Tracy McGrady to Knicks, Kevin Martin to Rockets in Three-Team Trade
by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
The NBA’s trade deadline is always full of surprising twists and turns, and this year is no different. Despite numerous reports that they were close, the New York Knicks did not land T-Mac; instead, McGrady is now a Sacramento King, and Kevin Martin will wear Rocket white and red.
A seven-player blockbuster trade was completed in the wee hours this morning between Houston and Sacramento, dramatically altering the look and makeup of both franchises.
The Houston Chronicle has the details:
The Rockets completed a deal early today to move Tracy McGrady and might just have landed his successor. A person with knowledge of the deal said the Rockets sent McGrady, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey to the Sacramento Kings for high-scoring guard Kevin Martin.
The Rockets will also receive forward Kenny Thomas (a former first-round pick of theirs), center Hilton Armstrong and point guard Sergio Rodriguez. The Rockets will send cash to the Kings but, with the swap, will also move under the luxury-tax line, a secondary goal in the trade talks. “With Yao (Ming) back next year, we think Kevin gives us a great shot,” the person with knowledge of the deal said. “This also gives us what we need this year.”
T-Mac’s journey may not be quite complete yet; there’s some belief out there that the New York deal isn’t off the table, and that McGrady’s powerful agent may also try and land him on a contender for the Playoff run (Cleveland and the Lakers are reportedly possibilities.)
As for Kevin Martin, his struggles to play alongside Tyreke Evans in Sac-Town had become a growing issue, and now that he’s reunited with his old coach Rick Adelman, Martin’s game (and the Rockets) should benefit considerably.
UPDATE: According to Y! Sports, a three-team trade between the Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings and New York Knicks has taken place. “The completed trade will send McGrady and Kings point guard Sergio Rodriguez to New York. Houston lands Martin, Knicks forwards Jordan Hill and Jarred Jeffries and draft picks to the Rockets. The Kings will receive Rockets forward Carl Landry and center Joey Dorsey and Knicks guard Larry Hughes.“
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McGrady will be bought out and go to whatever team he chooses.
I expect Ariza to benefit from Kevin Martin being with the Rockets, but I wonder how Martin and Aaron Brooks will co-exist since Brooks is a shoot first guard.
Landry is a very good scorer, as is David West. But, it gets real tiresome when your power forward can’t consisently rebound. Amare anyone?
Hawes is a seven-footer who likes jumpshots and floats on the perimeter.
Always a red flag for me.
He’s not really passable on defense, is so-so on the glass. Seems to like to spectate during games. Yeah, the jumper is nice, and he’s fairly fluid, but he doesn’t work for me as a big man.
Thompson is 6-10, active on offense and defense, and spent his entire rookie year playing small forward without embarassing himself. He’s not as skilled as Hawes, but his upside is better, and his motor is already better. I like Thompson a lot.
I guess it all comes down to what you like. I prefer Hawes, who can man-up better and have a more traditional five game (if he can stop all the jumpers) than Thompson, who while he is more versatile, is more of a finisher and has trouble against stronger opponents.
I’ll concede that I’ve only started watching both of them closely this year (since I’ve been watching a lot of Sac games cause I love Tyreke)
I agree with your assessments, on you seem to be imparting skills to Hawes that he’s loath to demonstrate. I think he has better touch in the post, but HE’S ALMOST NEVER THERE!
Dude as a nice hook, but since he’s always floating around the perimeter you damn never see it. He’s even worse than Andrea, because at least Andrea recognizes when he has little people on him and punishes them down low. Hawes just floats, and he isn’t good putting the ball on the floor.
He drifts too much for me man. Thompson is raw, but he’s not drifting. I hate drifters.
Hawes only averages 6 rebounds as a 7FOOTER. That should tell you all you need to know.
And I apologize for all the typos in my last post Jukai.
Basically, Hawes has more skills but he doesn’t use them. Thompson has fewer skills, but more potential, and he seems inclined to reach that potential.
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