The huge rift between the Rockets and McGrady, I’m told by a source, began last year at the 
trade deadline. The Rockets had a deal in place to send McGrady to New Jersey for Vince Carter and other pieces, similar to the Nets-Magic deal on draft night. When McGrady’s agent Arn Tellem informed his client he was about to be on the move, McGrady abruptly ended his season by saying he needed micro-fracture surgery on his ailing knee.
Unfortunately, McGrady didn’t tell the Rockets until after his decision was made.
“My knee hasn’t been right all year, and we can’t seem to get the pain to go away,” McGrady wrote on his Web site Feb. 18th, one day before the trade deadline.
“We’ve tried just playing through it, taking back-to-backs off, and extended periods of rest, but none of it has really been effective in limiting the discomfort and allowing me to just go out there and play.”
The Rockets’ reaction?
“I found out like everybody else did,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman told the Houston Chronicle. “I think there should be a protocol there. There should be a procedure where we have a chance to sit down and talk about a situation and not (have it) announced in the press. I don’t know why that happened, why he did that. It certainly is not the way it should be handled.”
And the friction has led up until this year.
“The Rockets are still mad. They had sent the trade to the league,” another source told me. “They were ready to ship him out and McGrady killed it.” Read more…
One of the sources told me the Rockets were in heated discussions with the Kings as well…McGrady wasn’t having any part of a deal.
I also read the report about the Rockets demands of Jordan Hill or Toney Douglas. I would have to believe that if a rookie were involved, Jared Jeffries would go as well. Maybe a third team will have to be involved.
CURRY FOR SALE! CURRY FOR SALE!
Houston are you listening.
…and to ease McGrady’s mind, DW will let him rest his troubled knee at home, for the remainder of he season.
Curry for sale! Curry for sale! Throw in a Harrington and some cash too.
They can have either or if they take Jefferies or Curry IMO `
Ahhhhh…to deam.
JJ and Curry…ahhhhh, to dream.
I would send Lee their way if they take Curry and trade Harrington for Ty Thomas.
Houston, are you out there?
Interesting that he basically feigned injury to avoid coming to the Nets, but if he is as good as he thinks he is, then a threesome of Lopez, Harris and T-Mac would have been a pretty good core group. Although, I guess at the time, the stigma of being a team in limbo would have made the already unappealing Nets even less of an attractive option.
Forget McGrady. All we want is his expiring contract.
Curry = $21.7M owed minus this years salary to point
McGrady = $22.5M owed minus this years salary to point
A bargain, no? and a $3M cherry on top.
I hate it when players have surgery for a fake injury just to get out of a trade.
?????
Maybe he timed it the way he did because he didn’t want to have to explain to the NJ fans why he had the surgery a week after they traded for him.
are we really to believe that McGrady had microfracture surgery to get out of going to New Jersey?
Houston is doing fine without JJ or Curry. Why would they not allow McGrady’s contract to expire. No one is going to give promising young prospects for an injury prone complainer. IMO. How about trading with Portland. JJ for Andre Miller? Curry for spare parts? Portland does not have a salary match for Curry. Trading JJ or Curry will not be easy or DW would have done it.
Curry, Harrington, Hill or Douglas (their choice) and $3M for McGrady.
Harrington adds punch to Houston’s offense for their playoff run. our young, a sweetener.
Curry, a two year lead weight with no use.
McGrady, a one year enormous lead weight for one season with no use.
Scola’s hold will prevent the Rockets from getting a premium free agent, with or without Curry.
Houston can go over the cap to resign Scola, keep Landry and resign Lowery. Plus add a bookend to their bench.
Houston! Houston! Are we on target?
Trading for Andre Miller would not allow us to get a max player AND his contract is longer. I like the thinking though, the Knicks need a PG of Miller’s caliber in the worst way.
This Morey is no push over.. i follow him on twitter and happened to be online when he announced he was on some local houston radio show.. with web access..
first thing i noticed was how deferential the radio hosts were towards him.. like he was beyond reproach.. amazing how different the NY press is from Houston.. anyway.,.. from teh interview he sounded like a big numbers guy and heavily into defense.
he sounded content to just let the McGrady contract expire but said there were more than a few offers on the table — In short — i don’t think he is under much stress to get something done, with Yao on the mend and all.
