T-mac a Rocket, officially

[VMS]

Its official, the trade has been made. Go to nba.com for more info.

http://www.nba.com/magic/news/Francis-112861-66.html

[Mazzocchi]

thats good i guess(?)

[PiksS]

F*CK T-MAC
EH....DAMM...
......
Go Rockets

[VMS]

I'm a faithful 'gic fan, and am sooo happy to see this trade go down. Now we have a fairly decent lineup.

C Dwight Howard
PF Kelvin Cato
SF Cuttino Mobley
SG Steve Francis
PG Jameer Nelson

Although basically we have 2 C's and 3 guards, I'm sure this will be the lineup, if not, then in a different order.

[fgrep15]

No:

PG: Francis
SG: Mobley
SF: Hill/ Bogans
PF: Howard
C: Cato

[VMS]

I'll be pissed if Nelson doesn't start...

[fgrep15]

I don't think he will, him and Gooden or him and Howard will be 6th and 7th man.

[VMS]

well not howard for sure, he's gone, chief

[fgrep15]

Dwight Howard

[VMS]

oh, der

[HowAreYao?]

I'm SO glad this thing finally went down. I was on pins and needles with all these talks of Phoenix and Indiana trying to crash the party.

I can't wait to go to Toyota Center tomorrow for the press conference that's open to the public. I think this is the beginning of the Rockets return to the elite group of teams in the league, and I want to be there for every minute of it!

I can't wait for the season to get started, but for now I'm just excited that this thing got done and to find out what we're going to do with our 7million dollar mid-level exception. Hopefully we'll go get a solid point like Derek Fisher, Brent Barry, or Nick Van Exel. I definitely like Lue and Gaines as capable backups but I'd be a bit worried if it was up to them to run the team the whole season, and hopefully deep into the playoffs.

Then again, if the Rockets do pickup a point guard w/ the exception, then they'll have 4 PG's and when they so desperately need a backup center, 1 or 2 of those guys would have to be on the way out. I hope it would be Mike Wilks and/or Lue considering they are both strictly point guards, and Gaines can play 1,2, or 3. I heard some talk on the radio today about the possibility of picking up Greg Ostertag, which I think would work out great because he's just good enough to be a capable starter if Yao suffers an injury at some point and he's obviously a viable backup.

I think/hope it'll turn out like this...

PG: (D. Fisher or B. Barry ???) / Gaines
SG: McGrady / Gaines / J. Jackson
SF: J. Jackson / Nochbar / Gaines
PF: Howard / Taylor
C: Yao / (G. Ostertag ???)

In addition, Fisher can play SG at times, and Barry is capable of playing 1,2, and 3 if needed. If the lineup does indeed look similar to this, I am loving the versatility in the backcourt...quite nice, quite nice indeed

Not that anybody cares, but I felt like talking about it

[FanOfAll]

I'm a faithful 'gic fan, and am sooo happy to see this trade go down. Now we have a fairly decent lineup.

C Dwight Howard
PF Kelvin Cato
SF Cuttino Mobley
SG Steve Francis
PG Jameer Nelson

Although basically we have 2 C's and 3 guards, I'm sure this will be the lineup, if not, then in a different order.

Cato is definitely playing center, not Howard. He's a real big boy...Howard is a lot skinnier. Mobley can't play SF...I hear he's going to get dealt. If they can't deal him, I'm pretty sure he'll start with Francis in the backcourt (otherwise there's going to be a lot of whining in that lockerroom). Don't worry, the Nelson-Francis backcourt will get lots of playing time.

[magius]

good trade for houston, orlando's going nowhere. again.

[Andrew]

Trading away Francis and Mobley helps JVG continue with his plans to hand the team over to Yao, but getting T-Mac in return seems to go against that plan. On paper it's a pretty good deal for the Rockets to say the least, but I'm still skeptical as to whether a Yao/T-Mac pairing would work as well as the Rockets might hope.

[Nick]

Francis and Mobley take more shots than Tmac anyway, don't they?

[Matt]

even though T-Mac is a rocket i still think the Rockets should build around Yao.....he has more potential to deliver a championship

[Nel]

Francis and Mobley take more shots than Tmac anyway, don't they?

You got that ryt!

[Andrew]

Francis and Mobley take more shots than Tmac anyway, don't they?

That's true. Francis and Mobley combined for an average of about 27 field goal attempts per game, while T-Mac averaged around 23 attempts per game last season. But that's only a difference of four attempts, and T-Mac is accustomed to being the number one option. For Yao (12.5 FG attempts per game in 03/04) to be the number one option, T-Mac would still have to give up some shot attempts.

I'm not saying there's no way it will work or that the Rockets will fall out of the top eight in the West, I just think it's an odd move when the Rockets are trying to establish Yao as the first option. If they're concerned about Francis and Mobley sharing the ball, replacing them with Tracy McGrady doesn't seem to solve the problem.

[Micchy_boy]

i'm want orlando to get the better of this trade. nowhere to go but up for olando while rockets will fly then go down.

Cant wait to see Magics and Rockets next season!!!

Orlando
C - Cato
PF - Howard
SF - Hill
SG - Mobley
PG - Francis
Bench
Gooden and Nelson plus Bogans

Cato step up his game as well as mobley
Francis will prove he is a franchise
Howard and Nelson will prove to be a good rookies
Hill -return and play like the old Grant Hill

Houston
First game of the night, jump ball win by Yao. Lue get the ball, pass to T-mac and drive the the basket then...... T-mac will be injured and will be sideline for the whole season.

