T-Mac and ACTUALLY contending in the West

If this in a billion years.. does happen.. either way.. after a lost.. we would still complain that Yao didn't have enough shots.

 

I was "hoping" for the same thing.. I would love to get TMac and im sure he would love to play here alongside Yao and Co. I just dont think it will ever happen unless Tmac wants out of his contract and decides to come here as a free agent to play with Yao and SF. Too bad SF's contract is soo huge with the extra money we could have signed some nice FA's this summer.

Cato, MoT and Spoon are pretty overpaid but we will see how things work out at the end of the season.

Im trusting JVG to make the right personnel moves this coming summer and if we make some noise in the playoffs we might also be able to pick up quality FA's. I dont think Kobe would like to move out here but if he did I would gladly welcome him.

I've been saying in earlier threads we are a solid SF away from being a contender.

J

 

Not to mention this trade has been discussed numerous times. It sounds great, but never will happen.

 

If we did throw in Mobley, I'd want either of their PGs in return. R. Strickland (not to mention he's old and having to 37+ year old PGs sharing minutes wouldn't work in the longrun and probably not the shorterm either.) can't be traded at this time I think, so we'd have to settle for Lue. I'd also want them to take Cato and his salary and in return get Hunter. I don't think the trade would work throwing in Cato however. He's not a bad player at all, but from what I've seen of Hunter playing for Orlando he was practically their only inside presence, had really long arms and could contest shots the way Theo Ratliff could. He'd be a more adequate backup C. The funny thing is they don't use him much. They opt for their 2 other out of position center wannabes, instead of letting the inexperienced Hunter get his feet wet.

I have it in my sig, but Francis, Cato, and Trade Exception for T-Mac, Lue, and Hunter wouldn't be a bad deal. You'd really only get the one big contract in T-Mac, and two smaller but more manageable contracts in Lue and Hunter. Neither are going to wow you with their play, but Lue was a backup PG for the Lakers and knew how to feed the big man. He'd already be familar with where T-Mac likes to get his shots, and could be atleast a cheaper solution than what Francis has been. I've already stated what Hunter does.


C- Yao, Hunter
PF- MoT, Padget/Weatherspoon
SF- JJ, Boki, Pike, AG (if he ever comes back.)
SG- T-Mac, Mobley
PG- Lue, M. Jax

Since JVG likes looks at the SF, and SG role one in the same, when JJ would need a breather, T-Mac would move to the SF position and Mobley to the SG position. When T-Mac would need a breather, it'd be Mobley in SG position with JJ and Lue in the backcourt. We'd gain a reliable consistent scorer, and another guy that creates an actual physical mismatch on any given night. What MoT did for us on the bench, Mobley could do in turn, and best of all, it'd come more naturally to him being the primary scorer with our bench on the floor.

I dunno what's wrong with Francis but I hope he gets out of this slump he's in and plays like we all know he can, except more under control

 

IMO, Magic and Celts and Bulls all need to 'blow it up', which means TMac and Pierce should be sent packing, Chicago being a good destination possibility.

I love T-Mac and PP, but just don't see either sending either away for anything short of a Starbury-type deal.

Da Bulls might send a package of up-and-comers for either, or for Stevie. Give me Stevie or a proven vet, tho.

 

First and formost, this is really a pipedream. However, looking at the Magic, you have to wonder just how long Tmac will want to play there in their current situation where he is the only star player and has to carry the heavy load each night. McGrady seems more and more irritated by this by the day. The ONLY way I see Tmac being available is this scenario:

The Magic continue to play poorly and never get a "2nd" quality player on that team to help McGrady. McGrady then gets frustrated, something he has already shown this season. Correct me if I am wrong, but McGrady can opt out of his contract after NEXT season (05). If at that time McGrady makes it known that he is REALLY frustrated and wants out and can and will leave the Magic with no compensation then the Magic will be forced into a sign and trade to get SOMETHING. Remember, the Magic lost Oneal for NOTHING when he walked away. Do you think the Magic will want that to happen again?

So we would have to hope that McGrady would force a sign and trade to the Rockets were McGrady would see the value of playing with a serious low post player in Yao. He has said many positive things about Yao in the past so I think that is a plus. You have to think he would love to play here. The key is forcing the issue, having McGrady force a sign and trade on the Magic.

 

Then what would the Magic have? They would of course be throwing their team down the tubes especially with Ghill still on the books. I wonder whats taking so long for their young guys Gooden and Giricek to develop and actually contribute something? I like Juwan Howard and he has been a consumate professional.. I thought he would be the 2nd star but I dont know what has happened.. he is still playing well IMO but they still dont win.

J

I would love a Tmac / Kobe type over here. They dont even need to be superstar types. I would be happy with a 2nd tier player who is consistent and has some size.

 

T-Mac is the best player at his position. Francis is very good. T-Mac has taken his team to the playoffs. Francis has not.

Would you do it? Of course not.