This guy is no push over and will wait for a deal that makes sense and doesnt kill their flexibility or chemistry… NO WAY this guy bites on Eddy Curry.
In the Berman piece he said Harrington wouldnt even make their rotation.. and he has no interest in Jeffries.
I bet he only has like two offers. He’s playing the game. He’s a smart guy…..
Knicks should just hold tight…….if Knicks can’t get rid of JJ or Curry, forget it then. Don’t make the trade. We’re doing just fine as is.
you’re probably right..
But I think at this point we have to close the book on trading Eddy Curry this year.
Agreed. I think if Lee can improve his defense between now and the trade deadline some team may bite on Curry (no pun intended) to get a shot at Lee.
KILLJOY
Miller has too much $$ attached & years attached to his contract, just not worth it IMHO…Morey is playin games w/ the whole league…he thinks he’s gonna get bonafide studs/youngbloods for tmac??? NOT GONNA HAPPEN, esp. not w/ this story out there…i thought MDA & DW were showcasing Nate for HOU but apparently that’s not the case…HOU doesn’t wanna do business w/ DW and they’ve made that abundantly clear…HOU will trade w/ a desperate team dieing to dump salary or get cap space (ie HORNETS, MEMPHIS)…I think we should move past the TMAC issue cuz teams do not shun other teams in the press and then do business w/ them, credibility is paramount in the NBA…We need to move JJ w/ lets say Nate, Hughes, and/or AL to free up coveted cap space and/or free up a rotation spot for the rooks and get disgruntled/volatile personnel outta here to make a serious playoff run…just my opinion
Harrington, Landry and Lowery could add much pop coming off Houston’s bench.
Morey is a smart owner, and very shrewd. His team, without Yao, should not be in contention. Yet he found the right blend to make them a serious contender (for a playoff spot).
Houston! We’ve lost contact.
Harrinigton not cracking their rotation is hilarious to me. He would be their best offensive player.
Like said above….he’s just playing the waiting game.
Battier, Ariza, Scola, Hayes, Landry and Buddinger all get minutes at the 2 forward positions. Scola, Hayes and Anderson play center.
Harrington has the best offensive game, so he has value to this team. But Ariza, Battier (defensive elite), Scola and, maybe, Landry all have more value to this team than Harrington would…and they’re playing above expectations. Buddinger is young and needs minutes.
They beat you with defense on the Rockets. Though I think that Harrington would make the rotation as a spark off the bench, I wouldn’t bet on him getting too many minutes.
Harrington is not an efficient offensive player. That is part of the problem. He is hit/miss and most good team’s best offensive player is consistent.
JJ can stand alone in a trade for an expiring. No need to give up Nate and/or Hughes.
McGrady would be of no major value to us. It takes at least a year to recover from microfracture knee surgery in most instances.
As for Curry, a best case scenario is that DW reconsiders his buyout stance and buys out Curry; giving Curry a bonus for this year and far less than his contract calls for next year (if such a thing is legal).
Donnie can try to buy Eddy out but why would Curry accept it?
I canbt see Eddy leaving any money on the table.. given his financial condition.
If its possible.. next year when he is sitting ont he bench maybe he agrees to go to the D LEague to get some minutes and try to build some value.. The coach aint giving him any minutes this year or next.
ive been wracking my brain for a good match on JJ/.
Maybe San Antonio? but for whom?>
the Lakers dont need him..
DallAs just got Najera (maybe a larer deal for Josh Howard.?)
Denver and PHX have money issues and full front courts..
Portland? i dont want Andre Miller’s contract..
OKC? maybe for watson but do they have the minutes/?
Houston we addressed already..
I still think Walsh should try HARD to move Curry. It can be done, if Walsh is creative.
Try moving Curry for T.J.Ford. He’s also in the Pacers doghouse.
Curry and Landry for Maxiell, Brown, and Atkins.
Try getting Wiz to take Curry for short term cap relief…they have lots of expirers.
Try doing Curry for Hinrich (never happen)
If we can put a man on the moon, Walsh can move Curry.
