Monday, July 26, 2010

T-Mac Interested in Joining Bulls

Let's play a little game called "You Know You've Had a Great Offseason When..." The game is simple. Just simply fill in the blank so the statement in quotes turns out factual. I'll play first.
1) ...people are talking about the 12th man you could potentially add to your roster.
2) ...people are talking as if this 12th man could contribute 20-25 minutes a night.
3) ...the potential 12th man has had seven straight seasons averaging 24 ppg or more.
4) ...the potential 12th man has won two scoring titles, and will likely be the second or third guard off the bench.
Of course, that potential 12th man is Tracy McGrady, who was the best player in the NBA during the earlier part of this decade. He'd come at the veteran's minimum, making him a low cost, high reward option. While McGrady isn't the same player he once was, it seems like almost a no brainer to give him a chance.
Best case scenario: McGrady proves he can still score. He comes off the bench, plays about 20 minutes a game, maybe even stays on the floor during crunch time. He'll get plenty of rest and will rarely be forced to guard the opposing team's first or second option.
Worst case scenario: McGrady turns out to be washed up. He struggles with injuries and his game suffers. He gets little to no playing time and is buried on the bench. Remember even though this is a former scoring leader, his role isn't expected to be significant on this team anyway. How many teams even use their 12th man? Not many. As far as I'm concerned, anything we get out of McGrady will be a bonus.
McGrady has already referred to the Bulls as "we" while talking about them, so while not yet official, it seems like he'll be playing in Chicago next season.
McGrady played in only 30 games last season after undergoing surgery on his left knee. He averaged 8.2 and 3.3 while playing about 22 minutes a game. Although his minutes will probably be down from 22, if he contributed anything near those numbers off the bench, that would be a huge boost to a Bulls team that already is one of the deepest teams in the NBA.
This team seems to get more and more exciting each day. If this McGrady deal does happen it will be somewhat of a sad day for me. The Bulls will have filled out their 12 man roster, and I'll have nothing left to talk about until the season starts. During a one of a kind offseason, it shouldn't really be that surprising that a 2 time scoring champ signs with Chicago for the minimum.  After this offseason, nothing that happens this upcoming year will surprise me.

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