It has been recently reported that washed up, injury-prone, glass-like, 2nd round virgin guard Tracy McGrady is expressing to his agent and close friends that he wants to become a champion, and would like to sign with the back-to-back champion Los Angeles Lakers squad … of course he does.
BleacherReport.com reports:
Despite having limited intentions to use the Mid-Level Exception this summer, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak would consider pulling the trigger on the seven-time All-Star swingman should he accept a paycut at the MLE. Ron Artest, the defensive-minded role player who played a huge factor in this year’s Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals, has reached out to McGrady to “end his career as a champion.”
The Lakers are willing to explore a potential reunion of former Houston teammates Ron Artest and Tracy McGrady once the July 1 free agency begins.
As expressed by one high-ranked official within the Lakers’ management, should Tracy McGrady not return to the New York Knicks next season or spurn retirement, “expect the deal to get done by end of July.”
Now I’ve never been a fan of athletes ring chasing during the decline of their careers, especially players who have not been relevant in the league for going on 3 years now, but I guess it is what it is … and this is coming from a guy who was once a big McGrady fan.
Although Jerry West has expressed that he feels the Lakers need a secondary slasher besides Kobe, I don’t think T-Mac is right for that role any more as he is as frail as a 2 cent straw at this point. Gary Vitti already has hit plate full with the likes of Bynum’s medical concerns; what sense would it make adding to that burden with T-Back, a man who refuses to stay healthy at all costs? Also, a big part of McGrady’s game when he was at his pinnacle was his explosiveness, and at this point T-Mac is a jump shooter with about as much explosiveness as Robert “Tractor” Traylor had. On the other hand, if McGrady is willing to take the vet minimum, I guess you can’t really go wrong. The worst case scenario being that the Lakers do not play him much, resulting in McGrady and Morrison becoming best pals, and the best case scenario being that he plays well and the Lakers get a steal.
I think that Mike Miller would be a much better acquisition than McGrady would be at this point. Miller is essentially the player that Morrison was supposed to be for the Lakers. He is a big guard that can handle the rock and knock down the deep ball. For roster and chemistry reasons I would go get Mike Miller before I would get T-Mac.
The Lakers don’t need McGrady in their life right now. I mean … they already have an inconsistent jump shooter in Odom, I think that should suffice. And do the Lakers really want to put their faith in a man who is kin to Vince Carter? I think not.
Tracy McGrady has gone from:
to this:
CASE CLOSED
Kris Moyo is one of BSO’s newest writers and comes from a long background of jive talking and pimp walking. You can follow Kris on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/IAMKRIS24