[.]

Im saying this right now, the Rockets wont have a better record then the last one with this trade

[Fresh8]

Yeah- Stevie will be able to prove he can be the manager of a fast food franchise!

Man- since I follow the Rockets and Yao...I dont like it...Steve Francis was going somewhere wtih this team. You gotta respect the Franchise more than T-mac. T-mac was selfish, he didnt play as hard cause his team sucked and wanted to bail outta Orlando! And whoever thinks Franchise is selfish (I was one) should be ashamed cause he had valid reasons for not going to Orlando...He wasnt saying that he didnt want to go but he didnt want to leave... He deserves some love...

The rockets screwed up their team man! Frnacis and Yao were supposed to be the next big 1-2 but now it's different...damn Houston...

I dont have much else to say cause off my mind there is too much to put down but I think for once...I can say I think the Magic will be interesting- I'm not jumping onto the bandwagon!

But Hey- I do like their possible starters...here;s my advice to them!

C: Cato (Yeah- he can block shots!)
PF: Howard (Be like KG!)
SF: Hill (PLay like Grant Hill!)
SG: Francis (Finally he can play the 2...he was born not to!)
PG: Nelson (He can handle the ball!)

6th man: Mobley (C'mon now- hit some big shoits...but not against Kobe and da Lakers!)

[EGarrett]

You gotta respect the Franchise more than T-mac. T-mac was selfish, he didnt play as hard cause his team sucked and wanted to bail outta Orlando!

Steve Francis is/was one of the most selfish players in the league. Did you ever watch the Rockets play in the last 5 minutes of close games? He takes the ball up...drives to the rack and lays it up...over and over and over...

And whoever thinks Franchise is selfish (I was one) should be ashamed cause he had valid reasons for not going to Orlando...He wasnt saying that he didnt want to go but he didnt want to leave... He deserves some love...

This is the same Steve Francis who refused to play for the Vancouver Grizzlies, and forced them to trade him to Houston when he was drafted.

The rockets screwed up their team man! Frnacis and Yao were supposed to be the next big 1-2 but now it's different...damn Houston...

Yao and McGrady will be a MUCH better tandem than Yao and Francis. Yao will get the ball more often because McGrady isn't the point guard and it will be someone else's job to divide their shots. I also expect McGrady to have a different attitude.

C: Cato (Yeah- he can block shots!)
PF: Howard (Be like KG!)
SF: Hill (PLay like Grant Hill!)
SG: Francis (Finally he can play the 2...he was born not to!)
PG: Nelson (He can handle the ball!)

I don't see Francis allowing Mobley to not be a starter. And if you think the Yao freeze-out was something...he was a constant mismatch that they ignored...wait til you see what they do to the 18 year old kid who's still learning the game.

[hmm]

.

[Macca]

Quote:
C: Cato (Yeah- he can block shots!)
PF: Howard (Be like KG!)
SF: Hill (PLay like Grant Hill!)
SG: Francis (Finally he can play the 2...he was born not to!)
PG: Nelson (He can handle the ball!)

First, my take on all this is that Houston may have got the better end of the stick, but it could also lead to a certain Shaq-Kobe situation, however, Yao is a pretty nice guy and Jeff or Steve- what ever one of the Van Gundy's is coaching Houston, he'll figure out a way to play both, and hopefully avoid a train wreck like Kobe and Shaq. With this said, the Rockets in my view, will be no different from last year, because it all looks good on paper and by hearsay, but in the end, when you crunch the numbers, it’s really not a big change. In fact, with the loss of Cato, they can’t fill that void of PF- even with Juwan.

Yao and McGrady will be a MUCH better tandem than Yao and Francis. Yao will get the ball more often because McGrady isn't the point guard and it will be someone else's job to divide their shots. I also expect McGrady to have a different attitude.

Now this I agree with. If what the other stuff I've said makes any sense at all, or is even arguably right in the first place. But wait, there's more...

Now for the Magic: Orlando might have got a good deal, in that Francis and Nelson both at the pg will be like D-Fish and The Glove- two great PG's. Mobley won't be able to fill McGrady's shoes for sure, and Hill starting? Ain't gonna happen mate. Free Agents are coming up this summer, and I'm sure there are plenty of F's in that pool that are better than Hill. Another thing, although Cato will start C, D. Howard ain't gonna start PF yet. They got Gooden, who will start ahead of a rookie. May I remind you that Howard is a rookie, and that the same thing happened to Amare in 2003. He didn’t start starting until January. The rookie has to earn the respect of his team, no matter if he is the next MJ or Magic. They have to work to show what they're made of, to get that spot, and even then, Drew G, he ain't gonna give up that spot easily... expect him to be working his ass off this summer.

So my conclusion after all this is, the players involved are all alike, and although it might seem that there will be no change, it might spark some sort of chemisty, and the results for oth teams will be interesting to follow.
A very good trade, and both team's look the better for it.

That’s my 5 cent take on all this.

Macca

P.S:: www.nba.com/rockets
Here’s a link with a photo and news of McGrady in a Rockets uniform (it’s fake… but the news item is good)

[hmm]

.