NBA Trade MADNESS

[IWSfan4life]

With the draft only 3 days away and the Bobcats pickup tomarrow, the NBA has been turned UPSIDE F'N DOWN with trade talks. 3 of the top 5 players in the league (T-Mac, Kobe, Shaq) are all in the trade mix very early and almost locks to be moved.

The Bobcats traded the 4th pick to the Clippers for the 2nd overall pick, so they can get Howard or Okafor in the draft Thursday. Talks are that Kobe will do it without Shaq in either Memphis or LA with the Clips, while Shaq and T-Mac team up in Dallas (they ARE best friends). But it's also been said that T-Mac would go to Houston for Mobley, Francis and Cato.

Bottom line, i'm loving this. Who do we think is going where? Will Kobe go back to LA since Shaq is gone, or will he totally break up the Lakers? Will Malone leave like everyone else, or just retire? Will T-mac stay in the east, or will he pull to get Shaq in Dallas with Dirk?

Wow! So much going on in so little time...

-Jason Burke

[Agent Kev]

The Hawks better do something with all of this damn cap room they have. Trade up and get Howard!

[Voltage XX]

Wow, I sure am out of it....I had NO f*ckin' idea what you were talking about when you mentioned the "Bobcats." I just checked on Sportsline so I know what's up now, but still....wow.

[Agent Kev]

Deal sending McGrady to Houston becomes official
June 29, 2004
SportsLine.com wire reports

HOUSTON -- Tracy McGrady is leaving his hometown team for Houston in a blockbuster trade that sends Steve Francis to the Orlando Magic and gives the Rockets one of the NBA's most intriguing duos.

The deal, which had been in the works for nearly two weeks, also sent forward Juwan Howard and guards Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines to the Rockets. The Magic will acquire guard Cuttino Mobley and forward Kelvin Cato.

COMMENTARY
Third stop the charm for wayward star McGrady?
by Mike Kahn

•What's Your Take?
Tell Mike your opinion!

"I just knew it was going to take time," McGrady told ESPN Tuesday night. "I'm happy and it's time to move on."

The trade was finalized after Francis' meeting with Magic general manager John Weisbrod and other team officials in Orlando on Tuesday.

McGrady, a two-time NBA scoring champion, now joins 7-foot-5 Yao Ming to form a combination that potentially could be as dominant as the Los Angeles Lakers' three-time title twosome of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

"I sure hope so," McGrady said in the ESPN interview. "I can't predict the future, but it definitely would be nice. The ultimate goal is to win a championship for the Houston Rockets."

And with the Lakers splintering apart since coming up short in the NBA Finals, Houston immediately looks like a serious championship contender in the Western Conference next season.

McGrady signed with the Magic in 2000, thinking he and Grant Hill could push an up-and-coming squad over the top. But Hill's bad left ankle limited him to 37 games in four seasons, and McGrady's load grew heavier with each passing year.

Tired of carrying a mediocre franchise, McGrady vowed to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract that was to go into effect at the end of next season. But Orlando did not want him to leave without the team receiving compensation -- like O'Neal did eight years ago.

McGrady, 25, becomes the fourth defending scoring champion in NBA history to be dealt away, and the first since the Buffalo Braves sent Bob McAdoo to the New York Knicks in 1976.

Francis, a three-time All-Star, averaged 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists last season to join Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Hill as the only players in league history to average at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in each of their first five years.

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Francis, Mobley and Yao led the Rockets to the playoffs last season for the first time in five years. Houston lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.

But Francis, who flourished in an up-tempo offense for the previous four years, was put on the summer trading block after posting the worst offensive numbers of his career in new coach Jeff Van Gundy's slower-paced scheme.

When the deal was first discussed last week, Francis balked at joining the rebuilding Magic. But Francis' agent, Jeff Fried, said a talk between the point guard and Weisbrod after Thursday's draft helped alleviate some of the All-Star guard's concerns about joining the Magic.

Fried said Weisbrod convinced Francis the Magic could improve quickly with the additions of No. 1 draft pick Dwight Howard, a 6-foot-11 high school star from Atlanta, and point guard Jameer Nelson, the point guard from St. Joseph's who won virtually every college player of the year award last season.

