[valentine]

Tracy McGrady would like to sign with the 2010 NBA champion Lakers, and has fowarded that sentimnt to his agent and close collegues, according to sources within the Lakers’ front office.

[DNYCE]

I couldn’t post the link on my phone

[Forte IVParticipant]

How the hell do you have -22k points

[stanford hoops]

i read that one hoopshype a lil while back but thought it was just a rumor but lately i hear it more and more. im pretty sure we will take him for some of the MLE he’d make a nice backup to artest and can give kobe a lil rest. chances are shannon will get some offers so he will replace his minutes. i like the idea

[the I in winParticipant]

If Shannon leaves then this is a good idea. Also he can give you offence is Artest isn’t and Kobe is having an off day. Can have very good success with the ball in his hands and on defence he wouldn’t have to be amazing, he can let Artest do that.

[esperanzafleet69Participant]

who, in some of their final years of playing, wouldnt want to play on a defending championship team…

[stanford hoops]

hell id take him even if brown comes back. have him as a back up three battling it out with luke walton. it would help our bench with or without brown

[the I in winParticipant]

He would be a good addition any ways but if Brown was to leave McGrady would get a good bit of PT. He would still get some but it would be less if Brown was there.

[the I in winParticipant]

If they really felt like posting up they could put Kobe at point, Artest at the 2, and McGrady at the 3 along with Bynum and Gasol.

[llperez]

if mcgrady can still play, this would be a very good move for the lakers. I see him coming off the bench for 15-20 minutes and backing up the 2 and 3 spots.

[IknoBall12Participant]

but im wondering how it will work out. i mean how much money is t-mac going to be asking? and i feel sooner or later he may complain about shots or sumthing idk. im a laker fan but i cant help but admit i felt at times last season ron artest was gonna explode but luckily he didnt. the only way i see it working is if phil comes back becuz he has a way of neutralizing egos

[DNYCE]

Despte having limited intentions to use the Mid-Level Exception this summer, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak would consider pulling the trigger o the 7 time all-star swingmanshould he accept a paycut at the MLE. Ron Artest, the defensive- minded role player who played a huge factor in this year’s Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals, has reachd out to McGrady to “end his career as a champion.”

The Lakers are willing to explore a potential reunion of former Houston teammates Ron Artest and Tracy McGrady once the July 1 free agency begins.

In Los Angeles, Tracy McGrady would be asked to come off the bench as a role player, similar to what Lakers forward Lamar Odom has done in the past two seasons. McGrady would provide the Lakers’ bench unit with some offensive firepower and stability, and another deadly weapon in the already loaded Lakers’ arsenal.

Most importantly, the acquisition of Tracy McGrady would address the important need for a secondary slasher besides Kobe Bryant. As advocated by Laker great Jerry West, “I think they do need some changes. If you look, they have some free agents that are coming up but the thing that would most concern me is I think they need someone else other than Kobe Bryant getting in the lane.”

[stanford hoops]

we know how to deal with guys who have issues or complain,etc. tmac knows his market value isnt that high and he would be very very lucky to get a MLE. plus when a guy says he wants to play for youre team chances are very high that they are willing to take a paycut to what they would ask for from other teams. plus is helps when you already have a clear cut number 1 and 2 superstar. other players know from jump that they are gonna be option 3 at best. tmac showed in NY that hes worth a 6th,7th man role. im not to worried about the minutes because if he produces in practice and the game then he will get browns,walton,sashas minutes which i dont think will be a problem for him after a summer or continued healing

[the I in winParticipant]

I don’t think he will ask for more shots, he will take plenty and they in the triangle they can get him his shots. What I’m worried about is minutes, if Kobe plays 38 and Artest plays 35 their is only 23 minutes for Tmac. This could be solved by playing all of them together or on occasion go small and put Artest/McGrady at the 4.

[stanford hoops]

im guessing kobe’s minutes will go down as well as ron and fisher..all of which are good thing as long as the bench can play well. if the bench played well through the season those guys would have played less minutes anyway. we pretty muhc had no choice but to put them back in games because the bench would be getting killed.

