Don't Count On McGrady
The 76ers have investigated the availability of Tracy McGrady, but a deal for the Houston Rockets' one-time star seems highly unlikely.
Don't Count On McGrady
Let's get this out of the way before the 76ers face the Sacramento Kings tonight:
The Sixers have spoken with Houston Rockets' executives about Tracy McGrady, rehabbing from major knee surgery. More than once.
The Rockets didn't seem interested in a deal involving Samuel Dalembert, and they still aren't. They wanted no part of Dalembert's 15 percent trade kicker, and they still don't.
At the same time, even though McGrady ($23 million salary) and the Rockets have agreed to part ways, there's no law that says the Rockets have to trade him. They could just let his $23 million contract expire at the end of this season and deduct it from their payroll.
Sixers president/general manager Ed Stefanski says what you expect him to say: "We talk to all the teams on a regular basis, but I won't talk about players and trades. We are looking at any and all options that might improve the team.''
Who knows what any other team might be offering for McGrady? But there is this from Rockets coach Rick Adelman, to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: "The thing people want to write about is who (McGrady) was two years ago. He isn't that right now. We have a whole team. It's not just about what he wants or what he was going to want. It was about what can he do to help us win.''
Bottom line: The Sixers are exploring ways to improve their team.
So are the Rockets.
But don't count on them doing business with each other.
They should have got McGrady 4 or 5 years ago when he could have been had for nothing.— Bobphxville- McGardy has talent but has no heart. Why has he been on so mnay teams?— davekrieg
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- @ Sixerjones- unless theres another Rocket player involved that trade isn't possible b/c salaries are way off by $6-8 million.— crazycurt623
- ...everybody needs to understand the cap. Sammy for TMac trade ( 1 for 1) is impossible b/c salaries don't match.& please keep this in that the Sixers are currently $7.1 OVER the salary cap. So any contract(s) coming in that expire after this season will be in essence $7m less in value. The only player that has a 1yr deal that they could effectively replace cheaper is Kapano's $6.2m. Other contracts up after this yr. Ivey[$1.0m], Carney[$825k], Iverson[$650k], Prezec[$825k]. BUT THE AFTER THE 2010-11..... THERE IS ANOTHER $23M COMING OFF BOOKS. Green, Dalambert, Thadeus, Speights, Holiday, Smith. Say bye to Sam, Smith & Green. They will re-up Thadeus & Speights. Sixers have option with Jrue for another 2 yrs. Unfortunately there is not gonna be much left after they the Thad & Speights re-ups. That's 3 roster spots to filled by 2 rookies & FA with the %5-10m thats left.— crazycurt623
- JonKap is incorrect. Even with McGrady's salary coming off the books, Houston is so over the luxury tax threshold (and has to re-sign Landry or Scola...and Lowry too) that they still won't have enough dollars to go after even a mid-level free agent in 2010. Therefore, they must trade McGrady before the deadline to avoid the Andre Miller debacle (walking with zero compensation) that the Sixers experienced this year. A Brand / Sam combo is a great starting point to a trade and works for both sides...see my earlier post.— Dean1
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- I say trade [or give] Sammy to the Philly Union! I heard he was a pretty good goalie before the basketball FAILED EXPERIMENT— heaterman
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- radicaleaglesfan - The season is over. It was over before it started. We are not going to beat the Celtics, Magic, Hawks or the Cavs. If we make the playoffs we aren't bad enough to get a top draft pick and we'll be out of the playoffs in the first round. At this rate we'll never get good again. We need to get a high draft pick or clear room for a top free agent or two.— K.D.
- The Sixers aren't going anywhere until they shed themselves of the Dalembert and Brand contracts. This is a repeat of the Chris Webber fiasco. The name of the game is to pay players what they are worth and if you are a smart GM with good scouts and a bit lucky, less than what they are worth. Iverson, Young and Speights are bargains right now. No other player on the Sixers roster is worth their current salary. Iguodala and Williams are solid players, but not worth their current salaries. Let's not even talk about Dalembert and Brand.— joeyc444
- why the rush to unload Dalembert. He'll be off the books soon enough and will have value in his final year as trade bait. why trade Iggy for an expiring. he's not overpaid and there are other teams that would value him as an asset at his pay. it's brand who we need to move. I'd only package a young prospect if I could unload a longer term bad contract like brand. otherwise we are losing talent just to clear salary with no hope of signing anyone better with the savings.— paperchaser
if houston takes sam & brand and a #1 for t mac that would be criminal.— combocancer1975- Big V you dont think brand and west are the same player?— combocancer1975
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
