Back in the early-to-mid 2000’s, there was no better individual rivalry in the league than the one between Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady. The two scorers put on a show almost every time they took the court against each other.
Fast forward a decade, and Kobe is scoring (and shooting) at an incredible rate for a player his age on a struggling team. T-Mac retired from the NBA and tried his luck at minor league baseball. But now that he has had some time off, McGrady is itching to make a comeback. And according to Bleacher Report, the former All-Star thinks Bryant’s Lakers are a perfect fit for him.
“My body is still in shape. I can go. It’s about opportunity, though. … I want no limits on who I am and what I can do, not stand in the corner and shoot jump shots,” he says. “I want to be involved, that’s not saying 10 to 15 shots, I want to be involved. I don’t want to stand in the corner and shoot threes. That’s not me.”
The ideal team, T-Mac says, would be the Lakers. The Lakers are inexperienced. The Lakers need players. He could be the second star the Lakers must have to go with Bryant.
“This Kobe,” he says. “I could play with him.”
While it’s admirable that McGrady thinks he could make a difference for this Laker team, the one thing they do not need is another aging veteran. In a throwaway season, Los Angeles needs to let Kobe keep chucking his way up the all-time scoring list and see what they have with their young roster moving forward.
It will be interesting to see if someone gives T-Mac the shot at a comeback that he wants, but it’s tough to see the 35-year-old making much of an impact in the NBA this season.