[DNYCE]

Moreover, unlike teams in which he was asked to carry the team throughout the entire season, Tracy McGrady understands that a potential role with the Lakers would not require such an emotionally draining position of leadership. McGrady has tremendous respect for the reigning Finals MVP Kobe Bryant, and has made it known that he would gladly accept a lesser role to play alongside whom he considers the best basketball player in the world.

As expressed by one high-ranked official within the Lakers’ management, should Tracy McGrady not return to the Knicks next season or spurn retirement, “expect the deal to get done by the end of July.”

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

i thought LA didnt have a MLE because they used it last year on Artest?

[stanford hoops]

i think you get it every year that youre over the cap.

[DNYCE]

The Lakers have also reached out to Javaris Crittenton, and he will play for the Lakers’ summer league team.

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

I don’t think so because more teams would have used the MLE every season…

http://www.realgm.com/src_team_exceptions/all/

Lakers used all thier exceptions…

[JNixonParticipant]

If Crittenton makes the Summer League team and does well enough to potentially make the roster, Brown’s services won’t be needed as much. Crittenton is very similar to Brown (a little worse at almost everything though), but he’s more of a playmaker which doesn’t hurt.

[stanford hoops]

hes a better ball handler and play maker…and he’s more athletic………………………………………………………………….ok that last one was a joke

[stanford hoops]

i’m pretty sure thats wrong knicksboy because every where i read its talking about the lakers signing players with half or all of there MLE raymond felton’s name come sup alot

[DNYCE]

The Lakers were very high on Javaris and they never wanted to trade him. Javaris is a better playmaker and he has better handles than Shannon Brown and he is only 22 years old. Javaris was only traded because the Lakers had to give him up for Pau Gasol.

[Bryant24Participant]

I wouldnt mind have t-mac on the lakers especially since he use to be one of my favorite players and he can help out lamr odom who is very inconsistent and javarius crittenton has so much talent but he dont know what to do with i hope we keep and let d fish tutor him and let him really learn the triangle offense i dont think farmar is our point guard of the future i think he is best served as an backup if we do get t-mac i dont know hat we going do with shannon brown, or sasha vujacic

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

I dunno. I wanna wait and see. It doesn’t make sense to me how LA would have a MLE and would be the 1st team to use it back to back seasons. They did use the MLE on Ron Artest last season and the Bi Annual on Shannon Brown. I remember that.

If that’s the rule then alright.

[stanford hoops]

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_the_MLE_be_used_every_year_in_the_NBA

at the beginning of the offseason. im guessing that link you put will be updated on july first because i think thats the beginning of the offseason. i think that link shows what a team has avalible right now untill the beginning of the off season

[stanford hoops]

i dont think they planned on using it. but tht was before tmac showed interest. im sure thats how it is with every team that doesnt plan on using it untill some top talent sys they might wanna come to youre team

[DNYCE]

Knickboy we had money to use on Trevor Ariza and his agent played hard ball with Jerry Buss, so the Lakers used a mid level offer on Ron Artest. The Lakers have the full mid-level this year. Don’t forget about Adam Morrison’s contract expiring(5-6 mill). Bryant24, Javaris has always been comfortable playing in the triangle offense. When he played with Dwight Howard in high school they ran the triangle. IMHO the triangle will bring out the best in his game.

[paint intruderParticipant]

I think T-Mac would be a great asset to the Lakers, although I would like him more on a team where he could take more of the offensive load.

Think back 6 years from now, when people discussed who’s better: Kobe or T-Mac.
Back then nobody could imagine these two playing together. Let alone T-Mac as a role-player to Kobe.

That’s funny to me because that’s a perfect example how times can change.

And I personnaly hope that McGrady can, as Artest said, “end his career as a champ.”

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

Oh, Thanks for the insight man. I didn’t know that.

[stanford hoops]

looks like the summer is looking bright for the lakers. no suprise there though. our only true weakness was our bench and we will upgrade that. said it before and ill say it again i think we are the best team coming into next year even with 2 max guys going to the same team. our top 2 is better then anytop 2 sg/sf +pf/c… now if we can only get bynum healthy for a season

[stanford hoops]

yeah thats what age and injuries does to players. happens to everyone unless they retire early enough

[JazzinSLCParticipant]

Try to hitch a ride to a championship at the end of their careers, riding someone elses coat tails. Aguirre did that in Detroit. Payton did that in Miami. Mitch Richmond did that with the Lakers. To me it doesn’t do anything to cement their legacy. It just means they were never close to being good enough to win it when they were the “man”.

