McGrady: Where I kinda sorta agree with Sports Guy's analysis

by grungedave on Feb 27, 2009 10:32 AM CST in Blogging stuff Comment 38 comments

From the Sports Guy's epic NBA rant/rave column today:

(And by the way, nobody loves basketball more than me. I mean, NOBODY. But when an NBA player with two years remaining on his contract for a total of $44 million shows up for the season out of shape, complains most of the year, lets down his teammates and fans again and again, lands in some trade rumors and decides, "Instead of getting traded to a team I don't like, I'm going to announce that I'm getting microfracture surgery four days before the trade deadline and kill any potential trade, and even better, I'll be healed by next spring, just in time to showcase myself for another contract," and successfully pulls this off -- with no repercussions from anybody -- then yes, the system is broken and needs to be fixed. Because that was disgusting. Tracy McGrady, you are officially indefensible for the rest of eternity. Even your cousin Vince wouldn't have done that. And that's saying something.)

I find very little I can disagree with here. That scares me.

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Conspiracy theory bullshit.

C’mon, Dave, you’re better than that.

He showed up out of condition and played like crap for the whole season. But nobody would undergo potentially career-ending surgery just to keep themselves from being traded (which, by the way, was incredibly unlikely to happen, anyways. Nobody was going to take on two years, $44 million of 15ppg McGrady). This is pure speculation from a guy who doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. No different or better from the random commenters on ClutchFans, Chron.com, or here making the same statement.

Besides, read the rest of that article. Chock-full of more stupid Bill Simmons goodness. “Oh noes! The NBA playoffs are too unpredictable! Too exciting!”

by Only_A_Lad on Feb 27, 2009 10:46 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

sky is falling

the rest of the article is “sky is falling” b.s., I agree… but you can’t tell me that McGrady didn’t show up out of shape… that he didn’t annoy teammates and fans with his constant sulking… and that he didn’t doctor shop. And as crazy as it sounds… I don’t put it past T-Mac to seek out potentially career-threatening surgery as a built-in way for him to have an excuse if he never is able to play All-Star quality basketball again. (We all know he’s going to be as dedicated to his rehab as Amy Winehouse was to hers.)

And you certainly can’t argue that T-Mac’s timing of his announcement was in the team’s best interests.

by grungedave on Feb 27, 2009 10:49 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

but you can’t tell me that McGrady didn’t show up out of shape

He obviously did

that he didn’t annoy teammates and fans with his constant sulking

He certainly annoyed fans. Probably pissed off teammates, but we don’t know to what extent that damaged his relationship with them.

and that he didn’t doctor shop

Yeah, he kept looking for a doctor who could do something for him, and he eventually found one. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

I don’t put it past T-Mac to seek out potentially career-threatening surgery as a built-in way for him to have an excuse if he never is able to play All-Star quality basketball again.

That’s the issue. I think it’s far more likely that he undertook career-threatening surgery to make it possible for him to play All-Star quality basketball again.

(We all know he’s going to be as dedicated to his rehab as Amy Winehouse was to hers.)

He definitely doesn’t have the best track record with rehab, but we’ll see how he does. Maybe, when faced with the possibility of either having some of his explosiveness back or never being able to effectively play again, McGrady will actually follow his rehab instruction fully. For his sake, I hope so.

by Only_A_Lad on Feb 27, 2009 11:09 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

dude...

If he has vigorously rehabbed last summer like ALL of his doctors told him… he might not have been in a situation to need this procedure. I have no faith in him adopting Kobe Bryant’s work ethic overnight.

by grungedave on Feb 27, 2009 11:13 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not saying I have any faith that he'll actually do it,

but I’m saying (as a fellow lazy bastard), that at the very least he may have gone into surgery with the full intention of rehabing correctly. We’re not going to know if he followed instructions until sometime between August and next February.

