Tracy McGrady is a Free Agent! Should Celtics pursue?

Tracy McGrady is going to be be a free agent. I think this is a player that Danny Ainge & Co. should take a good look at to come off the bench to let Paul Pierce & Ray Allen (if re-signed) get some much needed rest during games. If Ray Allen is not re-signed, I don't think T-Mac should be looked at as a starting 2 option for us because I think T-Macs starting days are over.

Obviously hes a shell of his former self & plays older than his age. His numbers in NY were pretty gruesome to be honest. 3-point % of .242, PPG % of 9.4.

But if he were to come off the bench for us, we wouldn't need 25 points from him, all we would need is for him to provide some offense while PP & Ray Allen were resting.

IMO he could be the ultimate 6th man, a Manu Ginobili type player for us.

Impressive scorer... Great coordination and quickness... Long arms... Above average ballhandling skills... Can drive to the basket or shoot the ball... Has three-point shooting range... Goes to the line very often... Will post good rebounding numbers... Good vision of the court...

Obviously he would have to accept a bench role and at age 31, I think he knows his time as "The Man" on a team is over, although it remains to be seen if hes willing to accept a reduced role...

I think signing T-Mac as our 6th man is a great opportunity to keep The Big 3's championship window open longer.

Guys plays NO defense. Guy needs to ball at all times to be effective. Guy is injury prone with the best/worst of them.

No Thanks.

That would be going down the wrong road for several reasons. Injury-prone. Shell of his former self. Probably thinks too much of himself. Defenseless.

Sam

lol mrkleen09,

I don't remember Paul Pierce playing any defense prior to 07-08, I don't remember Ray Allen being defensive minded prior to 07-08, but that all changed along with the culture of the Celtics once KG came to town and Doc preached defense to the team, day in day out.

Who doesn't need the ball to be effective?

Last i checked you need the ball in your hands to score, and that's all that we'll be going to T-mac for; to score.

Yes, he is injury prone, but with a diminished role his health would be much much better.

I could have used your first two points "Guys plays NO defense. Guy needs to ball at all times to be effective." to describe Paul Pierce before 07-08. But now look, hes taken a smaller role (compared to before the Big 3) and has thrived.

If T-Mac is signed as a 6th man on our team, he will change. Just like PP, just like Ray Allen, just like KG did when they all came together.

Even if he does need the ball at all times to be effective, so what? We would be signing him as our 6th man off the bench scorer. And not anything else.

There is no way Tracy Mcgrady on the Celtics still is a Me Baller.

Nate Robinson as an example, drove Mike D'Antoni in NY crazy enough that he wanted him traded away, even after he drops 40 something in a game in which he returns after being benched for numerous games.

Look at "Donkey" now. He's still a scorer who dominates the ball & may have been benched for a while, but during the playoffs he made big plays for us.

And I think T-Mac will do the same, if signed.

Nate Robinson may have been selfish at times during games when he first started playing for us and look at what Doc did to deal with him, bench him & let him learn his lesson.

T-Mac will thrive under Doc Rivers (who I believe will stay for one last run).

Sam,

A lot of people said Paul Pierce thinks too much of himself when he said he thinks hes the best player in the NBA after winning the Finals MVP but he said it's not him being cocky its him being confident in himself. And I love that Paul may think that because that shows he has the right mindset in helping his team win by doing whatever he needs to do to help them.

Tracy McGrady was a go to player before injuries messed his career up.

* 2× NBA scoring leader: 2003 (32.1), 2004 (28.0)
* 7× NBA All-Star: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
* 7× All-NBA:

* First Team: 2002, 2003
* Second Team: 2001, 2004, 2007
* Third Team: 2005, 2008

* NBA Most Improved Player Award: 2001

Orlando Magic franchise records

* All-Time Free Throws Made (1,819)
* Most points in one game with 62 (March 10, 2004 vs. Washington Wizards)
* Most points in one half with 37 in the first half (March 9, 2003 vs. Denver Nuggets)
* Most points in one quarter with 25 in the second quarter (March 9, 2003 vs. Denver Nuggets)
* Most free throws made in one game with 18 (December 25, 2002 vs. Detroit Pistons)
* Most points in a playoff game with 46 (in Game 2 of the 2003 Eastern Conference playoffs, First Round vs. Detroit Pistons)
* Most three-point field goals made in one half with 8 (January 26, 2004 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers)

