Decisions

[Andrew]

I guess I'm thinking of later analysis. On the subject of that Draft though, I'm sure I remember the "experts" expressing surprise over Paul Pierce sliding to the tenth pick and suggesting a couple of teams missed out. Perhaps that's a better example of a decision in the Draft that was questionable/questioned at the time as well as being seen as a mistake in hindsight?

[shadowgrin]

The Clippers couldn't lose either way - we think. They went big, with raw but promising Michael Olowokandi, a 7-foot-1-inch athlete who may or may not be one of the better centers in the league by the millennium. In so doing, they dissed David Falk, who had determined that his guy, Bibby, was going to the Clippers and had had an 11th-hour repast with Los Angeles owner Donald Sterling to make a final pitch.

lolz.

[Bruce]

The trading of marbury for mcdyess, francis for penny, then francis for randolph... instead of going the usual route of dumping contracts, grab good draft picks and attract good free agent players. Isiah thomas goes the other route of grabbing bloated contracts, grabbing marginally talented picks and leaving no room for good free agent signings.

GSW not going after Arenas with the $$$ he deserves.

BOS, Joe Johnson for Rodney Rogers. Rodney Rogers became a good sixth man for them, but even Bill Russel called it and said they should have held on to Johnson.

[benji]

GSW not going after Arenas with the $$$ he deserves.

They couldn't, they could only offer him the MLE, and Washington offered twice that.

[benji]

Bizzump.

Without dealing McGrady (and Gooden), Orlando would've entered that 2004-05 season with: Dwight Howard, Gooden, Varejao, Juwan Howard upfront, McGrady, Hill (who was healthy and started 67 games that season), Turkoglu on the wings, and Lue and Nelson in the backcourt.

The Knicks-Francis trade is the worst move of Isiah's tenure by far, he sent out Ariza and an expiring contract for a player who wasn't that good in the first place and would never have worked with Marbury. Other than that, his tenure hasn't been as horrible as people think. They're forgetting where the Knicks were before he took over, starting Kurt Thomas-Othella Harrington-Latrell Sprewell-Allan Houston-Howard Eisley while Shandon Anderson, Clarence Weatherspoon, Charlie Ward and Michael Doleac were the top reserves.

No long term point guards, a wing with worthless gunners and overpaid Allan Houston, a frontcourt that somehow had FOUR jump shooters. With Doleac as the only person under 29.

[SpaceFlare]

The Knicks misfortunes actually had begun when they traded Ewing away.

Also I think McGrady bailed out on Orlando and was adamant that the Magic trade the pick for veteran help or trade him. I don't know how serious the threat was but the Magic decided to pull the trigger and trade him to the Rockets.

[benji]

I was talking about Isiah primarily, ignoring Layden, who lots of Knicks fans seem to forget they hated with the same passion previously. Less than Ewing, it was really the Finals run that screwed them. They thought they were a contender when in reality they were miles from it. Then swapping Ewing for Longley and Rice. And turning Rice into Anderson and Eisley. Ouch.

Yeah, I know McGrady wanted out if they couldn't improve the team, but I think he would've relented in the wake of seeing how good Howard was, plus Gooden and Varejao, a healthy Hill, and the additions of Turkolgu and Nelson. I would've taken the chance, especially considering Francis and Mobley were the best they could do, and combined they weren't as good as McGrady at his peak.

[SpaceFlare]

I think it was more of Weisbrod and T-Mac hating each other's guts which led to the trade. And the Magic didn't want to spoil T-Mac by firing Weisbrod to cater to him. I was actually suprised Francis and Mobley were pretty much the Rockets had to give up for T-Mac, who came along with a serviceable Juwan Howard.

I think Francis had always been a bit overrated back in his time in Houston. Sure he had gaudy stats but stats don't always tell the whole story. Whenever I watched the Rockets play, he would be pounding the ball too much and end up firing some poor perimeter jumper if time was expiring or pass it to Mobley or Jackson for them to take the shot. Francis dominated the ball and I think he actually hurts the team rather than helps it. I was surprised that people thought of him as a franchise player.

And T-Mac actually said he didn't want to stick with a rebuilding team and wait for Howard to grow. Something tells me if they replaced the GM so that T-Mac would stay, T-Mac would push the GM to draft Okafor instead, who was more NBA-ready than Howard was at the time. So I think it was still in the Magic's interest to give up McGrady.

It's amazing how superstars can pressure GMs to make moves. The Stro signing was urged by McGrady. And who could forget T-Mac's cousin, Vince Carter, demanding they sign Alvin Williams, Antonio Davis, and I think it was Jerome Williams to long-term contracts... All of which their respective GMs followed. Quite frankly, I believe the players should just let the GMs do their job in peace rather than pressure them into doing things.

[Andrew]

I was talking about Isiah primarily, ignoring Layden, who lots of Knicks fans seem to forget they hated with the same passion previously.

It's probably just a case of Layden being old news since Isiah's been in the position going on five years. Or perhaps it's the job security Isiah seemingly enjoys despite his shortcomings.

[benji]

I think Francis had always been a bit overrated back in his time in Houston. ... And T-Mac actually said he didn't want to stick with a rebuilding team and wait for Howard to grow.

Francis was overrated by per game stats, not more advanced ones. Or by anyone who actually saw him play and pound the ball into the floor for fourty minutes. It was clear he wasn't the point guard for Yao, he sucked at entry passes too. Same with Mobley.

I know McGrady didn't want to stick around, but I am of the belief that you have to ignore that. He was under contract, he had no real options. I think that seeing a healthy Hill, seeing Howard upclose, more Gooden, plus Varejao+Nelson+Turkoglu etc. would've gotten him over his lack of being traded. It may have been in the Magic's interest to get rid of McGrady, but not for what they got for him, along with dealing Gooden+Varejao.

[Andrew]

I guess it depends how difficult McGrady would have been prepared to be had they not traded him. If he'd been willing to sit out, choose not to give much of an effort or generally be surly and disruptive he might not have given them much of a choice. The trade certainly bombed, though.