The Magic's trade of McGrady will go down as one of the worst in NBA history

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OZ

 

well until we win a championship, we will see.

 

actually, the day it happened, it was already recorded in the record books. But it was almost shattered everytime isiah thomas picked up the phone.

 

Explain how if the Rockets dont win a championship, the trade looks better somehow for the Magic.

 

R. Gaines= Mike James = Rafer Alston?

 

You made a slight error. Reece Gaines + part of TE = Mike James = Rafer Alston.

IMHO, it should be...

TMac + JHo + Jon Barry + Rafer Alston = Penny + Ariza + Darko + Arroyo + Doug Christie

 

IMO, it was Francis, Mobley, and Cato for T-Mac, Howard, Lue, and Gaines, at least that's what I remember.

 

While we're toting up stupid Magic trades, please don't forget Mobley to Sacramento. It took several transactions to make the net for Orlando as dumb as it now is.

 

i kind of feel sorry for sf. from all-star game starter a few years ago to this ...

At least give Smith and co-GM Dave Twardzik credit for this: They cut their losses quickly and decisively. They did what they had to do: They unloaded the overrated Francis to the only team with enough money and enough stupidity to take him -- the Knicks.

To their credit, the Magic didn't allow Francis to hang around and poison any chance the team had of developing its young prince, Dwight Howard. With Francis' contract gone this season and Grant Hill's off the books next year, the Magic will have some flexibility to sign some free agents to put around Howard as he reaches superstar status.

 

Was next yera's high #1 forgotten? Cato AND a lotto protected (thru #7?) for Carlo and Darko and their $9 or so mil each of the next two years +.

 

Wait... wasn't this the same idiot that said we got ripped off and that ripped on Tmac last year?

 

Even if we do not win the title, it was still worth it. When Tmac scored 13 in 35 secs against the Spurs, I lost all doubts that we had made the right move. Watching Tmac is a whole lot more entertaining than watching the players we traded.

 

Burn. Can the Magic get any worse? Stay tuned.

 

I hate those writers who keep piling up those "funny" or mean smart-ass comments on somebody who's down. Why was that trade so bad? Tmac wanted to go, and specifically wanted to come to the Rockets, Magic got 3 starters from a Western playoff team, including an allstar. Magic was at fault for not able to keep Shaq, to keep TMac. But really, what else did anybody expect them to get for TMac, when they actually facing the threat to get nothing at all a year later. TMac forced trade here. As a Rockets fan, I love that. The GM did his best to get 3 starters from us. The plan wasn't that bad, what's bad was the execution and they failed to stick with their plan. The worst move was to let Cat go and get Mrs. Cristie. They didn't improve defense, worsened offense and left that move with an angry Francis.

Sometimes I have to wonder, what exactly did Steve do to deserve all kinds of bashing and hate from here. You didn't like his way of playing, that's fine, we traded him. As a person and player, he gave his all on the court and he loved the city and the team, and still does; he welcomed Yao with open arms and supported all teammates during difficult times. Man, we are such an unappreciated bunch. When Yao cannot live up to your hype, he's a p***y; when TMac has some problem, he's a quitter; when Francis is gone for 2 years, we are still bashing him as worthless and laughing at him? Keep laughing at Dallas fans or Lakers fans, we might just "outclass" them pretty soon, if we are not already.

This was not a bad deal at all, given the circumstance. It was very good for the Rockets, and it was acceptable for the Magic.

 

Yeah, I agree. I think it was really the Mobley deal that killed the whole thing. That was a disaster.

Not only did they give up a quality starter for nothing (Christie retired, right?) it also sent Francis into a tailspin, essentially ruining his season, too. Not that Francis shouldn't be able to play without Mobley, but Magic "management" should be smart enough to know how such a sudden and seemingly personal trade would effect a tempramental player like Francis.

 

NOt a bad trade for the knicks, but at the same time getting nothing for t-mac must hurt...

 

The lesson of the trade is:

A BAD GM can ruin a team and there are many bad GMs and owners in this league.

Good organizations win championships.

 

And he's done exactly what to deserve the praise some of you want to heap on him?

There are a lot of posters (myself included) who are fundamentally indifferent. But there is so much undeserved praise that it tends to polarize the subject of Francis.

Case in point. In the past, I've gotten into debates here about whether SF is headed to the HOF. Clearly in my mind. He never was. But some people want to put so much spin on the "he has heart" and "he's athletic" that it genuinely mystifies me.

It's ironic (to me at least) that the only time he has made the playoffs, he turns around and makes public quotes about how constrictive it was playing for VG. But yet teams that "play the right way" (Spurs, Pistons, etc) all play in a similar mode as what VG envisions for the Rockets...great D and use that D to get good, easy transition baskets. (The image of Van Gundy waving his arms at Francis to get the ball up court is indelibly etched into my memory banks).

Since Larry Brown was the orginator of the "Play the game the right way" quote, it'll be interesting to see how Francis fares in NY. But if past history is an indicator, I wouldn't be optimistic that it will be smooth.