The T-Mac question
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The T-Mac question
Now that the Houston Rockets have made it clear they're looking to deal Tracy McGrady, the question -- of course -- is if the 76ers are possibly in on the McGrady action. The answer, right now, is no, there's nothing close right now w/ the Sixers and Houston.
A source close to the situation said that nothing is happening and it's doubtful anything will happen between the two teams, although the source said nothing can be ruled out.
Trade scenarios between the two teams have been discussed this season, but nothing that looks like it will work.
Let's be clear that probably most NBA teams are calling the Rockets right about now to see what they'd want for McGrady's expiring deal.
In conclusion: the odds of T-Mac becoming a Sixer are no greater than the odds of him ending up w/ most other franchises right about now. But keep the e-mail pleas coming!
Hope that's somewhat helpful.
--Kate
Comments (24)
You all are naive..this roster as you know it is over..Brand is being shopped like a christmas gift nobody wants and they have finally realised Iggy is no better than Paul Pressey. We have a mediocre coach and 10 average players...You think things will work itself out your freakin' dreamin'. the sixerjones forecast starting lineup....Holiday(Ivey), Iverson, Dalembert, Speights and Young with McGrady/Scola as main backups and we will be a 7th seed and beat Cleveland in the first round...Lebron will leave for NYC and Jordan(OUR COACH) will become the leagues hottest commodity!!!!!!— sixerjones- HOW ABOUT IGGY AND BRAND FOR SHANE BATTIER AND TMAC. MONEY WORKS AND WE GET A DEFENSIVE PLAYER WHO SHOOTS 3'S VERY WELL AND FREE'S UP THADEUS TO PLAY SMALL FORWARD— gan
- It's true that letting Tmac's contract expire will not allow the Rockets to be in the running for a superstar talent like Lebron this summer, but the Rocket's GM has said he is not going to take back dead weight contracts just to get "something" unless he is getting an all star or all star to be level talent included with the dead weight. Between Landry and Scola I doubt there would be any interest in Brand at this point.— Rockets Fan
- Fans worried over the loss of Dalembert should keep in mind that the Sixers have been trying to move him for the last year, without takers. He gives hints of being an NBA starting center, but he disappears in too many games and commits too many foolish fouls, which limit both his minutes and effectiveness. His salary is an albatross and the Sixers would love a team to take him off their hands.— chuckw
Comment removed.
As a fan, I could not stop myself from feeling excited about the way they played in Portland. But, realistically, the Sixers have just two goals this season. 1) Lose as many games as possible to get a top draft pick, 2) Shed as many large contracts as possible to clear space for a free-agent signing. I think Brand still has a few good years left, so if they can dump Sammy's contract, most of you think they should do it. But remember, shot-blocking, defensive minded centers are hard to find and the Sixers do not have anyone on the roster (including Speights) who can fill that role. Unless they are sure they can get a good free-agent center or a can't-miss college center over the summer, trading Dalembert is not necessarily a great move.- don't need another aging vet— kgd
- Seems unfair to attack Kate Fagan over this short blog entry; keep in mind that she probable gets inundated with emails that we don't see, coming from non-posters on the blog. She implies that they are grilling her over the potential for the Sixers to get McGrady, but she did not speculate over potential trades because her insider source says there is little or no chance of a deal. Besides, it is intensely boring in Sacramento, so blogging is therapeutic.— chuckw
- Dean1: great posts, well thought out and giving some of us hope that there is a way forward for the Sixers. You are right about Comcast, which has a dual problem: 1. the need to clear cap space and save money in the short run because of taking on debt with the deal for NBC-Universal,particularly given the dreadful attendance and equally lousy cable ratings for the Sixers, and 2. the need to boost that attendance and cable ratings by bringing in one or two of the better free agents this summer. Having said that, however, the Sixers still have Stefanski and Jordan. Are they the men Sixers fans want to run their franchise for the next three or so years?? I have argued as well that fish rots from the head, and the head in this case is Ed Snider. Should he be the man overseeing this lamentable franchise? Does Comcast, which needs quality sports programing to rival ESPN, have the power to force Snider out as head of Comcast-Spectacor? The Flyers, despite recent victories, are leaking oil and under-performing and the Sixers are virtually unwatchable right now, the victory over Portland notwithstanding. Change must come from the top down.— chuckw
- Well this article certainly was very pointless. No one has been asking themselves this question to the point that you needed to write about it. You asked the question and then answered your own question. What was the point of this. But yeah lets bring him back. Lets have a team full of has beens. Iverson, McGrady, etc— philliekev04
- One other thing...Houston is $26M over the cap currently. TMac will only take $23M off of their cap figure, and with the cap widely expected to come down $4-5M next season, they will not have any additional room to sign a player of substance (other than the MLE) after re-upping Scola or Landry. So, it makes complete sense that they'll move TMac by the deadline to get assets in return instead of just letting him walk away for nothing. HEAR THAT ED...THEY'LL TRADE T-MAC BY THE DEADLINE TO GET SOMETHING IN RETURN AND NOT LET HIM WALK AWAY FOR NOTHING (cough, Andre Miller).— Dean1
- Actually, the thought in Houston is that Yao may never come back. The Rockets are beyond stuck at the C position, but are loaded at the PG and F positions. That said, they have Landry (PF), Scola (PF), and Lowry (PG) going into free agency next year. A deal of McGrady and either Landry or Scola (they won't re-sign both) for Sam, Brand, and a 2011 or 2012 1st round pick is not out of the question for the Rockets, especially if Elton continues to show improvement. Plus, Sam's $13M comes off the books anyway in 2011...the Rockets are not getting LeBron, Wade, Bosh, or Nash anyway this summer, so being a big player in free agency next year really doesn't matter. For the Sixers, if obviously clears massive cap space, but more importantly to Comcast is a net $50M+ savings when you add Sam / Elton deals less McGrady deal. Remember, this team is dead last in attendence...— Dean1
- Comment removed.
