Says you! How is that a no-brainer? You're getting rid of a quarter of your team. To me, saying no to this deal is a no-brainer. Orlando can't possibly think they can get all of that. LOOK AT WHAT WE GOT OUT OF THE PIPPEN TRADE. WE COULDN"T EVEN GET O'NEAL IN THAT DEAL. If TMac decides that he wants to come to Houston, then CD would be dumb to give all that up. Mo would have to be one of the players that goes for me to say yes.
Who gives a flying leap about swapping 1/4 of a team that made the playoffs once in 5 seasons. New players and roster turnover is a WC fact of life. Or have you forgotten the recent moves by the TWolves, Mavs and the Spurs? TMac > Francis (this is not even debatable) Mobley = FA talent...under-sized SG in a league awash in SG's Cato < Jahidi White Francis is inefficient and TO prone. There's a reason 7 in 10 posters would do the move. There's been more than enough good posts in this thread justifying the trade. Take the time to go read a few.
Mr. Sheep Very good argument! Tmac > Francis OK. But that is not the deal TMAC<Cato, Cat, SF FA = Cat OK? so what? My response: We can add players through free agency with or without TMAC. White>Cato Whatever, you're entitled to your opinion. 7 out of 10 people would disagree with you. When was White included in the deal by the way? Oh I get it. Let me try... Fisher>Tinsley.
Funny you should mention Minnesota with Cassell & the Lakers with Malone. Let's see now. Both were healthy at the start of the season & Malone was the ironman icon. Both the Twolves & Lakers win the 1st & second rounds. Now that is impressive! However, Cassell is injured & can't play the last 2 games of the conference finals. The Twolves therefore loose the finals to the Lakers & they go into the NBA finals as overwhelming favorites. But wait, Malone messes up his knee against the Twolves & really can't play in the NBA finals. The result is that the Lakers are totally dominated by a "team" of cast off role players who know how to play basketball. Now you want to trade 3 healthy starters for a super player who, because of back problems, only plays 3/4 of a season!?! Let's say TMac goes down before the end of the season, as he normally does. That leaves us being carried by Yao & MoT. That may not even get us into the playoffs! I say NO DEAL!!!
I voted yes. I love Steve and I think he'll defintely make us regret trading him but if we can get McGrady back I say go for it. Cato's contract makes him very dealable. Love cat, took less money, changed his role EVERY year. He is everything I want in a supporting player (not really just a role player but someone along the level of James Worthy or Jeff Hornecek), But if we can get T- Mac I say do it.
That is right, T-Mac is Super Star,..... Frances, Mobley, Cato are very overrated............. we will never win championship with those three... with T-Mac...... we will be a champion in a year or two
OK... time to end my 2 year long silence on matters concerning the Rockets. Tracy McGrady is an NBA superstar stuck in a crap infested mess known as the Orlando Magic. To acquire this diamond in a ****load of rough, we most certainly will have to give up Steve Francis and other valuable assets (i.e Mobley, Cato etc...) as well as taking on one of their salary disasters (Howard or Hill) Pros - We are getting Tracy McGrady in return, This very league's leading scorer... a guy who is much in his prime and only 25 years old (Younger than Francis and Mobley) to match up with Yao Ming. Cons - We lose our starting backcourt, possibly ensuring a total reworking of the offense which could take a lot of time to work out the bumps. Cato is a very valuable part of our depth in the frontcourt, is Juwan Howard (assuming he's part of the deal) going to come in and contribute? No offense but Juwan's jumpshot is one of the most painful things to watch in the NBA. Analysis - It would be very hard for me to swallow this deal, I love Steve and Cat, seeing both of them gone at once would be a blow to a lot of us at first, but we have to stop being sentimental and realize this team needs to COMPETE, not just make the playoffs. Look at Sacramento for instance, they gave up a popular guy like Jason Williams and acquired Mike Bibby to this dismay of many fans, but ask any of them now and they'd do that trade again in a nanosecond. If I was positive we could acquire McGrady and build the team around his scoring ability as well as Yao's inside presence I'd say go for it. BUT you still need a strong supporting cast, the Lakers mighty as Kobe and Shaq are, were reduced to nothing when Detroit took away their other options. Conclusion - Getting T-Mac and Yao and making them the next Kobe and Shaq to propel this team to multiple championships is just too tantalizing to pass up, I have to agree with the majority of you guys here and give it my all systems go.
me too Half a Hill is still decent T-Mac too good to pass on IMO [unless his back is worse than we think] I would hate to lose SF but T-mac is all world to me . . . [I don't know about his defense. . . ] Rocket River
Apart from you're incredibly articulate roll the eyes response to the 7 in comment 10, let's address a few things you seem to be ignoring.... In addition to all of the "sheep", you'll find some of the most respected posters on this board in favor of moving Francis, Mobley and Cato for McGrady. I totally defy you to find one of the heavy-hitters on this board that hiccups over the deal. You are obviously speed reading through this and Clutch's thread because ample reasons have been given why it works and should be done if that is the bottomline for ORL. Or maybe you'd prefer PHX gets McGrady because we won't part with Mobley? Secondly, anyone with a rudimentary understanding of trade rules understands that this 3 for 1 doesn't work capwise unless ORL adds ~$7m in contracts. So apart from the deal being close as is, ORL (or a 3rd team) will have to balance it out. Third...are you suggesting FA's want to come here to play with Francis and Mobley? That's a real stretch. How do you figure value-add FA's will want to struggle for PT with two 40+ mpg guards with no strong history of sharing the ball is a mystery to me. Lastly, I guess some people need logic spoon-fed to them. White > Cato means that players like Jahidi White (and Elden Campbell) are being left unprotected in the E-draft. But you want to consider adding Cato to a Francis-McGrady trade a deal breaker? Excuse me while I go hand out with the sheep...
how many of you still regret we didn't draft Clyde Drexler or Rashaad Lewis (those were almost no brainers) We didn't take the Bulls offer of the #3 pick (Jordan) for Ralph Sampson? Make the trade! McGrady is superstar talent, he has led the league in scoring If he is healthy, Do it!