Career achievements

* Career 40+ point games (regular season): 45
* Career 50+ point games (regular season): 4
* Career 60+ point games (regular season): 1
* Career triple-doubles (regular season): 4
* Shares NBA record for most three-point field goals made in one half with 8 (January 26, 2004 Orlando vs. Cleveland)

____________________________________________________________

You can't blame the guy for thinking he still is that player. But like I said about Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and KG Kevin Garnett, they were all 'the man' on their respective teams just like T-Mac was and although the situation maybe different,

At age 31, McGrady is going to want to win. And I believe he can help this team do that.

NO PLEASE

Give me stats that say we should have him ............you can't. (recent stats within 5 years)
Here are a couple that says we should not bother.

McGrady is to MUCH of a risk injury wise.
He has missed 161 games over the past 5 years nearly 2 full seasons.

Also his career FG% is ,435 and the last year he shot HIGHER than that was the 02-03 season. So even when he is healthy he can't shoot straight. and to top that his rebonds per game has dropped each year since the 05=06 season.

Appears his time was 5 years ago at best. Now he is an old 31 yr old with 55 year old legs.
Money could be spent a whole lot better than he.

beat

beat wrote:NO PLEASE

Give me stats that say we should have him ............you can't. (recent stats within 5 years)
Here are a couple that says we should not bother.

McGrady is to MUCH of a risk injury wise.
He has missed 161 games over the past 5 years nearly 2 full seasons.

Also his career FG% is ,435 and the last year he shot HIGHER than that was the 02-03 season. So even when he is healthy he can't shoot straight. and to top that his rebonds per game has dropped each year since the 05=06 season.

Appears his time was 5 years ago at best. Now he is an old 31 yr old with 55 year old legs.
Money could be spent a whole lot better than he.

beat

Beat,

Ummmm, I can't think of anything at the moment but can you give me a couple days to get a reply to that... lol

I am impressed Brandon. This is one of the few times I have actually seen you do more than post someone else thoughts with a cut and paste out here. Good job.

BrandonBanks$$$ wrote:I don't remember Paul Pierce playing any defense prior to 07-08, I don't remember Ray Allen being defensive minded prior to 07-08, but that all changed along with the culture of the Celtics once KG came to town and Doc preached defense to the team, day in day out.

If you don’t remember Paul Pierce playing any defense before 2007-08, you must have a very short memory. He was always faced with covering the other teams best scorer – and 2 years ago when the Sonics played the Lakers or the Heat, who do you think was covering Kobe and Dwayne – Ray Allen. The fact that they didn’t have the players behind them to support them playing at a high level defensively doesn’t mean they didn’t give it their best efforts.

Tracy McGrady on the other hand, while playing in front of Yao Ming – was a human turn style. Period. Could he become a defensive stopper with bad legs, bad technique, and a me first attitude at age 31 – sure. But I doubt it.

BrandonBanks$$$ wrote:Who doesn't need the ball to be effective?
Last i checked you need the ball in your hands to score, and that's all that we'll be going to T-mac for; to score.

There is a BIG DIFFERENCE between “needing the ball” and “dominating the ball”….Allen Iverson, Dwayne Wade, Dirk Nowtiski – and TMac are all players that dominate the ball….meaning the offense STOPS when they get the ball, and if they are not hitting shots – they are not helping their team win. That might work for a go to guy - but it is the last thing you need from a 6th man…someone who is going to come on the court and hog the ball.

No thanks.

just to clarify too nothing against him as a me baller or bad rep ect. Just that the guy can't play on a very high level any more. and also the rebound stat was DEFENSIVE rebounds only not total. (my mistake looked at the wrong column.)

beat

If he would sign for mle for a chance to win I would consider it. After a loonnnggg look by the teams docs.

I can't see McGrady getting more than 1/2 of the MLE.
With Boston's having to get younger, longer and more athletic, I don't see how McGrady would be a good fit for Boston.

