{"id":83482,"date":"2016-06-29T04:30:48","date_gmt":"2016-06-29T11:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bilcomprd.wpengine.com\/?p=83482"},"modified":"2024-01-19T15:35:40","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T23:35:40","slug":"mcgrady-francis-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ballislife.com\/mcgrady-francis-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering the Tracy McGrady For Steve Francis Trade in 2004"},"content":{"rendered":"

On June 29th of 2004,\u00a0one of the biggest NBA trades of the decade happened: The Houston Rockets sent three-time NBA All-Star Steve Francis, his backcourt partner-in-crime Cat Mobley and Kelvin Cato (with his ridiculous salary) to Orlando for two-time All-NBA teamer Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard (with his monster contract), Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines.<\/p>\n

T-Mac -- who asked to be traded after the Magic finished with the worst record in the East -- was coming off back-to-back scoring titles and\u00a0excited about the thought of winning championships in Clutch City with All-Star big man Yao Ming.<\/p>\n

\"I just knew it was going to take time. I\u2019m happy and it\u2019s time to move on. I can\u2019t predict the future, but it definitely would be nice. The ultimate goal is to win a championship for the Houston Rockets.\u00a0Bring me a championship, big man. Bring me a championship. I\u2019ve led the league in scoring two consecutive years. As long as we win, that\u2019s all that matters to me. I\u2019m going to try to go in there and do what I do. If that consists of me sacrificing, giving Yao the ball and playing through other guys, that\u2019s what I\u2019ll do. I think both teams are going to benefit from this trade. I got want I wanted. Orlando got three solid players. Houston was definitely the No. 1 team on my list,\" Mcgrady said.<\/p>\n

Despite nagging injuries, McGrady remained an All-Star for three more years and became a fan-favorite in H-Town with some of the most\u00a0memorable performances in franchise history.<\/p>\n