[BasketballGuru24Participant]

I honestly think he isn’t going to be the same and he has nothing to offer for the lakers. i rather get some youthful players.

[ksmith9Participant]

To me this yells desperation. Earlier in the year McGrady said he wanted to be in New York and play along side James, then he says he wouldn’t mind going to Orlando, and now he is saying he wouldn’t mind going to LAL. Sounds like he just wants to get a free ride to a deep title push. Why doesn’t he say he just wants to play for the love of the game, and show the public that ALL of his injuries are no longer nagging him, instead of getting a ring the same way Adam Morrison got a ring with the Lakers. McGrady is quickly turning into a chump in my opinion.

[the I in winParticipant]

Thats not it, the older guys realize they aren’t good enough any more to try by themselves but they know they can still contribute. Also I like to see when a guy has tried for a long time and never won to get his ring, he appreciates the championship more than anyone else.

[stanford hoops]

nothing left to offer?..you dont think he can get 10 a game against a second unit?..he showed in NY that he has something left.

as far as player hitching a ride you must hate aloooooooot of players because most players that leave there old team go to a team that has a better chance of winning a title. you must really hate some of the boston players. free agents in every single sport do this. and if they dont and stay with there team they try to encourage other players to do it by coming to there team

[stanford hoops]

how in the world can you even mention morrison and tmac int he same sentence?..i mean really. tmac wasnt even that bad and he wasnt 100percent healthy while in NY. although not great number tmac did manage 8pts 3ast a game while still not being healthy. im happy with that off the bench for the lakers where he will be more healthy then he was this past season and not having to play big minutes

[llperez]

yeah, im not understanding the hate for a guy who leaves to win a title towards the end of his career. You would have a whole long list of players to hate if thats the case. If anything it’s tmac admitting he’s no longer the man and that winning is more important then money or stats. I thought that was a good thing.

[ksmith9Participant]

I don’t have a problem with a player going to a contending team, And if he was healthy all of these years and wanted to go to the Lakers then I’d be okay with it, I just feel like a player as scrutinized as he is for his injuries would want to prove the public wrong and beat his injury bug. If he was going to a playoff contender like the Blazers in order to try and give them a boost to get towards the next step I’d be understanding, but by saying he would be willing to play for all these favorites just makes it sound like he’d do whatever it takes to get that ring, even getting 8-10mins a game, as long as he has a great chance of getting it. I feel like he’d take next to nothing to get a chance to play on a team such as the Lakers and Magic and if I’m doing all this work to make a dynasty I would get offended to see this player saying he wants to play on my team, when we put in all this hard work before them just so they can get there ring…I understand that he is saying he is no longer the man, but could he at least state that he would be willing to play on a contending team for less then just stating he would take a pay cut to play with James in NY or to play for East and West favorites.

[stanford hoops]

so doesnt it make more sense to prove these people wrong while playing for a contender?..what sense does it make to prove people wrong while playing for a team with a lesser chance to win a title?..that makes absolutly no sense. this is psorts. the object is to win a ring while getting paid to do it. and 8-10 min a game?..ummm hed get much more then that. even a 85% tmac gets more minutes then brown,luke walton.sasha. so its not like he’s gonna come and just sit on the bench. hes not gonna get alot of money no matter what team he goes to because his value isnt high so why not go to a team who has a great chance of winning while also not having to worry about carrying the load just like players before him have done…rahseed wallace twice,kg,ray allen. he’s a role player right now and its makes perfect sense for a role player to go to a team that is very good and help them get better… oh yeah ..james posey the year the celtics won. dennis rodman and a couple of other bulls that went to that team after they were already a title team

[DaGuywhodidurmaParticipant]

this would be great for the lakers, tmac doesnt need that many shots to get his points, especially in the triangle system.if he comes off the bench to back up ron hell get those same corner threes artest gets, and trust me he wont miss many. hes a great spot up three point shooter. i wouldnt be surprised if he averages 16ppg off the bench. he should since kobe, gasol and bynum command so much attention he might get those points on like 8 shots a night.

