The Pistons finally made the Tracy McGrady signing official and introduced him to the Detroit media this afternoon according to Chris Iott of Mlive.com.
“Come off the bench — if that’s what it is, that’s what it is,” McGrady said while meeting with media members at the practice facility at The Palace. “I’m just ready to play basketball, y’all. Seriously. That’s what I wake up thinking about. That’s what I love to do.”
The official terms of the contract were not disclosed but it is believed to be a one year deal worth about $1.3 million.
McGrady, a seven-time All-Star and two-time NBA scoring champion, made about $23 million last season.
“We think Tracy is a good addition to our team,” Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said. “We think he’s going to be able to provide even more depth for us. Tracy feels like he has a lot to prove. We’ve simply said to him that we expect him to come out and give us his best each night.”
I’ve mentioned this before on the site but this is a signing that has more reward than risk. McGrady is a former scoring champion and brings an element of leadership to a team that is pretty young. The Pistons were also able to get him at the veterans minimum so they do have options on what they can do with him (keep him, trade him at the deadline, etc). I also like the attitude McGrady is coming in with saying that he wouldn’t mind coming off the bench but would like to compete for a starting role, which he may very well get if trades are made.
Bottom line this is a move that Joe Dumars almost has to make considering the lack of interest the team has managed to muster this offseason. Also with where this team is at right now in terms of ownership, Joe’s hands are almost tied in terms of what he can do.

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