Tracy McGrady leaving adidas?

[jazzed77]

Had these and the blue/black version of either them or the other year. Liked them a lot back in the day.

[Buckeye-NBAFan]

Must be nice

well, i just found out yesterday Reebok is paying AI $800k per year until he is 55 at which point they'd pay him $32M to close out that contract.

Sent from my SM-G996U using RealGM mobile app

Yet Reebok still probably made out like bandits on that deal.

Employers only hire employees they think can make them money. And the bigger the guaranteed money, the greater the risk to the company, and the greater the potential return needs to be to compensate for the risk.

Unless your Jordan (who has a terrible deal imo getting only 5%) or LeBron, most guys don't have a lot of leverage though. They can't start their own company and make the same money. Their choices are Adidas, Nike and maybe a couple other companies.

[Grumpy Heat Fan]

well, i just found out yesterday Reebok is paying AI $800k per year until he is 55 at which point they'd pay him $32M to close out that contract.

That was really smart of AI to do.

When your playing days are long over, athletes have to get used to a new lifestyle and how to spend money wisely. AI made sure he would not go broke as he got older, and by the time he hits 55, he will be wise enough on how to use that $32 mil and not blow it

Some athletes run through $32 mil in a year or two. AI will be older and wiser and more financially sound when he gets that final hit

[theforumblue]

i didnt love the way they looked, but i loved wearing his shoes. they were very comfortable.

[dsg2003mach1]

well, i just found out yesterday Reebok is paying AI $800k per year until he is 55 at which point they'd pay him $32M to close out that contract.

That was really smart of AI to do.

When your playing days are long over, athletes have to get used to a new lifestyle and how to spend money wisely. AI made sure he would not go broke as he got older, and by the time he hits 55, he will be wise enough on how to use that $32 mil and not blow it

Some athletes run through $32 mil in a year or two. AI will be older and wiser and more financially sound when he gets that final hit

hopefully that delayed 32 mil was earning some kind of interest or return as an investment. Even in something super safe and low yield and that's a hell of a lot of compound interest of the years. Agreed though, seems he made sure to save him from himself

[CometGM]

Why would adidas pay players that are long retired? I don’t get it? What’s Adidas getting out of paying T-Mac? Does he still move adidas merchandise?

T-Mac still has a cult following, same like Derrick Rose has and will continue to have for a long while with the older generation. This cult following hasn't died out.
Players that hit such a high peak and their fans believe they could've been one of the best had it not been for injuries.

T-Mac is still huge in China. Granted, his era will slowly dwindle, but there are still lots of 30-50 yr olds out there.
They don't have the staying power of Jordan, so trying to get the most money while he still can.

[ChaseDown]

Why would adidas pay players that are long retired? I don’t get it? What’s Adidas getting out of paying T-Mac? Does he still move adidas merchandise?

T-Mac still has a cult following, same like Derrick Rose has and will continue to have for a long while with the older generation. This cult following hasn't died out.
Players that hit such a high peak and their fans believe they could've been one of the best had it not been for injuries.

T-Mac is still huge in China. Granted, his era will slowly dwindle, but there are still lots of 30-50 yr olds out there.
They don't have the staying power of Jordan, so trying to get the most money while he still can.

I am like this with both TMac and Brandon Roy. Both had tools to be better than the praised Kobe Bryant during their eras. Injuries suck man, straight up.

[TwitterFingers]

Why would adidas pay players that are long retired? I don’t get it? What’s Adidas getting out of paying T-Mac? Does he still move adidas merchandise?

T-Mac still has a cult following, same like Derrick Rose has and will continue to have for a long while with the older generation. This cult following hasn't died out.
Players that hit such a high peak and their fans believe they could've been one of the best had it not been for injuries.

T-Mac is still huge in China. Granted, his era will slowly dwindle, but there are still lots of 30-50 yr olds out there.
They don't have the staying power of Jordan, so trying to get the most money while he still can.

In T-Mac’s I’m one of those fans that believed if not for injury he’d have been up there with the greatest

[chuck_wagon44]

Why does t-mac get associated with the rockets so much??? Really with his rockets run along with yao?

His best t-mac sneakers(1-3) all came out while his playing for orlando. I get they sell in asia because he played with yao a few years. But if you know about the tmac 1-3 you clearly know he wore those all in orlando not in Houston. Kinda odd how he seems to always get tied to houston so much more then orlando when his best years and his best sneakers came out when he was in orlando.