But (again, as a fellow lazy underachiever), I can tell you that some things do scare you enough to actually do what you’re supposed to. We’ll see.

by Only_A_Lad on Feb 27, 2009 11:19 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Dr. Shopping

Doctor shopping is bad because doctors, like people, come in all varieties. Just like you can always find someone to tell you what you want to hear, particularly if you’re willing to pay for it, you can always find a doctor that will give you the diagnosis you want (particularly if you’re willing to pay for it).

What you’ve basically done is diagnose yourself, if you’re heavily doctor shopping. And if you think some sort of professional code will prevent you from finding exactly what you want, I’d say we’re living in different worlds. Some people are highly ethical, some aren’t.

by Xiane on Feb 27, 2009 11:56 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

He’s right about the financial problems – the loan package from the NBA is real.

He’s genaerally right about McGrady. The microfracture Tracy is having qualifies as minor as far as that sort of surgery goes. Talking to an actual (ortho) doctor (not an internet one) his comment was: “I’m surprised anyone would do it.” Take that as you wish.

And he’s right about the timing of the announcement – whether a deal was likely or not, it completely killed any possibility of one. It was unilateral as well – I think Aldelman’s reaction was a real one, of surprise and dismay. He’s not been a coach to slam his players historically, and he did there.

by Xiane on Feb 27, 2009 11:52 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

While I can see this happening.

I don’t think it did. It is an interesting point though.

But let’s face it. Simmons is wayyyyy over the hill.

"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak

by Tom Martin on Feb 27, 2009 10:54 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

ugh

he made me agree with him. Dammit, Simmons.

The most important trade for playoff purposes? A seemingly minor three-teamer between Houston (landed Brian Cook and Kyle Lowry), Orlando (landed Rafer Alston) and Memphis (landed a 2009 first-rounder from Orlando). It happened because Memphis is hemorrhaging money and supposedly saved $2 million, even if it meant turning Lowry (who had been outplaying 2008 lottery pick Mike Conley for two solid seasons) into a meaningless pick in one of the worst drafts ever.

I’ve only seen a few pundits actually point this out. Lowry has the better PER, leads in true shooting, and plays significantly better defense. I have a friend who repeated that “Lowry couldn’t start for Memphis” crap, and I told him that we know Memphis is stupid, so why should we think they made the right choice in starting Conley over Lowry?

by Only_A_Lad on Feb 27, 2009 11:23 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

The important thing to note

is that this entire season (and in seasons past) he has not been a championship caliber guy. He sulks, doesn’t put in the practice effort required to win, and generally doesn’t play hard nosed ball. He’s a soft guy blessed with incredible talent who doesn’t have the work ethic to be as good as he could be. This surgery is just another example of that.

We’re better off without him, and I think we can steal a Wade or a Paul or other premier player in the 2010 free agent class with the money we’ll save with mcgrady gone.

Meat? They're made out of Meat? Meat.

by ihavethemelody on Feb 27, 2009 1:30 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

not Boy Genius' style

Morey is not the type to dump a huge % of the cap on a Wade or Paul… and it’s not like those guys are leaving their teams anyway.

by grungedave on Feb 27, 2009 2:15 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

really???

Wade and Paul are both worth max contracts. Morey is smart enough to know that both of those guys would be worth it. Paul isn’t a free agent in 2010 either.

by forshizzzle on Feb 28, 2009 9:45 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

morey also knows

that the best way to screw over your cap space is give a massive contract to an aging star. Dwayne Wade is going to be facing many of the same injury issues that McGrady is facing now. He has a good chance to quickly become a poor value.

Chris Paul is a different matter. He’ll be 25 (I think) when his contract is up, and he hasn’t had the same injury issues as Wade. But pouring $22 million/year for (probably) 6 or 7 years isn’t a very good investment, particularly when Yao will probably be demanding a raise during the negotiations for his next contract.

