Magic reportedly set to deal McGrady...Deal for Francis will be announced Wednesday

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5320088/
The Magic is expected to announce the trade, which was held up a week after Francis balked at playing for the last-place team, on Wednesday, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. Francis, a three-time all-star, is flying to Orlando today to meet with the Magic's management, including President John Weisbrod, the man who persuaded Francis to move to Orlando.

Under the terms of the trade, the Magic will send guard McGrady, forward Juwan Howard and guard Tyronn Lue to the Rockets for Francis, guard Cuttino Mobley and center Kelvin Cato, said the source.

As a Rocket fan this is the best news we could have gotten....we are rid of Francis

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>As a Rocket fan this is the best news we could have gotten....we are rid of Francis <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>.......and Orlando management is high on him. go figure. Hache was right, they really dont have a clue.

The Magic bought an instant trip to the playoffs with that back court which was better than nothing. If by some chance Hill plays they could be in good shape in the East. If he calls it quits, they have cap room for someone else?

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by BillDozer:
The Magic bought an instant trip to the playoffs with that back court which was better than nothing. If by some chance Hill plays they could be in good shape in the East. If he calls it quits, they have cap room for someone else?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
bUT fRancis wont take them far in the playoffs...its amazing at how much of a ball hog he is...wastes the 24 sec clock till nothing left and heaves a shot hopeing it will go in or he will get a call by the ref..

Idiots the Magic are.....Trade away McGrady, a top 3-4 player in the league who's a Superstar & performs night in and night out for a guy in Francis who's streaky,up and down and a semi~start at best... Just makes absolutely no sense at all. So basically winning the lottery and #1 pick in the draft was meaningless. You let one of the league's best go and use your #1 pick on a kid to replace him & only hope he can end up being half as good, when you could of taken the proven player in Okafor, tried to pursuade McGrady to stay, and rid of Grant Hill next year to free up money in order to sign another high~profile player......... take that Magic Management.....

I believe I will put Tracy McGrady down as just another baller who has no care to actually win with a team that really appreciates you and who you have become.

List to prove Tracy McGrady is an idiot:

1. Orlando Magic #1 draft pick Dwight Howard
This gives the Magic the needed change. Even this kid pleaded with McGrady to stay. He wants the disgruntled superstar to know that help is on the way. "Tracy, I hope that you stay and play with me a couple of years."

2. Trade to Houston should take the Rockets over the top since they will have just traded for argueably best player in the league. Wrong. 2 years from now you will see the Orlando Magic creeping up the ladder while Houston remains the same. Francis had the same playmaking skills like McGrady, but with a little less offense. Before you know it he will want out of Houston if they go no where. lol

3. Point Guard Jameer Nelson out of St Josephs will start for the Orlando Magic in the future and will produce big time. Heart over talent most of the time wins you ballgames. Thanks Lakers for reminding us once again.

PG- Jameer Nelson
SG- Tracy McGrady
SF- Drew Gooden
PF- Dwight Howard
C- Andrew Declerq

I would like to see what that lineup would produce rather then at freaking Houston.

PG- ?? I dont even know who would be here T.Lue?
SG- Tracy McGrady
SF- Jim Jackson
PF- Juwan Howard
C- Yao Ming

Tracy McGrady in conclusion will remain a player that will never win ever.

Max,

It doesn't matter in the east. They were going to lose McGrady anyway and to trade him mid-season would of required a sign and trade.

You guys are missing the main point here. McGrady has stated several times that he wanted out IF the Magic did not try to get better now, meaning in 1~2 years. They had the opportunity to get better now by drafting Okafor who would of given them the player in the middle they had been sorely lacking. But instead, boneheaded management drafts a high school kid who will more than likely take years to develop. Now, if they would of taken Okafor, still followed through and traded for PG Nelson, that's 3 probable strong players to team with a good young player in Drew Gooden, and then had the opportunity next year to rid of Grant Hill and have Millions to lure another standout player. As I said before, the #1 lottery pick was a total waste. They lose their best player, and just use the overall #1 on a kid and hope like hell he turns out ok only to replace the Superstar you just ran out of town. Similar to one of the sarcastic statements someone said during NFL Draft about Tampa Bay. "It's a good thing they got rid of Keyshawn Johnson so they could use their #1 pick on Michael Clayton"..........

