Tracy McGrady rejoins Magic as special assistant to CEO Tracy McGrady has rejoined the Orlando Magic. The two-time NBA scoring champion and seven-time All-Star signed on to become a special assistant to CEO Alex Martins, the Orlando Sentinel has learned. McGrady grew up in Polk County, and he’ll help promote and market the new Lakeland Magic G League franchise. But McGrady’s duties are expected to go beyond that. He’ll be around, at least occasionally, to work with Orlando Magic players and coaches on and off the court. It would not be a surprise if he assists with recruiting free agents to the Magic. Even though McGrady and the Magic parted ways on strained terms in 2004, a reunion between McGrady and the franchise has been rumored for years. The team honored him on opening night of the 2013-14 season as part of its 25th-anniversary celebration, and the gesture seemed to repair the relationship. McGrady played 15 seasons in the NBA. In 2000, he joined the team, along with Grant Hill, as a high-priced free agent in 2000. He spent four seasons in Orlando and averaged 28.1 points per game for the Magic. But with Hill severely hampered by injuries, the Magic never advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs during McGrady’s Magic tenure. McGrady was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this past September. He attended Thursday night’s preseason game between the Magic and the Dallas Mavericks at Amway Center.
good move. mergady has shown incredible intelligence when he spoke as a player and a studio analyst. he will help orlando achieve greatness.
It is always a good call to have an emotional midget involved with your franchise. I am sure Nick Anderson will be added soon and when Dwert retires he can join their brain trust.
Yes, smart move. This should help TMac lobby to get his jersey retired, so he's not the only 1st ballot HOFer who failed to achieve that honor.
Good for Orlando. Glad they gave a front office position to a guy who demanded a trade from their team. Stand up guy
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-magic/os-sp-orlando-magic-news-1007-story.html McGrady formally rejoined the Magic as a special assistant to the CEO on Thursday, and he expects to be in Orlando about once a month and try to link up with the team when it makes its two West Coast road trips. To hear McGrady tell it, a reunion with the Magic just feels natural. “It’s home,” McGrady told reporters Friday. “This is right. This is the place that gave me a opportunity to make a name for myself. I still have great ties with the organization. They take care of me every time I come home. It just feels right for me to be back home, and I’m excited for the opportunity to be around these guys.” The exact outline of his new role remains unclear. He’ll help the franchise promote and market its new G League team in Lakeland, and he’ll also be available to meet with the Orlando Magic’s players and coaches when he’s in town. McGrady also will continue to work as a basketball analyst for ESPN, and that job helps explain why he’ll be in Central Florida just once a month. Asked specifically if he could help the Magic recruit free agents, McGrady confirmed that a role as a recruiter could occur eventually. “Once we cross that bridge, yeah, sure,” McGrady answered. “Orlando is a great place to play, a first-class organization, one of the best that I’ve affiliated been with. So, yes. But, obviously, guys that are under contract now — there will be no contact with me whatsoever. I know how that goes. But once guys become free agents in the summertime? Absolutely.” On Friday, he seemed to enjoy being around the Magic’s current players. And vice versa. “It’s definitely good to have somebody like that around, somebody that can give our players knowledge,” point guard Elfrid Payton said. “Obviously, he didn’t play point guard, but it’s good to have him talking to Evan [Fournier], talking to T-Ross [Terrence Ross], talking to A.G. [Aaron Gordon]. Anything to help those guys is going to help us be better, and I’m all for that.” McGrady said he already has started to speak with Gordon off the floor. “I know his potential,” McGrady said. “He’s extremely athletic. He has all the athleticism in the world. Now we’ve just got to work on the mental aspect of the game. How do we take what our physical ability is and turn that into the same mental capacity in games? That’s what has to translate. He has to believe in himself of what he’s capable of doing, and let’s see if he could do that. I think he has all the tools to be able to [do that]. . . . “It’s a growing process. It’s a transition that he’s transitioning into, and for me to be around here having gone through that, I could help him out in so many ways.”
Tmac always saying the same thing. Feels natural, feels like home.... just all talk. That franchise is just cursed.
Hearing this bs so much. It's a business, fans need to stop this loyalty nonsense. Teams ship their players all the time when a deal looks good to them, but players need to be loyal to their team for life? See this logic in all kinds of sports, not sure why fans only expect one side to respect the other. When we see Rockets trying to ship someone like Ryno or Brewer, everyone is beyond happy and says "get his ass outta here", but when the player wants out, it's suddenly "non-loyal b****, how dare he betray this team?!".