And re-signing Yao is critical to the Rockets’ success. Beyond his basketball value, he provides the franchise with economic opportunities in China. So if he wants $20 million/year, and you sign Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, or who have you to a $22 million/year contract, you’ve reduced the Rockets’ cap space by about $5 million. Given what Morey has been able to turn small amounts of cash into over the past two years, I’d like to keep that money and make sure the Rockets have some depth on the bench.

I think what’s going to end up happening is that, in the 2010 draft, a lot of teams are still going to be hurting financially. Those are teams like Memphis, Sacramento, OKC, Indiana, the Clippers, etc that also make crap basketball decisions. So they’ll be laden with high draft picks demanding lots of guaranteed money that they’re just not prepared to offer.

I imagine that the Rockets, in order to get younger, are going to have to pursue a combination of strategies. First they’ll have to get talent out of the late rounds and from other teams (San Antonio’s been doing this pretty effectively, and Morey has shown he’s pretty adept at doing it, too). Second, they might need to pull a Steve Fracis/Kobe Bryant-style trade, getting a young star for a couple of solid players. Hopefully that would work out better than the Steve Francis trade of a decade ago. But I think that the financial climate that a lot of teams are operating in makes it possible for the Rockets to pull something like that off.

by Only_A_Lad on Feb 28, 2009 10:52 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

No.

morey also knows that the best way to screw over your cap space is give a massive contract to an aging star. Dwayne Wade is going to be facing many of the same injury issues that McGrady is facing now. He has a good chance to quickly become a poor value

There are a handful of players who deserve a max contract, and DWade is one of them. It’s ridiculous to say that two years from now Wade will be facing the same injury issues that McGrady is facing. No one could possibly know that, but at this point, Wade is obviously worth every penny of a max contract.

Chris Paul is a different matter. He’ll be 25 (I think) when his contract is up, and he hasn’t had the same injury issues as Wade. But pouring $22 million/year for (probably) 6 or 7 years isn’t a very good investment, particularly when Yao will probably be demanding a raise during the negotiations for his next contract.

Paul won’t be free agent until 2012 at the earliest (he has a player option for the 2012/2013 season). I would imagine that the Hornets will do everything they can to extend him, but it’s possible he could be a free agent at 27 and the prime of his career. But even if he were going to be a free agent in 2010, he would be worth every penny of whatever contract he signed.

And re-signing Yao is critical to the Rockets’ success. Beyond his basketball value, he provides the franchise with economic opportunities in China. So if he wants $20 million/year, and you sign Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, or who have you to a $22 million/year contract, you’ve reduced the Rockets’ cap space by about $5 million. Given what Morey has been able to turn small amounts of cash into over the past two years, I’d like to keep that money and make sure the Rockets have some depth on the bench.

If you honestly think that resigning Yao would be more important to the Rockets’ success than signing Paul or Wade, I don’t have any idea what to tell you. Yao will be the “aging star” that you claim to want to avoid, and both of those players will be younger and have achieved more already than Yao has. Not to mention that you can have another top tier player paired with Yao and continue to turn “small amounts of cash” into productive players.

by forshizzzle on Feb 28, 2009 11:15 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Wade is great

But no player with his injury history “deserves” the max. CP3 on the other hand deserves every penny of it.

www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer

by UofTOrange on Mar 1, 2009 1:25 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

And woah

I didn’t read the “and achieved more” part. Chris Paul is awesome, literally my favroite player in the league, but I certainly wouldn’t say he has achieved more than Yao has. DWade sure, because of the championship.

www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer

by UofTOrange on Mar 1, 2009 1:27 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

What else is new?

Simmons is an excellent writer but is notorious for ignoring the facts. His paragraph on McGrady was full of his own speculation he used to make a point. That’s why he’s not a journalist. And of course grungedave agrees with every word of it.

by goingforthecorner on Feb 27, 2009 4:38 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

pay attention

How often do I agree with SG? Almost never.

by grungedave on Feb 27, 2009 4:47 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

though..

since you seem to be so keyed in on “the facts” — kindly share with the rest of the class where Simmons is wrong…

by grungedave on Feb 27, 2009 4:48 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Well for one thing

he said T-Mac “complains for most of the year”. I heard him make complaints after the Toronto game and that was it. Other than that he was complaining about his knee. Why should he be reprimanded for that? He came into the season out of shape because the pain in his knee didn’t allow him to get into shape. Why should he be reprimanded for that?

