The rumors are true this time. Tracy McGrady will sign with the Detroit Pistons, as early as Friday.
Is that a good thing? That is up in the air. When you lay the hoops cards on the table, you see a potential starting five of Rip Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Teyshawn Prince, Ben Wallace and T-Mac. Or Rip, Rodney Stuckey, T-Mac, Charles Villanueva and Jerome Maxiel. Or...
Okay, it may not be get-your-playoff-tickets-today strong, but it's far from horrible. McGrady will be grabbed for one season, with an option for more depending on how well this year's experiment from team president/mad scientist Joe Dumars works out. Despite applying a semi-transparent coating over the Madison Square Garden floor last season, the former perennial all-star of the Houston Rockets still has enough talent and versatility to help a team that has been prone to injury of late.
And no, the irony is not lost, why do you ask? T-Mac has been knee-jacked most of the past two seasons, starting--and playing--just 24 games with the Knicks in 2009-10. But a star of his caliber is worth a one-year gamble. Beyond his talent, McGrady gives Pistons coach John Kuester match-up opportunities he sorely needed last year.
Now, when the situation calls for a bigger team, Kuester can pair his 6'8" newcomer with 6'5" point guard Rodney Stuckey and choose from a front-court forest: rookie Greg Monroe and Kwame Brown (all 6'11") at center; second-year Zaga grad Austin Daye, Charlie Villanueva (also 6'11") and Swedish Jiant Jonas Jerebko (6'10") at power forward. And if need be, he and Teyshawn Prince (both 6'9") can keep the three spot tall and strong. Whatever aircraft comes their way, the Pistons have the counterattack. Ack-ack knock 'em back, I say!
So what does all this mean? My guess is, it means they can play with any team on any given night. ANY team, even that one they assembled in South Florida. Yet as likely as they are to pull off the occasional stunner, they're just as likely to lose that very winnable game due to their inconsistency or inexperience as a unit.
There will be rough patches, and good quotes should be plentiful. However, they've got too much ability not to make it interesting. Should they avoid the debilitating injuries of recent seasons, .500 seems like a very real possibility. And that's generally enough for a team to sneak into the NBA playoffs.
