Tag: NBA Draft

Tracy McGrady wants to win an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers

Staff Writer for Basketball Betting - A true Lakers Fan
Staff Writer: Ryan Ward

This past NBA season was pretty difficult for some prominent veteran NBA superstars as they tried to either resurrect their career or start over with another team altogether. The three names that come to mind before any others are Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal and Tracy McGrady. All three of these All-Star caliber players changed teams this past season and even though Shaq was able to make it into the playoffs, McGrady and Iverson’s seasons ended much differently with retirement on their minds.

Allen Iverson finished last season in controversial fashion as he played for two different teams in the Memphis Grizzlies and the Philadelphia 76ers. Despite going back to Philly, where he once loved to play and was loved by the fans, Iverson failed to impress anyone as the team still missed the playoffs and the four-time scoring champion’s future was in serious question.

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Not only was AI unable to finish the season, but he also got a divorce and had to deal with unknown medical issues with his daughter. Iverson’s future in the league is uncertain as of right now, but he has said that he intends to play next season.

Iverson: good guy gone?

Tracy McGrady on the other hand is a free agent for the first time in a long time and even though he still might end up with the New York Knicks in what might strictly be a backup role to one of the big-name free agents they might sign this offseason like Joe Johnson, the superstar free agent has one team in mind that he would love to play for next season.

The defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers are still in celebration mode right now after winning their second straight NBA title, but even though they are looking forward to an offseason of some much needed rest, GM Mitch Kupchak has a few free agent possibilities that he has to look into immediately.

The first free agent that has been mentioned as possibly the newest member of the Los Angeles Lakers bench is Tracy McGrady. Even though McGrady isn’t exactly a player that fits into the Lakers needs right now, he would definitely be a huge boost off the bench for the defending champs. The one position that the Lakers are looking into finding an upgrade for is at point guard as they may not be re-signing Jordan Farmar if another team makes a big offer at the two-time NBA champ.

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Another hurdle for the Lakers in signing Tracy McGrady is already having Shannon Brown and Sasha Vujacic coming off the bench for Kobe Bryant. McGrady is obviously a better all around player than both Brown and Vujacic, but the Lakers will probably shop Sasha in the offseason and Brown knows how to play his role.

The Lakers will almost certainly be making some moves this offseason, possibly some big ones with All-Stars like Chris Bosh and Chris Paul being mentioned in potential trades, but picking up McGrady as a free agent would be interesting to say the least as he would be instant offensive off the bench for Los Angeles as long as he can stay healthy.

Is Carlos Boozer better than David Lee?

Staff Writer for Basketball Betting - A true Lakers Fan

Staff Writer: Ryan Ward

The highly anticipated NBA free agent market is almost upon us and everyone is talking about where all the big-name free agents like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will be headed come July 1st.

Even though it is uncertain where any of these big-name free agent will playing next season, there are only a few teams in the league with the kind of money to lure in these superstars.

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Perhaps the most active team this summer will be the New York Knicks as they try and get back to dominant status in the Eastern Conference for the first time since the Patrick Ewing era. The Knicks may have had some success in the late 90s with Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston, Marcus Camby and Larry Johnson a few years back, but they were unable to play consistently well and quickly fizzled out.

Now the New York Knicks are irrelevant once again and will be doing everything within their power to rebuild their franchise around one or two NBA big-name free agents this summer.

It is no secret that the New York Knicks will put all their efforts into trying to sign two-time NBA MVP LeBron James or one-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade this summer, but if they can’t convince one of these superstars to play in New York, they will be looking into signing big-name role players like Carlos Boozer to help bulk up the frontcourt.

It is uncertain whether or not Carlos Boozer is willing to stay with the Utah Jazz or even if they want him to stay, but one thing is for certain, Boozer will without a doubt be testing the free agent waters this summer.

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One of Boozer’s possible destinations this summer is the New York Knicks as he is a big fan of head coach Mike D’Antoni and would fit a need in the Knicks frontcourt. The one problem is that the Knicks are going after players like Amare Stoudemire and Chris Bosh at the forward position and have the ability to re-sign All-Star David Lee.

Recently, Carlos Boozer was quoted as saying that he was a better player than David Lee. The only reason I can think of for such a statement is that he is seriously considering signing with New York this offseason and Lee could be a big obstacle for Boozer’s attempt to sign with the Knicks.

Knicks center David Lee getting down to work.

Obviously there is plenty of room for both players in the frontcourt and Boozer would most likely sign for a much cheaper price compared to Amare Stoudemire or Chris Bosh. Amare might have the edge in this race though as he is familiar with D’Antoni’s system after playing for him a few years back in Phoenix.

There is no indication where the New York Knicks might be leaning towards this summer in terms of signing free agents, but they aren’t limited in options in both the forward and guard positions.

Personally, I believe the free agent situation in New York all depends on LeBron James and whether or not he is willing to continue his hall of fame caliber career in New York.