Why Tracy McGrady Won't Fit With The Detroit Pistons
News came early this week that Tracy McGrady will sign a one-year, $1.3 million contract with the Detroit Pistons.
The 31-year-old swingman, a former NBA scoring champ, has seen better days. So have the Pistons. But company isn't going to cure this misery. Here's why.
Injuries, Injuries, Injuries
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It's a well-worn talking point in T-Mac Land. But there's a reason for that. Everyone who follows the NBA has by now been reminded that McGrady has played in a grand total of 65 games over the past two seasons. That's a 39 percent appearance rate. With the exception of 07-08, McGrady's minutes have declined in each of the past six seasons. With the exception of a tiny uptick in '06-'07, his point totals have steadily spiraled downward since he captured the scoring title in 2003.
People tend to home in on his troublesome left knee, and for good reason, given that he's had two operations on the knee since 2008, including a notoriously dodgy microfracture surgery last year. He has yet to recover his ability to leap or to play pain-free, and probably never will.
But it's more than a gimpy knee. He has also struggled with elbow issues and chronic back spasms--another nemesis of modern medicine. The Pistons are betting that strength coach Arnie Kander can bring McGrady around. Kander squeezed a few extra miles out of Antonio McDyess and Ben Wallace, and could do the same for McGrady, but unless his workout prescription includes Mapquest directions from Ponce De Leon, it will be an uphill battle.
When Going Gets Tough, McGrady Gets A Second Opinion
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T-Mac is not a popular man in Houston. Midway through the 2008-2009 campaign, McGrady went rogue, opting for surgery without consulting the team, then choosing to have ESPN break the news to his coaches rather than doing it himself.
As I'm not a doctor, it's hard to judge another man's injuries, but the timing here was undeniably funny. He announced the findings of his unilateral medical investigation just two days before the trade deadline, effectively sending a torpedo through the windshield of any trade hopes the Rockets may have had. Talk about a team player.
Come to think of it, he probably has to buy his own steaks in Orlando as well. After receiving the keys to the team, all he did was lead the Magic to a 21-61 record before making enough trouble that the team felt compelled to move him to Houston in 2004.
Throughout his career, McGrady has been something of a front-runner. When things are great, they're great. When they're not, they're not. He seems like something of a sensitive soul, prone to absorbing criticism the way a bathroom rug absorbs, well, all that bathroom stuff. And no one needs me to remind them that the Pistons don't exactly have the world's friendliest fanbase.
Fairly or not, if McGrady can't summon his former all-star self, and the team doesn't markedly improve on last season's 27-55 record, McGrady will hear about it. This is a room full of propane waiting for a spark.
Nothing From Nothing Leaves Nothing
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It's just a one-year contract, and dirt cheap by NBA standards. But low risk doesn't necessarily mean high reward.
What's the best-case scenario here? That McGrady regains top form, cracks the starting lineup, and leads the Pistons to 40 wins? If that happens, do you think he'll stay in Detroit given his team-jumping history? And what if he does buck the odds and stay? Can the Pistons really build around him?
Misguided Marketing?
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Lest anyone forget, GM and recovering genius Joe Dumars moved Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson in what basically seemed like an attempt, in part, to put some more backsides in the bleachers. This move has a similar feel.
It's like Dumars is allergic to the medicine Detroit most needs to take, namely blowing the darn thing up and starting over. He doesn't seem to want fans to realize that the window is closed, locked, and aggressively caulked. But if T-Mac was a cynical play to sell family three-packs, how effective will post-microfracture Tracy really be in that effort?
Ten Thousand Spoons
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And finally, there's the small matter of how he fits in with the rest of the Pistons personnel.
In short, he doesn't. It's like throwing a square peg at a dartboard and hoping for the bull's eye.
The Pistons roster currently includes swingman Richard Hamilton, scoring guard Ben Gordon, scoring guard Rodney Stuckey, scoring/finesse forward Greg Monroe, and scoring forward DuJuan Summers. Who besides Tayshaun Prince and Charlie Villanueva (who, incidentally, play similar positions to McGrady) is going to get the tough inches for this team?
It could be that Dumars signed McGrady as bargain-rack insurance against trades or injuries. Fair enough. But protecting an unstable, fading, injury-prone lineup with more of the same doesn't exactly seem to put the team in good hands with All-State. Not to mention that it once again kicks the rebuilding can down the road...another job for another GM.
