Orlando Magic: Would You Take Tracy McGrady Back For A Year?

It has been reported from multiple media outlets that NBA legend Tracy McGrady is mulling over coming out of retirement to once again play in the league he entertained for over a decade. At 35 years old though, there surely aren’t many teams who would be interested in acquiring his services.

In fact, McGrady was last in the league as a member of the 2013 San Antonio Spurs, were he came close to winning a title. Allowing ourselves to dream for a moment, given the opportunity, would you like him back at the Orlando Magic?

McGrady will always be loved by the Magic fans for the high flying style of play he brought to those exciting Magic teams of the early noughties with Grant Hill. Of course injury robbed both he and Hill from ever truly combining to lift Orlando to significant heights.

So taking him back would be nostalgic, no doubt. Especially at a time when the Magic are desperate to attract fans to watch their young roster grow, having a blast from the past like McGrady would be kind of nice wouldn’t it?

Of course McGrady couldn’t really contribute all that much, but him just being there would bring a little bit of a buzz to the team. The shooting guard with the sleepy eyes obviously feels he can bring something to a team if he is willing to turn his back on what has turned into a reasonably successful minor league baseball career as well.

So wouldn’t it be cool to throw him on for 15 to 20 minutes a night, and watch him go to his old bag of tricks to terrorize second units on opposing teams? Yes, there’s a reason he rode the end of the bench when he was with the Spurs, and that is because he can’t contribute to a contending team anymore, that phase of his life is over.

But Orlando are not a contending team, they are one that is trying to win over it’s fan base once more as it gears up to become a playoff team in the years to come.

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So while this is all hypothetical and can never happen, let’s get realistic for just a moment. It’s a safe bet McGrady would only come back to play for a contender so that he could hopefully get the ring his career deserves.

The problem there though, is that contending teams either have rosters that are pretty much set, or else have no interest in acquiring what they feel are limited services from the guy.

So if he’s desperate to return to the league, he’d be willing to play for almost anybody, so why not the Magic where there is an emotional tie? Still an incredibly long shot given how Orlando’s roster is also currently full, but this is the only way this happens.

But man, how much fun would it be? Some would say McGrady would be a distraction who takes away from what is a growing young team who all need minutes and shots while expectations are still reasonably low.

But things like this don’t happen very often, and it would be just cool. McGrady would be a draw himself, because he reminds fans of the good times this team has had in it’s short existence in the NBA.

The Magic will one day soon be back in the playoffs once more and making their own history, but having a reminder like McGrady on the bench would be a unique and awesome thing to see. He would act as the link between the past and the future.

What we do know is this; Tracy McGrady has worked out a couple of times with Kobe Bryant this summer, and he obviously feels confident enough in himself to advertise himself and put himself in the shop windows regarding a return to the league. Remember, McGrady and Kobe were talked about as the two great players in the league for a period, and it was a matter of which one you preferred.

At that time, there was no wrong answer when asked who you thought was better.

Of course their respective careers took different arcs and went in wildly different directions. But if a Kobe Bryant coming off serious achilles and knee injuries can command a hefty new contract, the least McGrady deserves is the veteran’s minimum to come off the bench and make some people smile.

Whether it’s with the Magic or not, McGrady should be back in the league. It’s not like he’s tarnishing his legacy by giving it a final shot either.

But seeing him in the pinstriped blue again, man. For me personally, it would be a wave of nostalgia every night, who would also help the rookies out more than people realize too.

So come on back T-Mac, you’ve got one guy here who would love to see you in Orlando or failing that, the league itself.