Hold your horses Rockets fans, on top of being 25 years old with back problems and not doing a thing to prevent them, McGrady to Houston may not be anything more than a simple flirt.

In order to get McGrady in the first place, the Rockets would have to include Steve Francis, something they just are not in the business of. The Jeff Van Gundy / Steve Francis problems have been grossly exaggerated.

On top of that, Francis seems to have become much more of a Van Gundy player, especially with his strong playoff showing. Although he is turnover-prone and had his worst shooting season from the perimeter and as a finisher, he does get teammates open outside shots every night, and he is willing to defer to Yao.

Some are criticizing Tracy McGrady for an arrogance and belief that he is bigger than the team.  But this Orlando Sentinel writer believes that the Magic?s new GM John Weisbrod may be guilty of just that.

Is Weisbrod letting his ego and not his better judgment run the team so far?

McGrady?s time in Orlando seems to be coming to a bad ending.  The superstar is speaking publicly about where he would like to end up and has downplayed the number 1 pick the Magic landed in the lottery last week by saying that there are no impact players in the Draft.  

It could be that only a miracle will keep McGrady in town and some blame could be heading Weisbrod?s way.  

Weisbrod is a very intelligent front office executive.  But just a month into the job, he challenged McGrady by saying he wanted to sign him this off-season or would pursue a trade to send T-Mac packing.  The problem with this approach is that it's highly difficult to present the current roster and have one of the league?s top five players sign on to staying.  

It?s a difficult position for both sides and one that could end up forcing McGrady out of town.  

This Magic franchise simply cannot afford to lose another superstar.  However it seems that Weisbrod wants to run the show his way and does not take kindly to competing powers or individualists who would challenge his way of doing business.  

He may view McGrady as someone who did not handle losing well, who is not a team player, and someone who stands in the way of Weisbrod putting his stamp on this team.  

Moreover, he may see McGrady as a highly valuable trade asset, one that he can dump on the open market for such a complete talent package that he will be able to re-make the roster quickly and successfully.

If the Orlando Magic do not improve - and quickly - look for McGrady to be requesting a transfer out West by mid-July.

While this doesn't leave the Magic with much time, the pressure on the team has intesified with their star forward voicing concerns that their recently acquired first overall pick cannot land a player good enough to improve the team dramatically and that he'd prefer the team trade the pick.

"I don't want to be here rebuilding," McGrady said.

Contrary to reports of McGrady jumping ship to either San Antonio or the Lakers he lists the Houston Rockets as the front runners to acquire his services should he leave, with Indiana and Detroit both possibilities in the East.

"I don't want to go there," McGrady said of the Spurs and Lakers. "I don't want to go somewhere where everything's already in place. That would be too easy. I want a challenge."

Emeka Okafor responded to rumors that the Orlando Magic might trade away the No. 1 pick and said, "Orlando would be a nice place to play.

"I won't know, though, until it gets closer to the draft. Hey, Orlando would be fine with me," said Okafor.

"I've heard that [about the Magic trading the pick], and I've heard a lot of other stuff. But at this point, who knows what's true and what's not?" Okafor asked.

After the lottery draw, Magic General Manager John Weisbrod gave indications that the Magic might not be able to wait for a high school player to develop.  Dwight Howard has skipped college to make himself eligible for the 2004 Draft and is expected to be one of the top two selections.

Meanwhile, Weisbrod received calls from several teams with interest in trading for the top pick, even teams that made the playoffs.  ?It's pretty much a feeling-out process now," he said. "We're not jumping into any rash conversations.?

Okafur prefers to be a power forward in the NBA, not a center.  ?I can play the 5, but I think the 4 spot is where I want to be,? he said.

Weisbrod will speak with Okafor's agent Jeff Schwartz today.

He has talked with McGrady's L.A-based agent, Arn Tellem, saying that they have had "excellent and honorable discussions."  About the McGrady situation, Weisbrod also said, "We're trying to remedy that so he's here in Orlando."

Bernie Bickerstaff said he believes the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers may be interested in trading their picks.  The results of last night?s Draft lottery determined that the teams will select numbers 1 and 2, respectively.