The tmac 1-3 where amazing basketball sneakers to play in and they looked dope( especially the 2). Such a fun time in orlando seeing all the kids come back to school after Christmas break rocking t-mac.

He only played 2 years in Orlando bruh. LOL.

He played like 6 years in Houston and STILL LIVES in Houston so in a way, he's a Rocket without a doubt moreso than a Magic.

Also, he wanted the Rockets to retire his jersey# and didn't care if Magic did. That should tell you something as well.

While he had his highest SCORING average with the Magic, they still lost like 70+ games and were irrelevant.

In Houston, he was competing and played his most complete basketball, especially his first year there.

Look at these highlights and compare it to orlando, you'll see why he's more Rocket than Magic. Heck, he's more Raptor than Magic too.

Watch on YouTube

[Jazz9]

Why does t-mac get associated with the rockets so much??? Really with his rockets run along with yao?

His best t-mac sneakers(1-3) all came out while his playing for orlando. I get they sell in asia because he played with yao a few years. But if you know about the tmac 1-3 you clearly know he wore those all in orlando not in Houston. Kinda odd how he seems to always get tied to houston so much more then orlando when his best years and his best sneakers came out when he was in orlando.

The tmac 1-3 where amazing basketball sneakers to play in and they looked dope( especially the 2). Such a fun time in orlando seeing all the kids come back to school after Christmas break rocking t-mac.

He only played 2 years in Orlando bruh. LOL.

He played like 6 years in Houston and STILL LIVES in Houston so in a way, he's a Rocket without a doubt moreso than a Magic.

Also, he wanted the Rockets to retire his jersey# and didn't care if Magic did. That should tell you something as well.

While he had his highest SCORING average with the Magic, they still lost like 70+ games and were irrelevant.

In Houston, he was competing and played his most complete basketball, especially his first year there.

Look at these highlights and compare it to orlando, you'll see why he's more Rocket than Magic. Heck, he's more Raptor than Magic too.

Watch on YouTube

He stayed 4 years in Orlando in which he played 295 games vs 303 in Houston...

And there's not a thing he could do in Houston he couldn't do better as a Magic

His body was already breaking down by his second season in Houston and he wasn't nearly the athlete he was in his Orlando days.
His shot got worse, was awful from the FT line, couldn't get in the paint as easily etc

He was still very very good (in 04/05 and 06/07) but Houston T-Mac couldn't touch Orlando T-Mac

[RookieStar]

What is this? Are the posters here that young that they didnt know about Orlando Tmac? Or is this some deliberate revisionist history?

There were legit debates on who was the heir appearant SG of MJ aka best SGs between Kobe and Tmac. It was a close race and sometimes Tmac won those because Kobe had Shaq while Tmac had the combo of Doleac and Declerc.

OT : as a Magic fan and still a struggling student then, i bought usually the ummm " cheaper" kind of basketball shoes. My first basketball shoe that I wqs able to afford was the Tmac 3.5. Best looking ahoe ever!!! Pain to play in but i looked cool. Lol

[MagicFan12345]

Why does t-mac get associated with the rockets so much??? Really with his rockets run along with yao?

His best t-mac sneakers(1-3) all came out while his playing for orlando. I get they sell in asia because he played with yao a few years. But if you know about the tmac 1-3 you clearly know he wore those all in orlando not in Houston. Kinda odd how he seems to always get tied to houston so much more then orlando when his best years and his best sneakers came out when he was in orlando.

The tmac 1-3 where amazing basketball sneakers to play in and they looked dope( especially the 2). Such a fun time in orlando seeing all the kids come back to school after Christmas break rocking t-mac.

He only played 2 years in Orlando bruh. LOL.

He played like 6 years in Houston and STILL LIVES in Houston so in a way, he's a Rocket without a doubt moreso than a Magic.

Also, he wanted the Rockets to retire his jersey# and didn't care if Magic did. That should tell you something as well.

While he had his highest SCORING average with the Magic, they still lost like 70+ games and were irrelevant.

In Houston, he was competing and played his most complete basketball, especially his first year there.

Look at these highlights and compare it to orlando, you'll see why he's more Rocket than Magic. Heck, he's more Raptor than Magic too.

Watch on YouTube

McGrady played 4 years in Orlando, it shows you do not know basketball

[JoeyMorgan619]

Tracy was going to attend Kentucky University until Adidas signed him to $12 million. I get it they've always been attached but they should figure things out.