That being said, I'd love to see T-Mac playing JVG defense. He'd do it too. I think being on a contending team is all he needs but he's such a fixture in Orlando he will never ever ever ever escape that team. They'll be good after they get out of Hills contract anyway so its a waiting game.

Him adjusting his game and playing in our new style would be freaking amazing. Yao and McGrady and a distributing 3 point shooting point guard would wreck the world.

 

What I don't understand is why people get excited over SPECULATIONS. Sure TMac said he would like to play for Houston. Sure he said he would play better and therefore would like to play with Yao. But does that mean he's actually gonna do it? Even if he would, why would the Magic do it? They do need to rebuild but not by trading the best 2 guard (and a young one at that) in the league. They need to get rid of Grant Hill's contract and get rid of Gooden.

I mean, at this point, we're not even talking rumours, we're talking speculations started by fans (one without any basis at that). We all know rumours are pathetic in terms of reliability. Well, what does it say about us when we get excited over something less concrete than rumours? We're not even at the rumours stage yet. That is just sad.

 

First, Adrian Griffin is a 6-5 small forward at best, not a backup power forward.

Second, getting T-Mac for Steve woudl be a dream come true, and, imo, not necessarily out of the question. We'd have to spice it up a bit, but I think it's doable.

 

I still think it is a pipedream. A lot of things have to fall into place for something like this to happen. We would really have to hope Tmac would force the issue on the Magic, putting them in a position to get something for Tmac leaving in FA versus letting him walk for nothing (like the Oneal situation in the past).

I would be nervous if I was a Magic fan. They better do something to that team this offseason or perhaps risk losing him after next season.

 

McGrady is a whiner..."OH, I don't like the zone defense! I'm so depressed! I've lost the passion! I might retire!"

wah wah wah....

Here, Tracy McBaby, suck on this...

 

For any trade between the Magic and the Rox that involve TMac, Magic will want Yao be part of the package.


So stop dreamin' ...

 

It's a big difference between speculating on a player who is locked into a long-term contract and is happy about his situation and a player who can opt out of his contract after next season and has specifically said he wants to be somewhere else unless Grant Hill is back. Grant Hill is done. He's just collecting checks now. Also, they are probably encouraging him to just stay down due to insurance purposes. If they could trade TMac for Steve, I think they would do it if the Rockets throw in some additional players they want like Cuttino and Cato. Of course, the Rockets would have to take back garbage players.

 

No trade is going to occur before the Feb trade deadline. Bank on it.

If Steve Francis can lead the Rockets into the playoffs and at least make some first round noise (read not get swept or blown out), unlikely the Rockets trade him. If Steve Francis can't lead the Rockets into the playoffs or the Rockets go meekly out in the first round, the Magic don't want him.

If Grant Hill would do the right thing and retire this summer, the Magic would have enough money to get into the Kobe wars.

I guess since Garnett has re-signed, McGrady is now the new dreamcasters' wannabe....

 

That and the "selfish player" talks would still be going on.

 

This should be the main reason the deal won't happen. But, I personally don't see why the Magic aren't at least exploring the idea - they haven't been good in a while...even those couple of years they sneeked into the playoffs they really weren't good. The question is do they get anything by acquiring Francis, Cato, Picks and Trade Exception if necessary for TMac, Hunter, Lue?? IMO, it would be a package they should at least look at.

 

Not necessarily true. Steve shoots a much lower FG % then T-Mac. Atleast him shooting would be a bit more justified given how much he can score in bunches. Second just about any bad shot is a better shot then Steve's bad shots. Height matters and when you have a 6'8 shooting guard who can pretty much jump and shoot over anybody you have a much better chance of the bucket going in then a with a 6'3 shooter. Plus I really think T-Mac would defer to the team if he actually had good teammates to pass too. Lets face it, he's got nothing on the Magic. Juwan Howard's a weak PF who would much rather stick around the perimeter then bang in the paint. The rest are scrubs that either can't shoot or are just too dumb like Gooden. It's all a pipe dream but it'd be a damn good trade. Lue already knows what it's like having a legit low post threat, and can make a good low post pass into Yao. He had tons of practice doing that just off Shaq when he was with the Lakers. T-Mac would be a true superstar SG that could potentially drop 50 for ya on any given night. Francis has never even done that once in his whole career on his best nights. I dunno how many 40 point games the man has had at a all, but I do know McGrady does it relatively often given how difficult it is to do that. Your almost guaranteed at the very least 25 PPG with him on the floor. Sure he does take bad shots, but he's been bred to be a SG since he was actually given playing time. He's not confused like Francis, and he's better then Francis even if Francis did move to the SG scoring role. Plus the fact that he'd could be a defensive beast under JVG system would great. Those long arms could deflect so many passes, contest so many perimeter shots, and create so much havoc.

 

I don't think...at least I hope, the argument is not about whether or not TMac is a better player than Francis. More points, more boards, only 0.3 less apg (at a SG position, much less), a better shooting % (career and this year), taller, more blocks, slightly fewer steals, less than half as few turnovers.