Home Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum

McGrady and Yao? Looks like it is going to happen!

What will that do for his cards ( McGrady )? Or does he need a championship now for any movement? Check it out:

The Rockets and Magic have finalized a deal to send Tracy McGrady to Houston -- provided none of the other principal names in the multi-player trade are selected in Tuesday's expansion draft, ESPN's Jim Gray reports.


The trade also includes Juwan Howard to Houston, while Orlando will get Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato in return. Of those five players, McGrady and Francis are protected and cannot be drafted by the Bobcats. If Charlotte passes on Howard, Mobley and Cato, then the deal is done, Gray reports.




Tuesday, June 22
Tracy McGrady can opt out of his contract next year. He made it clear that he will not re-sign with Orlando. So the Magic felt like they had to do something, so they started to listen to offers.

We reported this on Friday that Indiana had made an offer and Houston made an offer. When Indiana would not put Ron Artest in the deal, Orlando felt like this offer of Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato was the best one they could get to put a star player in Orlando and also try to rebuild a franchise.

So they felt like with the No. 1 pick along with Steve Francis, that's a good start for rebuilding&The problems Steve Francis had with Jeff Van Gundy were obvious all season. We talked about it many times. It was clear when the season was over Jeff Van Gundy was going to move Steve Francis. There was some talk about going to Seattle for Ray Allen ... when you get a chance to get a guy like Tracy McGrady you try and do it.



To make the trade work financially under the salary-cap rules, the Magic would also send Tyronn Lue to Houston, reports ESPN's David Aldridge. Andrew DeClercq may also be shipped to Houston.


Jeff Fried, Francis' agent, told the Houston Chronicle on Monday that Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson told him the trade was not complete but was close.


"I spoke to Carroll and it was not a done deal," Fried told the paper. "It's close. It's subject to a few contingencies."


The New York Times reported that the trade could not become official until July 15 due to a stipulation in Francis' contract that makes him a base-year compensation player.


In the expansion draft (Tuesday, 7 ET), the Bobcats will select 14 players from existing NBA rosters. Few of those players are expected to wind up on Charlotte's opening-night roster.


"We have been in conversations with the Magic, and we're good listeners and good facilitators," Bobcats coach and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff said. "We have to make a decision not to do anything that's vindictive, but to do something we can derive some benefit from. The conversations we've had have been cordial conversations."


McGrady can opt out of his seven-year, $93 million contract after next season, and has said he will exercise that option unless Orlando improves dramatically from the 21-61 record this past season. But the Magic have vowed to trade him, rather than letting the four-time All Star leave without any compensation -- like Shaquille O'Neal did eight years ago when he signed with the Lakers as a free agent.


Since McGrady's declaration, trade rumors involving the NBA's leading scorer have been flying, although the Magic have denied that any trades are on the horizon.


In fact, Orlando general manager John Weisbrod said Saturday that the club is still in contract discussions with McGrady.


"I certainly will not confirm that T-Mac is going to be traded," Weisbrod said. "I'm going to continue to say on T-Mac what I have said for the last month, which is that Arn [Tellem, McGrady's agent] and I are in discussions."


McGrady told the Orlando Sentinel on Saturday that he could not discuss the situation "until it's official ... after the draft."


Added McGrady: "I can't let my tricks out of the bag. I don't have any comment."


Francis, who has a $75 million contract, has told the Rockets that he does not want to be traded to Orlando. The Magic had the NBA's worst record last season while the Rockets made the playoffs. But Gray reports that Francis has no veto power and that the deal does not hinge on his approval.


"I thought we were really building something, something very good in Houston," Francis said. "Obviously that's not the direction they want to go. I still think we could be a very good team.


"I'm not crying. Like I told you before, I know this is a business. Things like that happen. I'm not mad. I'm not upset. This is what they're trying to do. But like I said, I still think we could be something."



Francis wouldn't comment about the possibility of going to the Magic.



Fried told the newspaper that Francis wasn't happy about the prospects of playing for the Magic in a rebuilding situation.


"Steve's preference is to not go to Orlando," Fried said. "Steve's tasted the playoffs. (The Rockets) got a series under their belts. He was looking forward to going further with the same Rockets team but with another year of experience together. This is certainly not his preference. He loves Houston."


Francis told Houston television station KRIV on Monday that if he goes to Orlando, he wants Los Angeles Lakers star Shaquille O'Neal as a teammate. He said he talked to O'Neal on Monday.



Nate Peake, another of Francis' agents, told KRIV that the Rockets and Magic may need to get another team involved for a trade to work


"Just like Tracy McGrady made it be known that he would like to come to Houston, I believe Steve Francis should be able to go to a place where he can succeed at," Peake said.



Francis has averaged 19.3 points, 6.4 assists and 6.1 rebounds in five seasons with the Rockets.



McGrady led the NBA in scoring the past two seasons, averaging 28 points per game last season.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.



If they were able to keep Francis and Yao, that would be even better!



TheRoach














image
7 MVP awards, the single season HR record, career walks record, single season walks record, 700HR/500SB, and two batting titles near 40 years old. How can one argue that those aren't stats of the greatest to ever play the game??? All this and there is still more to come!!!! Bonds:2005 NL MVP. Or are you going to doubt him again?

Comments

  • ctsoxfanctsoxfan Posts: 6,246 ✭✭
    Wow - the balance of power has shifted in the West, if this is true. I would rate the Yao/T-Mac combo as good as any in the league, especially if Shaq/Kobe ceases to exist. Van Gundy is a good coach, who deserved better than that bunch of misfits he was forced to coach in New York, and this should mean big things for the Rockets in 2005.

    Now, where does Shaq go? Dallas? Orlando? Nowhere?
    image
  • Dallas would be unstoppable if they got Shaq! But then again, I thought that of this recent Lakers team when they got The Glove, and The Mailman. Sometimes too many stars doesn't cut it.




    TheRoach




    image
    7 MVP awards, the single season HR record, career walks record, single season walks record, 700HR/500SB, and two batting titles near 40 years old. How can one argue that those aren't stats of the greatest to ever play the game??? All this and there is still more to come!!!! Bonds:2005 NL MVP. Or are you going to doubt him again?
Sign In or Register to comment.