Isiah could trade anybody! However, he got he became a trade addict!
your damm rite
zeke could pull of any trade.
i know zeke somehow could trade curry an jeffries without even trying.
lol..
Are there enough team destroying contracts out there for Zeke? I bet Zeke could trade Will and Gallo to Utah for Kirilenko (Throw in Milicic to make the money work). Those two would fit well with Utah’s 2 number 1 picks. Then Zeke could sign Duhon to max contract and solve the pg problem (What problem? IT).
It seems to me that Zeke made all his trades “without even trying”.
He is a good college talent evaluator though. Maybe he could help with the 2010 draft…oh, I forgot.
lol.
The problem with trading JJ is the only area he really excels at is help defense. Most defensive systems in the league have a bunch of good defenders, and don’t necessarily need a guy who does his best work on opposing guards and in zone-like defenses with tons of switching. Plus his ridiculous contract. I don’t really see how much help he can give to most teams outside of 10 minutes a game pestering the opposing pg or sg, and who really wants to give up an expiring just to get 10 minutes of that for an extra year of 6 million dollars +. I don’t see us being able to trade him unless we give up Lee, Hill, or Douglas, and the fact of the matter is that Hill and Douglas have not played enough for teams to be able to see what they are capable of doing, and Lee is most likely going to be a 1 year rental for a team. SO basically we are trying to find a team with aging veterans who have a closing championship window and are willing to take on some contract. Im just not really seeing anyone falling over their heels to get a trade done for JJ.
JJ could help the Suns! Somebody’s got to help guard Nash’s man!
I doubt Eddie ever leaves anything on the table.
IT’S EDDY FOR CHRIST SAKE!!!
If some of the money is pushed forward to this year as a bonus, Curry might take less than his contract (not too much less). He does have money problems and money in hand has significant value (How many loans can he pay down and avoid the interest payments?) If he takes it as a bonus, Dolan would have to take a luxury tax hit this year, but Donnie would have far more cap room to work with next year.
if it was only that simple..
Biggie,
Yea…I’m at a loss too.
knicks4life,
How true.
Who is going to trade for JJ and give us an expiring contract straight up? Please name me one team.
I can think of a few off hand:
Toronto — their defense is abysmal. They will need someone to play defense for their playoff push. Nesterovic, Wright and Cash.
Toronto’s future depends on resigning Bosh. Good luck there. They won’t be rebuilding until 2011.
Dallas — Yes, they just got Najera, but they still have Tim Thomas. A combination of TT, Singleton, Q. Ross and $3M will do. None of those players will be missed. Gooden and maybe Dampier will probably be gone next year too, so JJ might be needed. They have no money worries and they won’t be under the cap until years after LeBron dons a Knicks uni.
Portland — Is anybody left standing? Portland loves defense and is good at it. They could use anybody who is not wearing a cast. Amazingly, they are still in the playoff race. A combination of Outlaw, Howard, Batum and/or cash could get it done.
If I thought about it harder, I probably could come up with more.
Toronto is talking about moving Bosh.
TT, Singleton & Q Ross? who would we cut to get those three on our roster?
Theorically you are right but you have to make the numbers work. A deal with Portland is almost impossible.
Biggie,
Toronto still needs defense and Nesterovic, and Wright are of no value to them. They could always use $3M.
Even if they trade Bosh for an expiring, they would only have less than $7M to spend in 2010. (assuming a $54M cap). How many players can they get rid of?
I said a combination of those 3, probably 2. Cut Landry, then after the trade, cut or buy out one of the 2 and resign Landry.
Mucha,
Why is it impossible? Even Outlaw and $3M would work?
Outlaw and Batum are still injured, as far as I know. A healthy body would be welcome at this point.
Dallas does not need Jeffries. Toronto does but no way they give up Nesto and Wright. Portland will not be going over the cap for Jeffries and to be honest they don’t need him either. He is not a center.
I can’t see any deal with any team that would work salary wise and make sense for the other team involved. Ok the Lakers would work but they are not that stupid.
Jeffries is a better option than any two of Tim Thomas, Singleton or Q. Ross, and they all get minutes now and then. Money is no impediment to Cuban and they are miles from freeing cap space.
