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Would this be a guy we should target this offseason? He'll be under the radar and fairly cheap, but he has shown the game-changing ability that this franchise needs.

I thought about going to the Knicks board to see what they think of him, but it is hard to get a good idea of where he's at from their fanbase. All I know is that in his debut with the Knicks, the fans were chanting for him to come back in late in the game, similar to how our fans did the same for Darko in his debut. Prior to his debut, he said in an interview that he wanted to bring veteran leadership to the Knicks. I think there's another team he could bring leadership to.

Personally, I think he would be a perfect fit in our offense, and I think he would be willing to come here. The triangle offense has featured such greats as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Kobe Bryant. I think he has shown the ability to be a number one, which is something we covet.

Money shouldn't be an issue for him. I think he could be had for a reasonable 2-3 contract of roughly 4-5 million per.

What do others say?

I don't think that T-Mac has much left in the tank.

I don't see why he would have interest in playing here. Most guys try to finish their career on top, not bottom. And I don't see why we would have interest in bringing him here. By the time we're relevant he'll be retired.

Yeah, I don't see the team having much interest in him. Reports are D'Antoni doesn't even want him and I'm not sure if he's the type of veteran the team should be looking for.

I'm guessing this came up because of the press conference and I think, if you're looking for a veteran for the "rough patches" I'd rather go with Childress or Outlaw. Someone who doesn't stink of failure and isn't way past their prime.

shangrila wrote:Yeah, I don't see the team having much interest in him. Reports are D'Antoni doesn't even want him and I'm not sure if he's the type of veteran the team should be looking for.

I'm guessing this came up because of the press conference and I think, if you're looking for a veteran for the "rough patches" I'd rather go with Childress or Outlaw. Someone who doesn't stink of failure and isn't way past their prime.

D'Antoni doesn't want him because they think they can get two max FAs.

When I think veteran FA, I don't think of guys that are 26 and 25, respectively. And neither of those have shown they can carry a team. Neither have been more than 4th or 5th options on okay teams. McGrady was the number one team on playoff teams. Look at the first round exits all you want, but he still was a large part of what got them to the postseason.....much like a certain #21.

I think McGrady's days as a #1 are long gone.

I would have absolutely no faith in him getting through a whole season injury free. Even with a summer to work on his conditioning.

If he can still play, he'll be ready to compete while the rest of our team isn't, and he'll be washed up when the rest of the team is ready to compete. If he can't still play, we are just throwing away money. Where's the upside?

Diggler wrote:If he can still play, he'll be ready to compete while the rest of our team isn't, and he'll be washed up when the rest of the team is ready to compete. If he can't still play, we are just throwing away money. Where's the upside?

He can teach our wings a thing or two. He'll probably get more money than I would want to pay for him or will sign with a contender, though.

Klomp wrote:D'Antoni doesn't want him because they think they can get two max FAs.

When I think veteran FA, I don't think of guys that are 26 and 25, respectively. And neither of those have shown they can carry a team. Neither have been more than 4th or 5th options on okay teams. McGrady was the number one team on playoff teams. Look at the first round exits all you want, but he still was a large part of what got them to the postseason.....much like a certain #21.

No offence, but I don't see that as much of a reason. McGrady has said he'd come back for a massive paycut if they got 2 stars so it's not money that's motivating it.

But McGrady can't carry a team anymore, so I don't see your point. Yes it's true he did do it once upon a time and he was a big part of why his teams got to the playoffs (although he's also the reason they never got out of the 1st) but it's just not there anymore and what's worse is I'm not sure he realises it yet. This team shouldn't need a fallen star to show them how to do things, just someone that understands you take the good with the bad and can keep everything on an even keel. Maybe even unpout Love, if that's possible.

I'd take him for a nice size 1 year contract and try again for big free agent in 2011 if nothing good comes together in 2010. Better than giving Rudy Gay 14 million a year or whatnot

Devilzsidewalk wrote:I'd take him for a nice size 1 year contract and try again for big free agent in 2011 if nothing good comes together in 2010. Better than giving Rudy Gay 14 million a year or whatnot

Completely agree...I would much prefer a small deal for McGrady than a huge deal for Gay. Best case- 1 year deal, he returns to be a talented 18-20ppg player and we trade him at the deadline because we still suck. Worst case, he gets hurt or completely blows and we cut him or dont resign him.

With all of that said, I am not sure McGrady signs a one year deal. And I wouldnt want to sign him early cause I think there are better options. But I would definitely consider him a better option than Gay for 14million over 5-6 years.

casey wrote:I don't see why he would have interest in playing here. Most guys try to finish their career on top, not bottom. And I don't see why we would have interest in bringing him here. By the time we're relevant he'll be retired.

He'll be retired long before we are relevant.

slinky wrote:

Devilzsidewalk wrote:I'd take him for a nice size 1 year contract and try again for big free agent in 2011 if nothing good comes together in 2010. Better than giving Rudy Gay 14 million a year or whatnot

Completely agree...I would much prefer a small deal for McGrady than a huge deal for Gay. Best case- 1 year deal, he returns to be a talented 18-20ppg player and we trade him at the deadline because we still suck. Worst case, he gets hurt or completely blows and we cut him or dont resign him.

With all of that said, I am not sure McGrady signs a one year deal. And I wouldnt want to sign him early cause I think there are better options. But I would definitely consider him a better option than Gay for 14million over 5-6 years.

Good posts in this thread. McGrady might not find a lot of teams interested in him, and the chance to show his stuff on the Wolves, and move on at the trade deadline may be appealing to everyone concerned.

One thing that concerns me is his attitude. Ever since TOR, I've put him in the same selfish category as his cousin. We talk about adding vets, and I'm sure our kids that grew up watching T-Mac would listen to him, but could that be a bad thing?

Tmac has pretty much done nothing but run his mouth for about three years now. I wouldn't take him if he were free....just to sell tickets. He could barely get off the ground in Houston....says he's near form to get traded....plays decent, and then says he's only at about 30 percent. He's a bum...and it's not just recently. His days of being able to take over games and all that are far, far away. If you want a guy who can score in bunches, at least go after AI....he can at least play...

He still has something left, but not enough to overcome his big flaws. If you play the way he plays, you have to be top-level talent as otherwise it hurts your team. He simply stops the ball way, way too much, can´t shoot or play off the ball at all.
Which is ok if you are a great athlete/player that you can give the ball on every possession and put him in iso´s and pick and roll situations and the player produces. But when he doesn´t anymore, he´s not just a little worse player, he takes a huge drop because he can´t adjust to that.

C.lupus wrote:

casey wrote:I don't see why he would have interest in playing here. Most guys try to finish their career on top, not bottom. And I don't see why we would have interest in bringing him here. By the time we're relevant he'll be retired.

He'll be retired long before we are relevant.

I'm not sure if that's worse for us or for him, I just know that makes me a saaaaaaad panda.

Older players that are FA typically do one of 3 things.

1.) Resign with a team they have loyalty with.

2.) Sign as a role player with a contending team to chase a ring

3.) Sign as "the man" on a bad team in order to "prove" you are still "the man" (player ends up being a chucker)

Thus, we want nothing to do with T-Mac.

I was all for trading for him at the deadline to stir up some excitement, but it's evident to me that his career is probably over as far as being anything more than an ineffective role player.

revprodeji wrote:Older players that are FA typically do one of 3 things.

1.) Resign with a team they have loyalty with.

2.) Sign as a role player with a contending team to chase a ring

3.) Sign as "the man" on a bad team in order to "prove" you are still "the man" (player ends up being a chucker)

Thus, we want nothing to do with T-Mac.

+1