[stanford hoops]

16ppg on 8 shots?..i mean he can shoot but i doubt he will get 16ppg on 8shots a game. i agree it would be a great addition for us though even if he isnt 100%. but just imagin if he is????? whew

[SupParticipant]

Mcgrady loses in the 1st round. We need no parts of that.

[stanford hoops]

lol..so if we get him we will lose in the first round?..ron artest never got to the title game but yet we won it with him. that stat holds as much weight as the ones stuart scott throws out

“when the lakers team wake up at 7am on game day and eat breakfast while drinking half a glass of orange juice then they win the series 95% of the time”

[DaGuywhodidurmaParticipant]

16 on 8 shoots. i meant that considering hed get a ton of open 3pointers so if he makes like 3 3pointers a game he only needs 7 more to get the 16. i just think with his shooting touch and all the open shots hed get with the lakers he’d shoot the ball really well percentage wise. a 50percent fieldgoal and 40 from behind the arc doesnt sound imposiible when you remember how much other teams leave our small forwards unguarded

[stanford hoops]

would he get all those open shots?..coming off the bench playing with the second unit?..or the team leaving him open like hes artest?..i doubnt teams will be dumb enough to leave him open like artest knowing he can knock them down. the defense will change with him out there so i doubt he would be open very often. youre basing this off of him getting the same defense of treatment as artest.

[DaGuywhodidurmaParticipant]

i think mcgrady will be the first guy off the lakers bench and take time away from kobe, so i think teams wouldnt want to single cover bynum and gasol so he will get alot of open shots. everyone not named kobe got open looks all the time this past season. so tmac should as well and if teams close out on him it only makes it easier for him to score by getting to the rim. if grant hill can do it im pretty sure tmac can too. you cant guard everybody on this team if tracy is on it next year, some one WILL get open looks.

[JJeff6Participant]

question is do the lakers want him???

i think it wouldnt be a bad idea

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

It all depends on McGrady’s health. If he’s not healthy, he’ll be a waste of money.

[omphalosParticipant]

It all comes down to Jackson really. Not sure if another Lakers coach could handle all those egos. T-Mac has said he will be an All-Star again, so I’m not sure how sincere he would be about coming off the bench and being a role player. I can see him coming to Boston if Rivers remains and they lose Allen. Allen likely has more market value so the Celtics could save money and T-Mac’s outside shooting would be a welcome replacement. Like Jackson, Rivers is able to manage egos. Given that the Celtics don’t care much about the regular season T-Mac could be given as many minutes as he wants while Rivers keeps the others healthy for the playoffs. A move like this could land Boston in the Finals again next June barring a major free agent team-up in the East.

Whatever happens, I hope he finds his feet next season and avoids another major injury.

[SlimParticipant]

http://twitter.com/TheReal_TMAC
clippers, bulls, lakers, heat…. but that could change by the morning… lol.. this is the NBA about 2 hours ago via web

[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

Fisher – 24mpg
Bryant – 37mpg
Artest – 31mpg
Gasol – 37mpg
Bynum – 30mpg
Odom – 30mpg
McGrady – 28mpg
Blake – 12mpg
Vujacic – 6mpg
Powell – 5mpg
Walton – Scrub Minutes
Mbenga – Scrub Minutes
Morrison – Scrub Minutes

Walton, Mbenga, and Morrison play in garbage time. It all matches up to 240minutes which is the exact amount needed.

[Mr.BigShotParticipant]

I would take Ebanks and Caracter over Mbenga and Morrison

[dipt1982Participant]

Yeah, get Morrison out of there finally!!!

[Afactor4Participant]

Didn’t the Lakers already use their mid level exception on Steve Blake?

How could they possibly sign anymore players? Even with Morrison and Farmar’s contracts coming off the books, they still have the highest payroll in the NBA by far.

[TRC1991Participant]

McGrady is a low risk/high reward…he’s never been a bad character guy and he has some left in the tank (i think…) He is without a doubt an upgrade over walton and morrison and brings length and experience to that squad

[Author]

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