- Sorry folks, I disagree about the post. Whether it is a blog post or not I would expect the author to at least mention something of substance, which did not happen. What "chuckw" writes is what the post shuld have been about, thus leading us to comment and speculate amongst ourselves.— The700Level
- Yes, the Sixers should unload Dalembert and Brand for McGrady, lose his $23 million from the cap at the end of the year and still get a top 5 lottery pick this year. In fact I would strongy consider throwing in a desirable player (Williams?) just to get the cap space back. However, I don't see Houston doing this as they can just string McGrady along for the rest of the year and then he'll be a free agent and someone will sign him next year for Iverson money. As far as I can see the only two players really any good on this team from a 3-5 year standpoint are Iguodala and Speights. Their new starting lineup will be C- Speights, F- Young F- Iguodala G- Iverson G- Williams which will put them in position for a top 5 lottery pick.— joeyc444
- Leegles: very good post. Kate Fagan was right to address this question in blog form, since many Sixers' fans would like McGrady and all of us know the salary figures, so she does not need to speculate on potential deals, but to at least acknowledge what many fans are thinking. The real questions: do the Sixers want to get rid of both Dalembert and Brand for an expiring contract of a malcontent, no matter how talented, thereby tanking the rest of the season? If they want to get better in the long run, they should certainly do it, although Stefanski would still be GM and Jordan still the coach for signing another Free Agent or two after dumping McGrady and losing Dalembert and Brand. Do you feel confident about that?? Of course, would Houston want Dalembert and Brand, given their contract status? Teams prefer expiring contract for expiring contract and, as we know, Dalembert has another year after this season and Brand three more years after this season. No way Houston would go for it.— chuckw
- This is a silly blog post because even casual Sixers fans have discussed and dismissed it long ago. Houston has positioned themselves to have lots of cap space to chase a top free agent. They will humor Tmac saying they will try and trade him before Feb. 18th. Obviously unless they landed a deal for a top player or even more expiring contracts, they will not. The Sixers have nothing to offer.— JonKap
- With the way Brand is playing off the bench, someone might take a chance on him. If anyone besides Billy King would take Dalembert, I'd be shocked.— HandNik
700level: this isn't a "story," it's a blog post. It's not something that will run in the print paper. Just a little informational somethin' sump to feed the need for 24-hr "news." Speculative trade scenarios, solely based on math, isn't really necessary. Go here and crunch the numbers yourself: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine - a trade of Sammy and Brand for MacGrady works just fine . . .— Leegles- Wow. This is a very weak story. It tells us nothing other than the fact that Houston is going to consider offers for McGrady. A few possible trade scenarios or logical trade partner suggestions would be nice from the writer of this article. It doesn't even mention which players the 76ers would have to include in any deal for any deal to work under the cap and trade rules.— The700Level
So you're saying Houston wont take Brand, Dalembert and a bag of used basketballs to give us the cap room to chase LeBron this summer? DARN.- Barrywill- who cares? Trade for MCGrady and waive him. It doesnt matter. Hell, if they keep him maybe they'd lose a few more games. The point is to trade some front-loaded contracts (ie Iggy, Brand and/or Dalembert) to get long-term relief in the form of T-Mac's expiring deal. The Sixers would be DOPES not to try to do this. But then again, they'd be dopes to give Elton Brand a 5 year deal or bring in a coach who preaches offensive discipline, so I'm sure nothing will come of this.— stormcominin
- Send them anyone besides Speights and Young.— HandNik
- puleez!! the man is one of the most self-centered, big-headed, injury-prone knuckleheads in the NBA. compared to him Iverson has the attitude of John Stockton.— barrywil
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John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
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