The Bobcats will contact the teams to inquire about a swap of the number 4 pick plus additional compensation.

"It makes sense to me that if these teams could get veteran help to improve their position, they'd listen," Bickerstaff said.

Connecticut?s Emeka Okafor and Atlanta high school star Dwight Howard are the consensus top two picks in this draft.  

The Magic and/or Clippers may be looking for a veteran player who can step in and contribute immediately.

"I think what you do is call and ask if there's anything we can do to satisfy their needs," Bickerstaff said.

It had been smooth sailing until the 5th pick. Russ Granik announced it was going to Washington, and that meant both Orlando and Los Angeles had made it into the top 3. With them was Chicago.

"3rd pick goes to Chicago"

Only two remained. Bulls representative BJ Armstrong was out. Remained were Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy and Magic Senior VP Pat Williams. This was his 3rd attempt at getting the top pick, winning in 1992 and 1993.

"2nd pick goes to..."

Russ Granik was pulling out the team logo from the envelope. As he was pulling it out, the logo became clearer and clearer. When he finally revealed it, Pat Williams yelled out and clenched his fists. It was the Clipppers' logo Russ Granik was pulling out, and that meant only thing: Pat Williams worked his "Magic" for an uprecendented 3rd time.

Dave Twardzik is one of the Orlando Magic's most experienced and knowledgeable basketball minds but once passed on selecting Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant in consecutive drafts.

Twardzik is now director of scouting for the Magic and was GM of the lowly Golden State Warriors from 1995-96.

In 1995, the teenage wave hadn?t yet arrived in the NBA and not many GM?s were using their pick to go with unproven youth.  Twardzik used the first overall pick to select Joe Smith of Maryland over the likes of Rasheed Wallace of North Carolina, Antonio McDyess of Alabama and Garnett of Farragut Academy of Chicago.

The Magic?s Pat Williams selected Moses Malone out of high school when he was the Sixers GM, but that was 20 years before Garnett appeared on the scene and the trend toward players without any college experience began again.  Bryant and Tracy McGrady followed to solidify the trend or perhaps to make it a permanent way of life in the NBA.  

In 1996, Twardzik chose Todd Fuller of North Carolina State over Bryant of Lower Merion (Pa.) High School.  But twelve other teams also passed on Bryant until the Charlotte Hornets selected him 13th and then traded him to the Lakers at what turns out to be a laughably low price.

Although a series of events have to occur before this is reality, Shaquille O?Neal could re-join the Magic at some point in the not-too-distant future.  

New York Times writer Chris Broussard says that a person close to McGrady disclosed that the Magic star and O?Neal often talk about playing together.

The 2005-6 season would be the first time the two superstars could take the court together wearing the same uniform.  

Both can opt out of their contracts after next season.  O?Neal has expressed a great deal of dissatisfaction with the prospect of Lakers head coach Phil Jackson leaving.  Some believe that if Kobe Bryant returns as a free agent, Jackson will not.

"I know exactly what I'm going to do," McGrady said slyly. "I don't know; we'll see. I haven't made up my mind yet, but I kind of have an idea of what I want to do."

"That's too good to be true," one Magic team official said about the return of Shaq to Orlando.

Dwight Howard?s older cousin, Kevin Samples, told the lottery-pick-to-be "he ain't ready for this."

Howard, 18, is in fact likely to be the first or second player chosen on the June 24 Draft.  And with this comes instant stardom, attention, and unwanted distractions.  

Howard?s parents have decided that their son will live with a relative at least for the first two years, and Samples is ready to take on the job.  

This is becoming common practice in the NBA as the average age of Draft entries drops.  

Chris Bosh lived with a cousin last year.  LeBron James lives with an uncle.

Samples is 24 and will help Howard manage his calendar, clear his life of trouble, and ease his transition to the life of professional basketball.

According to the Orlando's ABC affiliate, local WFTV's website, Orlando Magic guard and NBA's leading scorer for a second season in a row, Tracy McGrady will relinquish a guaranteed spot he had on Team USA's Olympic squad. He will cite security concerns as his primary reason for doing so, becoming the first player to withdraw because of them.