Yeah, I would...but not because I think TMac will make us better, but because I think that, down the road, we could get more for McGrady in another trade than for Francis/Mobley.
I go back and forth (which means it is something that Orlando would at least consider). All things being equal, I take the person with the most talent. As of this writing, I would do it; as long as, the fill-in is better than Mike Wilks or Clarence Weatherspoon. What about Bogans as the fill in?
First of all, it would be terrible to see SF go. As badly as he played this year, I think he did make a lot of progress, and it will be great to see him in this system for another year if he does stay. The only Rocket replica jersey I own is a Francis jersey. As frustrated as I was with him this year, I still hope he can learn to play smarter and become the player that he has the potential to become. Having said that, one thing people are not mentioning is that trading SF/Cat would allow JJ to play his natural position, the 2. JJ was great for our team last year playing out of position, imagine what he could do playing his "real" position. The only resevation I have is that we would absolutely have nobody running the show. But the solution is Brent Barry, he is an excellent passer and shooter. Imagaine your 1, 2, and 3 positions being 6'6", 6'6", and 6'8". Does that remind anyone of the old Bulls backcourts? Losing Cato would also be a big blow, but, in my mind, Drew Gooden has a chance to be pretty good role player in this league, if you saw him play in college you would believe that. And if we can Lue also in the deal? Tha solves the depth problem for the most part. So final answer? As long as TMac is healthy, I know what my vote is, but I can't bring myself to actually say the words...
Instead of adding Cat I would look into sending Taylor (unlikely that Orlando would want him) if we can. Then add Derrick Fisher as our point. Bring Charlie Ward to back up both CAT and Fisher Line up: Fisher Cat Jackson maybe Gooden YAO I like the way that is starting to shape up....
Hello everyone! Been reading the lastest boards but never really posted anything before. I couldn't resist any longer since all this talk about McGrady has got me excited!! I would probably do the trade but would have to take into consideration the following: * T-Mac's style of play vs. JVG coaching style. Would T-Mac fit into the JVG system? JVG style is first defense second offense ... * T-Mac's work ethic. * Can T-Mac work well with Yoa? * Finally, if they did trade Mobley, Francis, and Cato for T-Mac who would play PG? This issue would have to be addressed prior to any trade. I know that last season Chicago was willing to trade Crawford who had a breakout season. If they Rockets could make a three way deal where the Rockets could land Crawford that would be an impressive backcourt. Starting Five: Crawford - PG T-Mac - SG Jim Jackson - SF McDyess - PF (worth the risk) Yao - C Someone email the Rockets about Crawford
Lol. Speaking of defying logic! I actually like the rest of your post, which is very sensible. But, are you trying to argue that these guys who won 45 games and were eliminated in the first round are worth less than a guy who won only 21 games, in the Eastern Conference no less, to capture the most ping pong balls in the league? Sure, McGrady is the better player, but this last regular season's win/loss record is not the place to go for evidence! How many regret trading for Glen Rice, or Scottie Pippen, or Eddie Griffin? Every deal is a gamble, and sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't make. Remember our failed attempts to sign Croshere or Marc Jackson? Aren't you glad now we failed to sign these guys to contracts? I'm not saying McGrady is necessarily a disaster waiting to happen. I'm saying no deal is a no-brainer. We're talking about committing at least the better part of a decade and 100 million dollars and the future fortunes of the franchise to this guy. When you're making a decision of such magnitude, there's no such thing as a no-brainer. Screw this one up and the Rockets will be paying for it for years to come.
I just don't see the need to pull any triggers. a team needs to stay together for two years to develop chemistry. the team we have now has(basically) been together for two seasons, with one season with the new coach complete. i am confident that the team we have now will play to their potential next season.
LMAO...man thankfully you nutz aren't allowed to be GMs. Let me get this, if you don't get Juwanna Man or Drew the Black Hole you are not pulling the trigger? You are worried about who is going to play PG but I can probably pull up a 150+ posts that would prefer MarK Jackson at PG to SF. If I could put Pau Gasol in a vacuum, I would let Orlando craft any deal they want from the remaining players as long as we end up with Pau and T Mac. Team A PG Moochie Norris or similar scrub SG Tmac SF Jim Jackson PF Mo Taylor C Yao Ming Team B PG Steve Francis SG Cuttino Mobely SF Jim Jackson PF Kelvin Cato C Yao Ming Which team do you think wins in the playoffs?
Hell No! Are you kidding? What have any of these players in Orlando done to show that they are any better/more capable of winning then any of the Rox? From possible Eastern Finals contender to the worst record in the NBA? I even heard some posts saying "Grant Hill: Yea!" THAT IS RIDICULOUS!!! The Rockets need work, yes; need to be re-made in the image of the horrible, horrible Magic? I sure hope not: and back to all the T-Mac lovers who are ready to shove SF3 & Cat out the door (and the Yao Only fans who, I guess, want to make the Rox the Chinese National Team so that he can lead the team in all statistical categories): we don't need a 25-40 shot a night player on this team. It will not improve or relieve Yao's burden, the Rox defence or (likely) our W-L %. Why trade (if you feel they are) mediocre players for mediocre players? Seems like a waste of time & money to me....
