June 30, 2004 - Jeff Van Gundy (Rockets Head Coach), Carroll Dawson (Rockets general manager), Leslie Alexander (owner), Tracy McGrady, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines addressed the media at a press conference held on the court at Toyota Center in front of 2,500 fans.
On the trade and acquiring McGrady:
"I don't think there's a better
player
in the NBA than Tracy and the good times are going to roll now in
Houston.
We had to give up some great players, Cuttino (Mobley), Kelvin (Cato)
and
Steve (Francis). I wish them well in Orlando. Everybody wants me to
read
stats on Tracy but that's not what Tracy cares about, Tracy cares about
winning championships in Houston and with Tracy and the rest of the
players
we are a long way there. This is a great day for the Rockets and a
great
day for the city of Houston."
On the excitement built around the change:
"This is exciting not only
for
the franchise but for the city of Houston. Anytime that you can pick
up
four players of this magnitude you have to be excited."
On coming to Houston and the enthusiasm of the fans:
"In my seven
years, I
have never seen anything like this. I appreciate the love ... I'm just
looking forward to something great happening in the city of Houston.
And
believe me, something great is going to happen."
On his play fitting with Coach Van Gundy's style:
"I'm coming here
with the
attitude (that) I'm going to let this guy coach me. I feel I'm a
coachable
player. Whatever I have to do to sacrifice, that's what I'm going to
do, so
I think I'm going to fit in great."
On how the Western Conference is different:
"Playing on the East it's a
lot
more challenging because the Eastern Conference has a lot of great
guards
and every night I really had my work cut out for me. On the West, it's
made
of a lot of big men and I hope that I come here and do what I did in
the
Eastern conference and try to do it better and hopefully turn this
franchise
around."
On how long he's planning to stay in Houston:
"I'm looking to end my
career
here in Houston."
On playing with Yao Ming:
"It is truly a blessing to have a guy like Yao
Ming who
I think is going to be dominant in his league. I'm coming here to try
and
help him get better and he is only going to help make the game much
easier
for me so I'm excited about him."
On the trade and acquiring the new players:
"Whenever you make a trade
of
this magnitude you have to give to get greatness and I want to take a
moment
to thank Steve (Francis), Cuttino (Mobley) and Kelvin (Cato) for the
great
year that we had. It's very hard to trade players because when they
put on
your uniform and play with heart and passion and lead you to the
playoffs
it's difficult, but we feel we owe it to Rockets fans to put the best
product we can on the floor. Certainly with this trade we feel we have
made
a step forward. We're going to do something special this year and for
all
the years to come."
On McGrady's skills:
"He can be the premier defensive player in the
NBA.
He's got that type of quickness. He's a tremendous passer. When
you're
looking to establish the culture of a team you're looking for your best
players to buy into your vision and my vision has always been the best
players lead you in the areas of work and unselfishness. There is a
lot of
pressure on myself and on him (McGrady) ...and you can't run away from
expectations. Your choice is to meet them or exceed them and we are
going
to try to exceed the expectations that we have."
