Tracy McGrady wants to be on the Lakers

Yahoo! Sports

Mon Jul 18 01:05pm EDT

Tracy McGrady wants to be on the Lakers

The NBA has locked out its players, and no transactions can take place until the NBA and union negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. Nobody can be signed, and no team can even talk to a potential signee. Heck, teams aren't even allowed to speak with their own players, much less free agents.

That hasn't gotten in Tracy McGrady's (notes) way, dag-nabbit. Our man T-Mac wants to be a Laker, by hook or by crook. Or even by terrible Photoshop work.

This is what Tracy tweeted:

And the media behind this question? Tracy posted this picture of himself in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform:

Tracy has flirted with the Lakers before, and he attempted to glom on to several good teams last summer before settling on a terrible Detroit Pistons squad for 2010-11. And, ideally, McGrady's all-around gifts would work swimmingly with a Lakers team coached by Phil Jackson and featuring the triangle offense -- an attack mode that doesn't need nor feature a typical point guard.

But Phil Jackson's not the coach anymore. The triangle is gone, and Kobe Bryant (notes) still plays shooting guard for Los Angeles. So unless T-Mac wants to come off the bench for his fantasy team, this will be a tough sell. To say nothing of his declining gifts, his terrible defense and his continued insistence on dominating the ball.

Still, perhaps the NBA-induced time off could do Tracy some good. McGrady took a small step back in Detroit last season, which could endear him to a Lakers team that badly needs any sort of scoring or playmaking punch off its bench.

Until then, T-Mac, let's hold off on the fantasy trading card-type pictures. At least on public record.