EveryDayGambler ;
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> 2. Trade to Houston should take the Rockets over the top since they will have just traded for argueably best player in the league. Wrong. 2 years from now you will see the Orlando Magic creeping up the ladder while Houston remains the same. Francis had the same playmaking skills like McGrady, but with a little less offense. Before you know it he will want out of Houston if they go no where. lol
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> The magic will be creeping up the ladder to make it in the playoffs-----where the Rockets already were this season.. Like I said this was the best thing that happened to Houston...get rid of Francis!!! The magic fans will learn to hate Francis..

I just don't see how that new Houston lineup is any better off then the old one who lost to the Lakers in overtime one game in the series in the first round and another game by 1 point.

dont get me wrong...Mobley is a big loss, but Francis cost them at least a handfull of games last year w/ his dribbling and not shooting of the ball....plus he was not the best in getting the ball to the big guy. This is going to let Yao develop into the goto guy that they want....JMO

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by maxdemo:


As a Rocket fan this is the best news we could have gotten....we are rid of Francis <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
So Houston Fans really think he is over-rated? I guess i can see it.

The deal is official McGrady for Francis (others involved).


wil.

Living in the Orlando area, I can give you some insight.

McGrady told and knew BEFORE...weeks before..the draft that he did not want to stay in Orlando. In many interviews with local newspaper and staff, he was often cynical and always pushed the knife further in.

A few days before his meeting with Magic officials he had this quote for the "fans".

"I don't want to let all my "tricks" out of the bag"

He was frustrated with the Magic last year, and decided then enough was enough for him. He just played BS with the Magic when he already knew he was out of here.

To think the Magic had ANY chance to keep him...is silly

To say that this trade does not make the Rockets better is foolish. This team will have a whole new look that will force defensive changes for whomever they play. First, Francis does not draw a constant double team while it will be imperative that teams double Mcgrady constantly unless they want to get torched. This will draw single coverage on YAO. YAO should have his best season(so far) this year with this trade. Kudos to Rockets management for pulling this off since it was almost dead in the water last week.

Well I am EXTREMELY happy about this trade, but it wont make me pick up my next year season ticket option. I already declined it 3 weeks ago, but a funny thing happened on Monday. They call and are asking everyone AGAIN if they want to pick up their option since it is almost a lock for the McGrady trade EVEN ON MONDAY!


Maybe I will break down for a 1/2 season plan, but I dont think so

Your right on target natural9. Maybe you should renew Playersonly.....Should be exciting in Houston this year, with lots of Nationally televised games....

HOUSTON (AP) In a blockbuster deal that gives the Houston Rockets one of basketball's most intriguing tandems, Tracy McGrady was traded to Houston in a multiplayer deal that sent Steve Francis to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday.

The long-anticipated deal also sent forward Juwan Howard, and guards Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines to the Rockets. The Magic also got guard Cuttino Mobley and forward Kelvin Cato.

''It's a done deal,'' Magic spokesman Joel Glass said.

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

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

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.

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 numbers of his career in new coach Jeff Van Gundy's slower-paced scheme.

When reports of the deal first surfaced last week, Francis balked at leaving Houston for rebuilding Orlando. 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 that 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.''

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> . The Magic ''could well have gotten almost any player in the league for Tracy McGrady.''<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Says it all right there. Stevie Francis is basically an Allen Iverson Wannabee,but 1/2 the version. I do think Cutino is a pretty good player, but even the 2 of them don't equal one McGrady.