He seems to be a perfect fit for LA to back up Artest and Kobe.
McGrady and Ebanks would be a nice offensive and defensive combo off of the bench.

NO

No! Say's Tom Heinsohn, and I second the motion!

112288

Brandon, I think your concept of "needing the ball" is a bit different from the general usage of the team. Yes, people need the ball in their hands in order to score because it's not soccer and there aren't a lot of headers into the basket. But "needing the ball" implies not a fleeting catch and shoot but a need to be a controlling factor in the offense. It's a duration thing. And it very often pertains to players who play a lot of iso ball. You ask who doesn't need the ball? Ray Allen for one. Eddie House for another. At least 90% of their time is spent not handling the ball but getting themselves in position for a good shot, at which time they fleetingly need the ball.

Whatever the details wind up being, the Celtics are going to go through a metamorphasis of some type this coming season. But the die is cast in the Ainge era, and defense will continue to play a central role. I don't see that as consistent with McGrady's mentality or his resume.

I think it's possible for a tough-minded guy like Brad Miller to play Celtics defense regardless of whether he was previously an elite defender because the basic toughness gives him a jump start. Nothing I've seen or heard about McGrady fits that mold. And, with Perk out of the lineup for a considerable time, the Celtics are going to be looking for more toughness rather than less toughness. It's all well and good to assume that anyone who's on the Celtics team will get the "defensive bug" by osmosis, but even KG isn't going to make a tire iron out of a matchstick.

I'd be delighted to see the Lakers take McGrady.

Sam

Brandon, I think your concept of "needing the ball" is a bit different from the general usage of the team. Yes, people need the ball in their hands in order to score because it's not soccer and there aren't a lot of headers into the basket. But "needing the ball" implies not a fleeting catch and shoot but a need to be a controlling factor in the offense. It's a duration thing. And it very often pertains to players who play a lot of iso ball. You ask who doesn't need the ball? Ray Allen for one. Eddie House for another. At least 90% of their time is spent not handling the ball but getting themselves in position for a good shot, at which time they fleetingly need the ball.

Whatever the details wind up being, the Celtics are going to go through a metamorphasis of some type this coming season. But the die is cast in the Ainge era, and defense will continue to play a central role. I don't see that as consistent with McGrady's mentality or his resume.

I think it's possible for a tough-minded guy like Brad Miller to play Celtics defense regardless of whether he was previously an elite defender because the basic toughness gives him a jump start. Nothing I've seen or heard about McGrady fits that mold. And, with Perk out of the lineup for a considerable time, the Celtics are going to be looking for more toughness rather than less toughness. It's all well and good to assume that anyone who's on the Celtics team will get the "defensive bug" by osmosis, but even KG isn't going to make a tire iron out of a matchstick.

I'd be delighted to see the Lakers take McGrady.

Sam

Brandon, I think your concept of "needing the ball" is a bit different from the general usage of the team. Yes, people need the ball in their hands in order to score because it's not soccer and there aren't a lot of headers into the basket. But "needing the ball" implies not a fleeting catch and shoot but a need to be a controlling factor in the offense. It's a duration thing. And it very often pertains to players who play a lot of iso ball. You ask who doesn't need the ball? Ray Allen for one. Eddie House for another. At least 90% of their time is spent not handling the ball but getting themselves in position for a good shot, at which time they fleetingly need the ball.

Whatever the details wind up being, the Celtics are going to go through a metamorphasis of some type this coming season. But the die is cast in the Ainge era, and defense will continue to play a central role. I don't see that as consistent with McGrady's mentality or his resume.

I think it's possible for a tough-minded guy like Brad Miller to play Celtics defense regardless of whether he was previously an elite defender because the basic toughness gives him a jump start. Nothing I've seen or heard about McGrady fits that mold. And, with Perk out of the lineup for a considerable time, the Celtics are going to be looking for more toughness rather than less toughness. It's all well and good to assume that anyone who's on the Celtics team will get the "defensive bug" by osmosis, but even KG isn't going to make a tire iron out of a matchstick.

I'd be delighted to see the Lakers take McGrady.

Sam