No....you can't give up both Francis and Mobley for Tmac. That's way too much considering what both do each game. It's gotta be either Cat or Stevie and Mo or Cato. Cod
I will keep arguing that once TMac officially says he wants out this week, the demands will go down. <b> A LOT </b>. People are overeacting right now. Lets wait til the word is out first. Then lets see who is ready to deal what. Right now I doubt seriously that the Suns would trade Marion, JJ, and the 1st pick, or that Indiana will break up their whole team, or that the Rockets will give up 3 starters for TMac. You dont give up that much for a disgruntled player who is demanding a trade. We need to argue about this next week, when TMac says what his intentions are, and what other teams are <b> actually </b> offering.
I said no because of the lack of details over the "throw in" players. I would rather see us try to use Cat and Cato along with some of the Trade Exception. If we also got Gooden and a PG, maybe.
And no one is concerned about T-Mac's back because... I'll stay with Steve, Mobes, and Cato. Wait for the demand to go down. We've already been burned once this century in a 3-for-1 deal.
I would have appreciated a maybe option. I think it depends on the throw-ins. I also have some question as to whether McGrady is really a "top-5 player." The other four would be Garnett, Duncan, Bryant, and O'Neal? Why did those 4 all get into at least the secound round and McGrady led his team to the worst record in the league? I don't doubt his ability, but there seems to be some disconnect between that ability and the wins column. I'll leave it to the professionals to decide if he can really make the team better.
If you stuck Bryant into that Orlando team, I have no doubt the results would be pretty much the same.
Obviously, there's no way to know, but my guess is that the team would be fairly better and probably competing for a playoff spot. And, if you put in any of the big men -- Garnett, Duncan or O'Neal -- they'd certainly be in the playoffs.
I can't believe people are mulling over this deal because of Mobley and Cato. It's as if people forget that this is a team that barely made the playoffs, and got whacked in the 1st round. Yet apparently the role players on this team are worth more than one of the 5 best players in the NBA. It almost defies logic. Taking the deal in a vacuum, we're looking at upgrading Mobley -> T-Mac, and downgrade Cato/Francis -> Weatherspoon/Crappy-PG. Which doesn't seem like much of an upgrade, if at all. BUT getting an average PG is hardly that difficult. There's NVE and Brent Barry, among others. Orlando could very well send us Lue. At PF, Weatherspoon played quite well, and wouldn't be a significant downgrade to Cato. But it's the side benefits which makes the trade worth it. Just look at what Minnesota did managing to sign Cassell and the Kandi man for less than market value, and the Lakers with Malone and Payton. The same could happen with the Rockets, if we get T-Mac. Because no FA will EVER come here because of the "Mobley factor" or the "Cato factor".
It would be great if we get T-Mac + Howard. If Howard is not available, Lue is also acceptable. Anyway, We can easily find missing pieces after we land T-Mac.
Wait, where is the choice for "F**K YEAH!!" Health concerns? I can understand. Contractual questions? I can appreciate, but I'm not so worried about (since I'm a lawyer...). But some of these other responses absolutely floor me. What is it with people's obsession about "holes?" Want to talk about holes? Want to talk about the championship team that started Kenny "The Jet" Smith at PG? Want to talk about the championship team that started a SF at PF? If any of you naysayers have a Ferrari 360, I'll trade you my 'Vette and Cherokee or Explorer, and I won't care which SUV you ask for. Really. (not that I have those cars, but just as an example...)
Yes... because I believe the deal will be better because of the additional players involved, or the lower negotiated price.... And assuming TMac signs an extension.
Assuming there are no unforeseen issues with McGrady's back, the deal is a no brainer. Apart from the talent upgrade, there are just going to be too many FA's floating around due to the E-draft to not take the risk. Additionally, Mobley has a $6.7m player option for 2005-06 so if you only trade Francis, you run the risk of alienating Cat. (Also a risk for the team receiving Mobley as he will be an RFA next summer if he declines the POpt thus diminishing his trade value). With a $6.99M TE, an MLE, vet minimums, and 29 players available thru CHA, that's more than enough to fill out a a Yao-TMac-JJax based roster.
