the onus falls on the GM to hit the jackpot with the No 1 and No 2 or 7 picks. That is particularly hard in this draft, what with all the high schoolers. Also, they would be faced with another bad season and a long waiting period for the high schoolers to develop, WHICH IS THE BEST CASE SCENARIO. 3. Orlando's GM: does he really want to be responsible for the Chicago fiasco? Seriously, in this day and age, a GM just does not have that long a time to wait. You have to show some progress to the fans. They stunk last year. If you give the fans a playoff year, that buys you time for your kid star to develop. In the meantime, you get time and opportunity to stock the roster. I just can't see Orlando's GM taking this gamble.
Whatever it is, this week is going to be really interesting. The Magic said that there will be a deal done by Thursday, whether it will be announced or not. So there will definitely be lots of scrambling and desperation by T-Mac suitors. While the Rox seem to be the frontrunners, it still means nothing until there is a contract signed. The next couple of days is when we will start seeing new offers and possibly much better offers. When teams start getting desperate is when the real offers come in.