As for the “trade killing” conspiracy theories, he needs to get his facts straight. All he had to do was read articles of Morey NEVER being interested in acquiring Carter’s or Davis’ contract. We were NEVER interested in trading McGrady. It is pure BS speculation that McGrady announced his micro surgery because of the trade deadline. Reality was it was just a coincidence that fed into this dumb idea. It was a coincidence that he happened to be going to NY and Chicago for tests and additional opinions.

Nobody should care what Bill Simmons thinks. He’s nothing more than an NBA fan that’s a great writer, but has no more inside info than we do.

by goingforthecorner on Feb 27, 2009 6:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

False

He has plenty of insider info, simply based off of the guys he knows and the players he has spent time with. The problem is that he doesn’t want to turn into a reporter. He wants to keep the “heart-to-heart” or “I’d love to have a beer with him” relationship with his readers by assuming the identity of a mere fan.

"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak

by Tom Martin on Feb 27, 2009 7:02 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Where did you get this?

There would be no way to figure out what info he gets and how much of it is actually legit.

by goingforthecorner on Feb 27, 2009 8:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm using common sense

1. He talks constantly with reporters on his podcast, and he is a featured columnist at ESPN. He could pick up the phone and call Stephen A. if he wanted to.

2. Not everything goes to print that comes out of a star’s mouth. Example: take the Baron Davis interview he recently had. Do you think everything Baron said actually went into the article? There is plenty of stuff he could have said that didn’t get printed.

My friend works for the opposing team’s dugout at Minute Maid Park. He hears all kinds of things being said in the locker room that could easily make print if reporters were in the room. Bill probably hears a bunch of insider info as well, but either chooses not to print some of it or is begged not to by the player. I’m not exactly sure how that process works, but believe me, Bill Simmons, the most prominent columnist next to Reilly that ESPN has, knows a hell of a lot about the NBA.

"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak

by Tom Martin on Feb 27, 2009 8:45 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

But it still doesn't prove

that he has any knowledge about the Rockets shopping McGrady along with T-Mac purposely stating to SAS about his injury specifically to destroy trade rumors.

by goingforthecorner on Feb 27, 2009 9:11 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I know.

That was a rumor that Bill chose to go along with. But in general, he has plenty of knowledge about many other things NBA-related. Bill couldn’t give a rats ass about the Houston Rockets.

"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak

by Tom Martin on Feb 27, 2009 10:13 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

point is

McGrady should have let the team make any injury announcements… i.e. after the deadline passed. But instead… likely in fear that he was subject to being traded, he ran his mouth. Again.

And read between the lines… Tracy has been complaining all year.

I still believe if he took rehab seriously over the summer he would not have needed Monday’s procedure. By doing nothing for 4 months, his knee basically atrophied and that’s why it hurts him to jump.

by grungedave on Feb 27, 2009 10:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

How does "not taking it seriously"

lead to missing cartilage? And you can’t even prove it was a matter of not taking it seriously vs not being able to rehab because of pain.

by goingforthecorner on Feb 27, 2009 11:42 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Relationship

I agree with your analysis of agreeing with the sports guys, ENOUGH SAID!!

And for hurting the relationship with your team, I think so, he has a lot of sucking up to do, if he can grow up and learn how to be a man, FIRST!! No Cry Baby’s allowed!!

All young’ ons entering the NBA should have to finish college then come play, learn something and while you are there learn some discipline while you are growing to be a man!!

; )

by kmbrly429 on Feb 27, 2009 5:48 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Feigen's response to Simmons' passage

someone asked him about it on chron.com.

