Chad Ford speculates about McGrady for Pierce

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

It's fairly deep in the article. He discusses options for the Magic this
summer, and one of them is trading McGrady. He offers up a few
scenarios, including McGrady for Pierce and first-round picks.
Interesting. He also is the latest to suggest the Magic might be players
for Mark Blount. I know Blount has been great the last month, but I
still wouldn't overpay for him. The last thing we need is a Calvin Booth
clogging up our salary cap. Ideally, we'd use him in a sign-and-trade.



Mark



Should the Magic dump McGrady?
                  By Chad Ford
                  NBA Insider
                  Send an Email to Chad Ford Thursday, March 18
                  Updated: March 19
                  3:16 AM ET



            Last year around this time, Insider was making a case why
Tracy
            McGrady should be the MVP of the NBA. In our opinion, there
wasn't a
            more versatile or devastating basketball player in the NBA
than
            McGrady.

            Shaq was more dominant. Tim Duncan was steadier. Kevin
Garnett might
            have been the most complete. But no one was more valuable to
a team,
            or a franchise, than McGrady was to the Magic.


            When he was on, he single handedly could carry the Magic on
his
            sore, tired back. On most nights, he did just that.


            With Grant Hill on permanent disability, the most help T-Mac
could
            count on last season was an occasional double-double by
rookie Drew
            Gooden, an impressive scoring spree now and again by Darrell

            Armstrong or maybe a hot-shooting night by Pat Garrity.


            The Magic have never made it out of the first round of the
playoffs
            with McGrady running the show, but when you looked at the
rest of
            their team, it was pretty amazing they were in the playoffs
at all.

            This was supposed to be the season McGrady, with additional
help
            from Juwan Howard and Tyronn Lue, took the Magic to the next
level.
            Howard gave the Magic a solid, veteran post presence. Gooden
looked
            very good toward the end of last season. Gordan Giricek was
emerging
            as another perimeter scorer, and Lue was billed as a
younger,
            healthier version of Armstrong.


            A few months later, the state of the Magic couldn't be more
            different. The team is an absolute disaster. Popular head
coach Doc
            Rivers got tossed to the curb just a month into the season.


            Long-time GM and former executive of the year John Gabriel
has been
            demoted. A former minor league hockey executive is now
running the
            show. Hill has suffered yet another setback in his rehab and
is,
            once again, out for the year.


            The fans are fleeing, and, depending on the day and mood,
McGrady
            sounds like he's ready to follow them. McGrady can opt out
of his
            contract after the 2004-05 season, and everyone in the
league
            (including Orlando) believes he'll bolt the first chance he
gets,
            unless something dramatic happens to the team in the
offseason.


            New GM John Weisbrod is promising fans he's going to
dramatically
            alter the make-up of the team next season. He believes the
Magic
            need to get tougher, especially in the front court, and he
knows the
            team needs more consistent play at point guard. Weisbrod
also is
            insisting management is willing to pay whatever it takes to
make
            that happen.


            Of course, if you've followed the Magic at all this season,
you know
            even a hockey fan could tell you what's wrong. In fact,
Gabriel said
            the same thing last summer and in the pre-season.


            Everyone has a pretty good feel for what's wrong with the
Magic. How
            to fix it is the real question. The team is capped out and
has
            precious few tradeable assets that could bring back a
dominant big
            man or top-notch point guard.


            As long as Hill remains on the books, the Magic are stuck.
He and
            McGrady earn so much money ($29 million combined next
season) that
            Weisbrod has little flexibility to make the type of impact
deals he
            needs to field a competitive team.


            Can Weisbrod save T-Mac and the Magic?


            Magic Summer Blueprint


            Orlando will have a high first-round draft pick, a mid-level

            exception and possibly Howard or Gooden as trade bait. It's
hard to
            imagine a scenario where that brings back the players the
Magic need
            to turn the franchise around overnight.


            DRAFT: Right now the Magic are looking at the second pick in
the
            draft. Though the lottery makes this in an inexact science,
chances
            are they end up with one of the top four picks. That means
their
            first-round pick will either be a high school kid who needs
two to
            three years to develop, or it could be UConn's Emeka Okafor
-- a guy
            who would help the team immensely but plays the same
position as
            Howard and Gooden.


            If it looks like Okafor will be off the board when the Magic
pick,
            they're probably better off shopping the pick to a team with
the
            patience to wait for a high school kid like Dwight Howard or
Shaun
            Livingston or a big international player like Pavel
Podkolzine or
            Andris Biedrins. There's been a lot of talk about Gabriel's
            infatuation with Podkolzine, but now that he's not running
the show,
            expect that to end. There will be interest in the pick
(especially
            if the pick is top 2), but not as much as in normal years.


