Draft day is crazy. Seriously. Did you know Tracy McGrady was almost traded to the Bulls for Scottie Pippen? McGrady, a seven-time NBA All-Star, dropped this nugget on ESPN's Rachel Nichols and Ramona Shelburne during The Jump, the network's afternoon basketball show where he serves as analyst.
Tracy McGrady: The Bulls tried to trade Scottie Pippen for me on draft night, but Michael Jordan vetoed the deal pic.twitter.com/eWYgMok0aZ
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) June 23, 2016
WHAT IS LIFE?
Of course, McGrady was the No. 9 pick by the Raptors in the 1997 draft, and Jordan's Bulls were only Jordan's Bulls for one more season. After the 1997-98 campaign, Michael Jordan retired a second time, Phil Jackson left Chicago and Pippen was traded to the Rockets.
But what about the Bulls' 62 wins and the seven-game Eastern Conference Finals victory over the Pacers and Jordan's shot over Byron Russell to win the NBA Finals? Pippen was needed for all of that. How would NBA history be rewritten with a rookie McGrady on the 1997-98 Bulls instead of Pippen. And how much better would the 1998-2008 Bulls have been?!?
McGrady explains that he actually had a meeting with Jerry Krause, but Jordan killed the trade to win his sixth title. That is quite a "welcome to the NBA" moment.
So Tracy McGrady just said on #TheJump he was nearly traded for Scottie Pippen & was brought to Chicago for a secret meeting w/the Bulls
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 23, 2016
My head is still spinning over McGrady telling @Rachel__Nichols on the Jump he almost got traded for Pippen in 97 until MJ stopped it
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 23, 2016
Twitter immediately pointed out to Nichols and Shelburne that Bleacher Report's Jonathan Abrams included this McGrady-Pippen tale in his book, Boys Among Men, which came out in March. Nichols admitted she has not read the book.
All I can say is that story from T-Mac made me so excited for my summer reading list and @Jpdabrams book
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 23, 2016
The NBA Draft is Thursday night, and the unexpected should be expected. Immediate ground-breaking NBA decisions will not be evident, but when executives check back in a decade from now, they will see the carnage they created.
More NBA:
-- Photos Of J.R. Smith's Legendary Cavs Victory Parade Performance
-- What NBA Prospects Really Experience On Draft Day
-- Why Derrick Rose Trade Is Good For New York (And Sad For Chicago)
Follow Jeffrey Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband.