(This is his opinion. I would imagine he would know his own opinion. He does base it on the inaccurate assumption that McGrady would have been traded if not for his decision. That was not going to happen regardless of McGrady’s decision on the surgery. There was no potential trade to kill. Also, McGrady did not pursue those options on his own. The Rockets set up his meetings with the doctors in New York and Chicago.They knew how they could turn out. McGrady did not have to announce his plans for other teams to know he was injured and of little use to them in the near future. NBA teams all have internet access these days. — Jonathan)

He pretty much echoed my statements. Simmons’ cute little rant on McGrady was based on an “inaccurate assumption”. Feigen has way more inside info on the Rockets organization than all of us combined, so I suggest all of you conspiracy theorists get a dose of the truth.

by goingforthecorner on Feb 27, 2009 11:45 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

sorry

Feigen fails to consider how McGrady’s little announcement diminished the Rockets’ leverage to discuss OTHER trades that may not have included him… remember, it’s about the TEAM. Not everything Tracy does affects him individually.

by grungedave on Feb 28, 2009 8:29 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

dude...

Les Alexander came back from the All Star break saying that Tmac would not be traded. Les has always loved stars and I sincerely believe that he wasn’t going to let Morey trade him. McGrady made his announcement the night before the trade deadline. It doesn’t sound like there was anything close to being in place, and there wasn’t much time left to get something in place anyhow. They didn’t lose much leverage and you’re really reaching if you think his announcement made much of an effect on anything. It might have been his intention to ensure that he didn’t get traded, which I certainly don’t know.

Not to mention that assuming he had kept his mouth shut and then did get traded, I seriously doubt there’s any way he passes that team’s physical. The doctors didn’t do the surgery because there was no damage to the knee.

by forshizzzle on Feb 28, 2009 9:53 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Please explain

how the hell does T-Mac’s announcement cause Houston to lose leverage on trades that don’t involve McGrady at all.

by goingforthecorner on Mar 1, 2009 1:42 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

because

Teams now know the Rockets were looking for options to “replace” McGrady and might even been desperate to do so… which means they could lowball and hope the Rockets took certain offers (i.e., Vince Carter) because they had no choice.

Fortunately we still have Morey to prevent that… but T-Mac didn’t help.

by grungedave on Mar 1, 2009 8:05 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

But Feigen has said over and over

that we had ZERO interest in Carter and Davis. Solomon said we were pursuing Nash, but PHX was not interested.

by goingforthecorner on Mar 1, 2009 2:41 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

And I'm saying, that if Morey was going to trade Mcgrady

That there is no way anyone in the media would hear about it

www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer

by UofTOrange on Mar 1, 2009 3:54 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Feigen saying the Rockets weren't trading McGrady does not make it true

He’s my favorite Chron writer, along with Solomon, but if the Rockets were really discussing those trades there is absolutely ZERO chance that anyone other than the person on the other line would know. They just couldn’t afford for it to get out.

www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer

by UofTOrange on Mar 1, 2009 1:29 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

If he wanna go let him!

I feel that Tracy needs to be a man and tell management if he really wants to leave or not. Because the value we could get for him would no doubt help in the long run! but I feel we should try to get something for him also. But it would be so freakin" funny if we
exit the first round without him and even more so win a championship… he would get a ring though, but it would be worser than not getting oneat all, because he did not earn it!

by rocketballer on Mar 1, 2009 3:37 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

T-Mac soul searcher

I also strongly feel that T- Mac hasn’t shown us squat but flashes of greatness since being here. It will be something else after the knee. Back,ankle,shoulder,arm or ect. He wants to be traded but on his terms to a team he wants to go to! I say trade him
for something we can use and let some other team figure that sh!t out.
His other counterparts has past him by Wade,LeBron, Kobe and ect. Let him figure out
what he want to do with his own legacy without dragging the team down with him!

by rocketballer on Mar 1, 2009 3:52 PM CST reply actions 0 recs