            FREE AGENCY: The Magic have two semi-significant restricted
free
            agents in DeShawn Stevenson and Steven Hunter. The team
would like
            to hang onto Stevenson. Hunter is likely gone. Neither
player will
            command a huge amount of cap space.


            The Magic are looking at a payroll of $50 million next
season.
            That's far enough over the projected $47 million cap to take
away
            any chance of signing a free agent straight out.


            The mid-level exception could land a decent free agent, but
it's
            unlikely to be a big man or a point guard. There are very
few of
            them in the free agent market this year, and they'll all
likely go
            for more than the mid-level.


            Their best bets may be someone like Boston's Mark Blount or
the
            Warriors' Adonal Foyle.


            TRADES: The team could try to package either Howard or
Gooden with
            their No. 1 pick, or, if the Magic nab Okafor, try to trade
one or
            both of them straight up for some backcourt help. Before
February's
            trade deadline, there was interest in Howard from the
Timberwolves
            and in Gooden from the Warriors and Sonics. If the team
could turn
            one or both of them into some backcourt help or a more
rugged four,
            it could help things a little bit.

            After that, the Magic have few assets to deal. Rookie Reece
Gaines
            was just the latest in a long line of draft screw-ups for
the Magic.
            The other players on the roster -- Lue, Garrity and Andrew
DeClerq
            -- won't have much value.


            The Magic's dire situation (especially if they fall out of
the top
            two spots in the draft) has led many to a pretty obvious
conclusion.
            The Magic must either trade McGrady this summer or prepare
to lose
            him in 2005, when he can opt out of his contrac and become a
free
            agent. The Magic have a pretty sore history of losing their
stars
            with little or no compensation. Shaq bolted to the Lakers,
leaving a
            gaping hole in the middle. Penny Hardaway left for the Suns
and
            garnered the Magic just a draft pick in return. Can the team
survive
            another defection?


            It depends. If Weisbrod can't turn McGrady into a couple of
            up-and-coming players and cap space, the team would be
better off
            taking the cap space next year. It would be crazy to trade
T-Mac
            unless Orlando got an awesome deal in return.


            However, Weisbrod should be able to get something
significant for
            McGrady. What are some scenarios that might make sense? Here
are
            five worth pondering:


            The Lakers could offer Kobe Bryant in a sign-and-trade. Shaq
loves
            T-Mac, and Bryant, if acquitted, is probably as close to
equal value
            as the Magic could get for McGrady. However, Bryant would
have to
            agree to the trade, and given the Magic's problems ... why
would he?



            The Celtics might be willing to part with Paul Pierce and a
couple
            of first-round picks. Pierce may be a notch below McGrady,
but he's
            locked into a long-term deal and sounds like he's looking
for a new
            home.

            The Grizzlies might have the goods to get it done. They're
one of
            the deepest teams in the league and a team searching for a
superstar
            to complement their plethora of role players. If the
Grizzlies
            offered Pau Gasol, Shane Battier, Earl Watson and either
James Posey
            or Bonzi Wells, the Magic essentially would be getting
four-for-one
            and nabbing a young 7-footer with star potential in Gasol.


            Would McGrady sign on long-term in a place like Memphis?
With best
            friend Mike Miller now locked into a long-term contract
there, you
            bet he would. The Grizzlies still would be deep; the team
still
            would have an impressive power forward with upside in
Stromile
            Swift, a solid starting point guard in Jason Williams, and
two
            serviceable big men in Lorenzen Wright and Jake Tsakalidis.


            The Bulls could offer Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford
(sign-and-trade),
            their first rounder (right now slated to be No. 1 overall)
and one
            contract like Jerome Williams' for filler. While the Magic
wouldn't
            be getting the star power some other deals might bring, the
chance
            to have two of the top picks in the draft, plus a promising
center
            and big point guard in Curry and Crawford could be tempting
--
            especially if the Magic could turn around and trade Howard
and/or
            Gooden for a young dynamic two guard.


            An Allen Iverson for McGrady swap only happens if the Magic
get
            very, very desperate at the end. Iverson has the ability to
sell out
            the arena and has more heart than McGrady, but he brings so
much
            baggage I can't see the Magic pulling the trigger.


            And while we're on the subject ... no, Knicks fans, the
Magic
            wouldn't be willing to swap T-Mac for Allan Houston. Mavs
fans, a
            Michael Finley, Antawn Jamison or Antoine Walker for T-Mac
swap does
            not work either (though a Dirk Nowitzki deal might). Rockets
fans,
            forget about a straight-up Steve Francis for T-Mac swap. If
the
            Rockets had more assets, maybe, but they don't. Everyone
else, the
            Magic doesn't want your crap unless you're offering Kevin
Garnett,
            Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Jermaine O'Neal
or Amare
            Stoudemire as part of your package.