Francis was also impressed that the Magic wanted to make him the centerpiece of the rebuilding franchise.

"I think that he certainly believes in what John is trying to build," Fried told the Associated Press Tuesday. The Magic "could well have gotten almost any player in the league for Tracy McGrady. Steve felt pretty pleased with their reasons for talking to him and what his role might be in the rebuilding process."

Mobley, one of Francis' best friends, comes to Orlando after averaging 17.1 points and four rebounds a game in six seasons with the Rockets. A second-round pick by Houston in 1998, Mobley has become one of the league's most underrated players.

Cato, a 6-11 power forward, averaged 6.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in five years with the Rockets.

"Some days you are going to be some place. Some days you can be moved tomorrow," Cato told Houston television station KRIV. "You take it for what it's worth."

Howard, a 10-year veteran, has averaged 17.8 points and 7.4 rebounds with Washington, Dallas, Denver and Orlando. Last season, he was second on the Magic in scoring (17.0 points per game) and first in rebounding (7.0).

Lue averaged career highs of 10.5 points and 4.2 assists with Orlando last season, his first as a full-time starter. The 6-foot guard played on two championship teams with the Lakers in 2000 and 2001.

Gaines, the 15th overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft, saw little time as a rookie with the Magic. He averaged only 1.8 points in 9.6 minutes for the league's worst team.

"I think they did a tremendous job on this trade," McGrady said. "I think both teams are going to benefit."

[IWSfan4life]

Yeah i read this yesterday night and forgot to post it. I think this will make the Rockets a title contender somewhat soon, considering Ty Lue is a pretty good PG and putting McGrady with Ming is very deadly. Add Howard to that mix and you have a heck of a team.

From the Magic's perspective they also got too stars and a shot blocker, and maybe now Gooden can be a bigtime option again. They have a ways to go, but this may help them in the long run too.

And now...do we think Shaq is going to Dallas for sure? I mean Dallas is one of the few teams that can pay for him, and they made the move to Trade Jamison to specifically get Devean Harris for the Lakers, so i'm thinking this will be a done deal by the end of next week.

Thoughts?

-Jason Burke

[Agent Kev]

Stylesclash2004 said:

And now...do we think Shaq is going to Dallas for sure? I mean Dallas is one of the few teams that can pay for him, and they made the move to Trade Jamison to specifically get Devean Harris for the Lakers, so i'm thinking this will be a done deal by the end of next week.

Thoughts?

Agreed. Shaq has already put his house in LA up for sale. Plus Shaq has voiced his displeasure of what is going on in LA. LA should have just sat down Kobe and Shaq and worked things out. However, if I was LA and I had to make a choice I would choose Kobe since he has 10 yrs or so left in him and Shaq only has about 3.

[IWSfan4life]

Yeah i knew they couldnt co-exist and i'd pick Kobe over Shaq as well due to the same reasons. Heck, if the kid is healthy and court isn't on his mind he's the closest thing playing in the NBA right now to Jordan. But Shaq overall will make Dallas an instant title contender, which makes me a very happy boy!

-Jason Burke

[Agent Kev]

Stylesclash2004 said:

Yeah i knew they couldnt co-exist and i'd pick Kobe over Shaq as well due to the same reasons. Heck, if the kid is healthy and court isn't on his mind he's the closest thing playing in the NBA right now to Jordan. But Shaq overall will make Dallas an instant title contender, which makes me a very happy boy!

-Jason Burke

Agreed. The one thing that keeps Kobe from being "great" is putting himself over the team. In order to be a great player you have to make your teammates better and he is yet to accomplish this or realize how to do this.

[IWSfan4life]

I think he has a very steady head on his shoulders and i think the only time he puts himself over the team is clutch time when he has to. I also think he HAS made Rush, George, Fisher ect. better (up until the Finals). But his performance in the finals goes to show that he's nowhere NEAR MJ. MJ would have never in a million years put up the crappy numbers Kobe did in the Finals and then lose a guarenteed victory game! Kobe is still elite, but that brings him back down to earth.

-Jason burke

[IWSfan4life]

To keep up with the major moves, the Shaq deal was done and Kobe just resigned with the Lakers!

-jason Burke