Nesto is doing nothing for Toronto and Wright hasn’t done much for his 5 years in the league. Again, if Toronto is not at the bottom of the league defensively, they are very close. JJ’s defense is a premium to them. Unless they have a fire sale, they are not getting more than 7 mil under the cap next year even without Bosh.
Portland is already over the assumed 2010 cap of $54M, JJ won’t effect that. They do need a center but they need healthy bodies too. So, yes, they can use JJ if nothing better comes along. (Outlaw’s useless with a broken foot and has been out for awhile.)
JJ is not worth the $6.5M for sure. He does, however, have more value to a contending team than you are giving him credit for. For a team over the cap for next year, the extra money doesn’t matter, especially if the Knicks defray some of that cost with a $3M throw in.
Where the blog thread for tonite’s game! This is a game I can’t wait to see how this team plays against (Thunder). I think it’s a bad match-up for us but I surely could be wrong!
From Chris Sheridan chat:
Robert (Arizona):
How do see the whole T-Mac thing working out in Houston?
Chris Sheridan:
I think the Knicks have a legit shot, given the financial relief they can provide by including Cuttino Mobley’s insurance-covered $9 million contract. NY also would be willing to take back Brian Cook’s $3.5 million in the trade, and if the rockets take back $3 million less in contracts than they’re giving away, they drop under the luxury tax line and collect another $4 mill in cold, hard cash. The deal-killer remains Jeffries. We’ll see if the Rockets still feel that way at the 11th hour with $11 million in savings for Les Alexander to consider.
for those talking AL to the rockets.
i just read that AL mightn’t even crack the rockets rotation…
I would trade Toney Douglas, no problem. I actually hope that his $1 million salary will not haunt Donnie Walsh in July.
But I want to see Jordan Hill play for the New York Knicks, period. I would think about trading him to get rid of Eddy Curry though – and obviously I would trade him with Eddy Curry plus Jared Jeffries.
ESPN Trademachine :
1. Al Harrington and Jared Jeffries for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden and Quinton Ross.
2. Jared Jeffries and Nate Robinson for Etan Thomas and Kevin Ollie.
3. Eddy Curry, David Lee, Cuttino Mobley and a 2010 2nd round draft pick for Tracy McGrady and Chase Budinger.
4. Jared Jeffries and a 2010 2nd round draft pick for Mike James.
Mucha,
After watching the first half, nobody should be untouchable!
All my trades above for Jeffries were financially compatable with up to 3M included. However, the teams involved were giving up spare parts, not significant ones. Save for Outlaw who is a broken part. Your trades work financially, but why would any of these teams pull the trigger?
1) Howard and Drew are significant members of a second place team’s rotation. Why mess with the chemistry. Howard is a good player begining to find his form after injury. Dallas says no!
2) Not a bad trade but OKC will be players in the 2010 sweepstakes. They wouldn’t take on JJ’s salary and jeopardize that. Thunder says no!
3 If Houston can sign David before the trade is completed, and of course David has final say on where he can be traded to, this would make some sense. Lee is the best player in the deal and Curry the most burdensome. Buddinger might be asking too much. (yes, Curry is that much worse than McGrady)
You would have to give Houston a player instead of Mobley’s contract. Mobley’s contract is not insured if it is traded. Unlike the Knicks, who can remove Mobley’s salary from their books one year after Mobley was declared medically inelligible, Houston can’t. If the contract is traded once the player is declared inelligible, the new team cannot apply for the exemption.
Milicic and $3M might work. Houston says maybe.
4) I thought about that, but Washington is no longer thinking playoffs and they are hoping they can shed Arenas’ salary (exemption) if he is found guilty and is given major jail time. That scenario is too iffy for the Wizards do anything.
Washington says not now. Could be buyers or sellers when the dust has cleared.
1. I think Al Harrington > Josh Howard but his injury is worrying. I think it’s a fair deal (theorically).
2. Very good point, they won’t have enough money to offer a max contract but $13 mill is good money. Good point.
4. The Arenas situation changed everything. We’ll see if the Wizards are really looking to deal.