Orlando voided trade with Houston???

[slinslin]

According to several regular posters on the ESPN Magic board Channel 13 in Orlando reports that Orlando has backed out of the trade.

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lol forgot the ??? in the title.

 

[SweetD]

 

[slinslin]

Well apparently not. Just said it wasn't completed yet and might still fall through.

 

[capologist]

Yeah, unless there is a major snow job going on here, it sounds like the deal is agreed to in principle, and the only thing that can really throw a wrench into the works at this point is if the Bobcats take one of the principles in the expansion draft. Apparently, Mobley, Cato, and JHoward are all unprotected.

Mobley actually seems like a really good pick for the ’Cats. I wonder why he was left unprotected.

 

[hcsilla]

Mobley actually seems like a really good pick for the ’Cats. I wonder why he was left unprotected.

I wonder why in the hell would they have left Mobley unprotected.

I do not think that they did.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

From the insider article, Ford said the only principle that was left unprotected was Reece Gaines.

On ESPN News they had some guy from Charlotte Observer. He said he asked Bickerstaff if they planned to try and "pursuade" the Magic into passing on Okafor (by claiming they would take Gaines). He said Bickerstaff laughed and said he had no plans to do that. He didn't think he would be able to bluff the Magic into thinking they would take Gaines.


So I guess the Bobcats wont be stopping this trade.

 

[capologist]

Hmm. There are conflicting reports in the media.

The Morning Call writes:

However, that deal is contingent on the Bobcats not picking any of the three players involved in the trade that weren't protected — Mobley and teammate Kelvin Cato, and Orlando's Juwan Howard.

The Houston Chronicle writes:

They protected Steve Francis, Yao Ming, Jim Jackson and Cuttino Mobley.

Hmm. A news.google.com search quotes the following excerpt from an ESPN article:

... in return. Of those five players, McGrady and Francis are protected and cannot be drafted by the Bobcats. If Charlotte ...

However, in the linked article, that text is nowhere to be found.

It looks like initial reports indicated that McGrady and Francis were the only principals protected, but ESPN later removed that information from their article, presumably after discovering that it was not correct.

EurWeb has posted what appears to be the ESPN report in its original form:

Of those five players, McGrady and Francis are protected and cannot be drafted by the Bobcats. If Charlotte passes on Howard, Mobley and Cato, then the deal is done, Gray reports.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Second, sources say the deal Orlando and Houston are discussing also includes Reece Gaines, who is among the players the Magic left exposed in the expansion draft and thus would be holding up the deal. Gaines can't be traded until after the expansion draft (assuming he isn't selected by the Bobcats). Reports that Howard was left unprotected (and thus was holding up the deal) are inaccurate, according to league sources. The Magic did not expose Howard to the expansion draft.

Thats from the Insider article.