ESPN: TMac deal is DONE! FINALIZED!

[Yuma]

I lost the pasted link! I'll be back!

 

[Yuma]

I lost the pasted link! I'll be back!

"The Rockets deal for Tracy McGrady has been finalized, Jim Gray reports."

 

[JerkFace]

 

[slinslin]

You mean Jim Gay right?

 

[SweetD]

linky http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1825839

 

[SweetD]

The Rockets and Magic have finalized a deal to send Tracy McGrady to Houston for Steve Francis -- provided none of the other principal names in the multi-player trade are selected in Tuesday's expansion draft, ESPN's Jim Gray reports.


Among the other players that could be involved to make the trade work under salary-cap rules: Orlando's Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines, and Houston's Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato.



If the expansion Charlotte Bobcats pass on the unprotected player or players involved in the proposed trade, then the deal is done, Gray reports.



Jeff Fried, Francis' agent, told the Houston Chronicle on Monday that Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson told him the trade was not complete but was close.



"I spoke to Carroll and it was not a done deal," Fried told the paper. "It's close. It's subject to a few contingencies."



In the expansion draft (7 ET), the Bobcats will select 14 players from existing NBA rosters. Few of those players are expected to wind up on Charlotte's opening-night roster.



"We have been in conversations with the Magic, and we're good listeners and good facilitators," Bobcats coach and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff said. "We have to make a decision not to do anything that's vindictive, but to do something we can derive some benefit from. The conversations we've had have been cordial conversations."



McGrady can opt out of his seven-year, $93 million contract after next season, and has said he will exercise that option unless Orlando improves dramatically from the 21-61 record this past season. But the Magic have vowed to trade him, rather than letting the four-time All Star leave without any compensation -- like Shaquille O'Neal did eight years ago when he signed with the Lakers as a free agent.



Since McGrady's declaration, trade rumors involving the NBA's leading scorer have been flying, although the Magic have denied that any trades are on the horizon.



In fact, Orlando general manager John Weisbrod said Saturday that the club is still in contract discussions with McGrady.



"I certainly will not confirm that T-Mac is going to be traded," Weisbrod said. "I'm going to continue to say on T-Mac what I have said for the last month, which is that Arn [Tellem, McGrady's agent] and I are in discussions."



McGrady told the Orlando Sentinel on Saturday that he could not discuss the situation "until it's official ... after the draft."



Added McGrady: "I can't let my tricks out of the bag. I don't have any comment."



Francis, who has a $75 million contract, has told the Rockets that he does not want to be traded to Orlando. The Magic had the NBA's worst record last season while the Rockets made the playoffs. But Gray reports that Francis has no veto power and that the deal does not hinge on his approval.



"I thought we were really building something, something very good in Houston," Francis said. "Obviously that's not the direction they want to go. I still think we could be a very good team.



"I'm not crying. Like I told you before, I know this is a business. Things like that happen. I'm not mad. I'm not upset. This is what they're trying to do. But like I said, I still think we could be something."



Francis wouldn't comment about the possibility of going to the Magic.



Fried told the newspaper that Francis wasn't happy about the prospects of playing for the Magic in a rebuilding situation.



"Steve's preference is to not go to Orlando," Fried said. "Steve's tasted the playoffs. [The Rockets] got a series under their belts. He was looking forward to going further with the same Rockets team but with another year of experience together. This is certainly not his preference. He loves Houston."



Francis told Houston television station KRIV on Monday that if he goes to Orlando, he wants Los Angeles Lakers star Shaquille O'Neal as a teammate. He said he talked to O'Neal on Monday.



Nate Peake, another of Francis' agents, told KRIV that the Rockets and Magic may need to get another team involved for a trade to work



"Just like Tracy McGrady made it be known that he would like to come to Houston, I believe Steve Francis should be able to go to a place where he can succeed at," Peake said.



Francis has averaged 19.3 points, 6.4 assists and 6.1 rebounds in five seasons with the Rockets.





McGrady led the NBA in scoring the past two seasons, averaging 28 points per game last season. Information from The Associated Press was used in this

 

[elindholm]

This is the same report from yesterday.

 

[KloD]

This is the same report from yesterday.

I was gonna say the same.

 

[Espo]

Yea this is from 4pm EST June 22nd. The NY times report is from just about an hour ago.

 

[Evil Ash]

This is the same report from yesterday.

Exactly!

No matter what anyone says the deal isn't ever done until they submit the paperwork to the League office.

So there still might be some negotating still occurring with the Magic.

 

[Ryanwb]

The deal cannot be completed until late July because of Francis' BYC status

 

[George O'Brien]

The deal cannot be completed until late July because of Francis' BYC status

It can be, but the BYC adds a complications that would mean including another team in the deal (no I can't explain how that works).

BTW, the Suns have EXACTLY the same issue with Marion.

 

[cly2tw]

It can be, but the BYC adds a complications that would mean including another team in the deal (no I can't explain how that works).

BTW, the Suns have EXACTLY the same issue with Marion.

Marion's BYC is gone by 1/7 since the Suns are under cap by then.

 

[slinslin]

Actually the Suns are already under the cap I think.

 

[George O'Brien]

Actually the Suns are already under the cap I think.

Not until July 1st.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Marion's BYC is gone by 1/7 since the Suns are under cap by then.

However, trades cannot happen between July 1st and July 14th. At least I think I read that somewhere.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Found it:

89. What is the July Moratorium?
It is a period during the month of July in which teams may not sign most free agents or make trades. Free agents become free on July 1, but the salary cap is not set until the audit report is completed later in the month. Teams and players must wait for the salary cap to be set before trades and most free agent signings can commence. Teams may negotiate with free agents beginning July 1, and may even agree to terms, but they have to wait until the moratorium ends before signing a contract.

This year, the first day of action takes place on July 14th.

 

[slinslin]

Not until July 1st.

Actually I think we are. Team options and all that stuff is decided already.

Even if not we received a 6M$ trade exemption because the Bobcats took Jahidi White.

If you trade a BYC player you can take back only half of what he makes in salaries. I believe the exception would make that BYC trade at least VERY close to working under the cap.