T-Mac Trade (A Deeper Look)

It's not fair to just look at records. The Magic were a crap team last year, the Rockets were a playoff team. So the Rockets had a talent disparity going in. Of course, last year's Magic with the rookie Howard and Hill might have been a playoff squad, but then again maybe not. They were really terrible last season. The Rockets record this season isn't much different than last year's. Anyway, you can't just compare record for record and determine that we got the better end of the deal. (I'm happy how it worked out, though)

 

I don't think numbers fully show how much better off we are with Tmac than Francis. Orlando fans are already wanting to trade Steve in the offseason. It took them a half a season to realize something that took me 4 years.

 

they also have nelson. we never had a true PG that was young and on the rise. nelson and howard will be a tough combo soon. cato and battie are very good in the east. turk and garrity provide shooting. hill has leadership.

steve should be traded for a young SG: redd, butler, j.r. smith, childress...

 

They sould trade Steve in a to Seattle for Ray Allen in a S & T. He's gonna want some serious jack this offseason, maybe more that they want to commit to someone on the "wrong side" of thirty. Allen would provide some REAL veteran help to anchor this young team along with Hill. Steve would get an opportunity to play with some good shooters in Lewis and Radmonovich who would open up the driving lanes. Seattle would also get a younger POINT GUARD who they probably wouldn't mind committing that much $$ on. Their core team would be in their mid-late twenties and very talented in 1-4 spots.

 

Poor Stevie. His world is collapsing around him.

 

Sam,

I agree that you can't go by record alone, but you certainly can't use the "Magic were crap", "Rockets were a playoff team" arguement. The Rockets have 3-4 players on the roster that were on the team last year. It's a totally different team, what happened last year or the year before has absolutely no bearing on this group of players.

By using the record and looking at the transactions, I think you can certainly say that the Rockets organization has done a better job than the Magic organization.

 

The Magic are not only getting surprisingly good (if slightly inconsistent) production from Howard but also getting production from Grant Hill.

Takingnothing away from Steve Francis's contributions there... but the improvement in ORL's record has had other factors.

 

I think Steve will probably get traded this summer. Orlando probably should have traded him when Denver <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/fantasy/02/21/happy.funball/">was offering Miller and Nene (or Tskitishvilli)</a>. It would sure make the Magic a deeper team.

That SEA trade looks interesting. Unfortunately, I don't think that Steve "get's it" at PG, and I doubt he'll be able to lead a team to the promised land, as much as I like his heart and talent.

 

Mustang,

No offense, but there's nothing deep or explorative about your rather stark and evident conclusion.

I'm sure you've got some analysis to offer, so "pony up" one.

-P1st, S2nd

 

the Orlando paper was complaining about losing T-Mac??? recently??

 

No, you cant just compare the records, becaue that doesnt show how much better we are with Tmac this year. Last year was relative eaiser in the West than this year. Last year's power houses were unshakeable. There were probably 2 other teams at our level and we still barely made playoffs. This year, there are about 6 teams competing for the last 3 playoff spots. This year is tougher, and east also improved with the trades.

 

Let me ask you this - would you trade the team we have now for the one we had this time last year? And in case you're wondering, my answer is not no, but HELL no.

 

Hell no too. This team right now can beat anybody at any given night. Last year's team pretty much can only beat lesser team.

 

I think the consensus is that West is getting weaker and East is getting stronger this season.
Shaq, Webber moved, Lebron and Wade continued to make progress. and top rookies (Okafor, Howard, Gordon, Deng)all landed on the east as well

 

West got weaker in terms quality of power houses. West is more balanced than the past 5 year or so. You have Denver, Houton, Memphis, Lakers, Minny, Sac and even Clippers are competeing at same talent level. It's weaker, bu more competetive.

 

In case anyone forgot, the Magic won 21 games last year. They're on track to double that win amount this season. How many games did we win last season, and how many do you think we will win this year? The trade was good for us, but the Magic is gonna double their wins and probably make the playoffs after having the no. 1 pick in the last draft.

 

wait a second...there's no way the rocks of last year could DOUBLE their wins. yes, when you're at the bottom, your improvement looks a TON better. but are they closer to being a championship contender now?? i don't know. the rockets appear to be closer to that. but if weisbrod really is disgruntled with francis, are they really any better off? in that case it would be a brief experiment with francis...and then we'd see what kind of value he'd have for the magic in his SECOND trade.

 

Of course having a healthy Hill, signing Turk, and drafting Howard had nothing to do with that.

 

Steve was always a pretty good #'s guy but his intangibles were his downside...decision making most notably.

TMac was always pretty good #'s wise too...but HIS INTANGIBLES are probably the biggest surprise to all Rockets fans.

That is really the underlying force at work here. They are both talented but true stars have that little something extra that translates into success. TMac hasn't won in the playoffs yet but I have to say I'm feeling pretty optimistic about our chances of going far this year or next. I could never say that with Steve.