Sent from my SM-N975U using RealGM mobile app

Kentucky University lol

[Chronz]

Why would adidas pay players that are long retired? I don’t get it? What’s Adidas getting out of paying T-Mac? Does he still move adidas merchandise?

That's my thought as well. I understand guys like Jordan/Kobe who have a big following but Tmac never had that after his retirement.

He didn't have a career good enough nor did he stay in the public eye to warrant having his own shoes but I don't stay informed on these things and know nothing lol.

I was big T-Mac fan. I thought he was great for a short amount of time. I don’t remember him having his own sneakers though.

That's pretty nuts considering how popular his sneakers were. If you don't remember the tmacs, which shoes do u member

[TwitterFingers]

That's my thought as well. I understand guys like Jordan/Kobe who have a big following but Tmac never had that after his retirement.

He didn't have a career good enough nor did he stay in the public eye to warrant having his own shoes but I don't stay informed on these things and know nothing lol.

I was big T-Mac fan. I thought he was great for a short amount of time. I don’t remember him having his own sneakers though.

That's pretty nuts considering how popular his sneakers were. If you don't remember the tmacs, which shoes do u member

The crazy thing was I was president of the T-Mac fan club. I guess I wasn’t a big sneaker head during his time.

[Chronz]

Why would adidas pay players that are long retired? I don’t get it? What’s Adidas getting out of paying T-Mac? Does he still move adidas merchandise?

That's my thought as well. I understand guys like Jordan/Kobe who have a big following but Tmac never had that after his retirement.

He didn't have a career good enough nor did he stay in the public eye to warrant having his own shoes but I don't stay informed on these things and know nothing lol.

You have to think of it this way, imagine you're watching Jordan before we really know he's mj.

People didn't start buying mj merch once he became the goat, they were buying it as they were witnessing the ascension.

With tmac, people were witnessing a level of play attained by very few, it didn't last long but he will always be remembered by his fans.

[Chronz]

Why does t-mac get associated with the rockets so much??? Really with his rockets run along with yao?

His best t-mac sneakers(1-3) all came out while his playing for orlando. I get they sell in asia because he played with yao a few years. But if you know about the tmac 1-3 you clearly know he wore those all in orlando not in Houston. Kinda odd how he seems to always get tied to houston so much more then orlando when his best years and his best sneakers came out when he was in orlando.

The tmac 1-3 where amazing basketball sneakers to play in and they looked dope( especially the 2). Such a fun time in orlando seeing all the kids come back to school after Christmas break rocking t-mac.

Largest fan base outside the US. They were into tmac before he linked up with Yao. The 2 were supposed to be the next dominant pairing, the hype was real.

This is the residual effect.

But tbf, tmac was at his absolute apex his first year in Houston. 02 03 was legendary for its consistency but by the time tmac and yao had settled in together in 0405, that was the best brand of 2way basketball he's ever played. Come the playoffs vs the mavs, he was at his most productive and he was locking down dirk.

[chuck_wagon44]

Why does t-mac get associated with the rockets so much??? Really with his rockets run along with yao?

His best t-mac sneakers(1-3) all came out while his playing for orlando. I get they sell in asia because he played with yao a few years. But if you know about the tmac 1-3 you clearly know he wore those all in orlando not in Houston. Kinda odd how he seems to always get tied to houston so much more then orlando when his best years and his best sneakers came out when he was in orlando.

The tmac 1-3 where amazing basketball sneakers to play in and they looked dope( especially the 2). Such a fun time in orlando seeing all the kids come back to school after Christmas break rocking t-mac.

Largest fan base outside the US. They were into tmac before he linked up with Yao. The 2 were supposed to be the next dominant pairing, the hype was real.

This is the residual effect.

But tbf, tmac was at his absolute apex his first year in Houston. 02 03 was legendary for its consistency but by the time tmac and yao had settled in together in 0405, that was the best brand of 2way basketball he's ever played. Come the playoffs vs the mavs, he was at his most productive and he was locking down dirk.

This post is 100% on point!

[chuck_wagon44]

nothing new on this. is he leaving adidas or not? and if so, what brand would sign a retired player?

[jaymo123]

Be honest, is this really a loss for Adidas? TMac has been retired for years and is not a legend to the likes of Kobe or Jordan to continually sell shoes. Adidas probably couldn't wait until that contract expired.