T-MAC, won't you come back? By ARS When you think of great young players in today's NBA, most people think of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Allan Iverson and Tracy McGrady. I know I think of McGrady, and his 6'8" frame, creating mis-matches for guards and forwards alike. I also think of 2 years ago, when he wore Raptor purple. Those were the days, the days when Grunwald announced to all of us that he would not trade McGrady but would resign him, in the off season. He was true to his word, he signed him then traded him, for peanut shells to the Orlando Magic.Why is Grunwald so accommodating to other teams? Why would he help out another eastern conference team. At that time, it seemed that only Grunwald felt like he had a chance of resigning McGrady. Tracy made it more than clear to everyone, who would listen, which leaves Grunwald off that list, that his wish was to go home, and play for Orlando, but Grunwald was still convinced that he could perform a miracle. Isaiah Thomas realized McGrady's potential, and consequently drafted him 9th overall in '97. The fact that the Raptors let his talents lay waste on the bench during his first and second years with the team is irrelevant, the fact that he did not like it in Toronto is also irrelevant, and yes, I believe that McGrady had every right to leave, what I can not understand is that we got nothing in return...NOTHING. Christmas came to the Magic early in 2000, in fact it arrived on August 3rd, as Old Saint Glen, rode down from the north in his sleigh and left, arguably, one of the best 5 players in the league under the Magic tree. His first year in Orlando, all McGrady did was average : 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.5 steals a game. Vince Carter, or the Franchise as some Raptor radio personalities like to call him averaged a respective : 27.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals a game The statistics are very close, but let's compare them today in the 2002 season : T-Mac is leading the league this year in scoring with 32.2 points per game. He is also in the top 5 in almost every offensive category in the league. Vince? Well Vince is averaging 13.5 points per game, and has sat out as many games a he has played in. Thanks Glen, thank you for NOTHING. You played this game, did you not? Are you not able to recognize talent when you see it. McGrady's athletic ability is astonishing, his development while in TO was phenomenal, if you could not sign him before the final year of his contract, why would you not trade him for something of value. All you got was a future first round draft pick (and by the way, who was the first round pick?). Please get your nose out of Vince's butt! It's because of him, that the fans of TO have lost out on McGrady and Antwan Jamison. Need I remind you that Jamison won the Naismith Award as the best college player in the country, but you had to trade him....but that's another story.
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