Hittin' The Links: Starring Mr. Belding, John Salley... And, Oh Yeah, Tracy McGrady Potentially Signing With The Pistons

Hey, hey, hey, hey... what is going on here? 

• It's CV31 hanging with Mr. Belding. It looks like Belding ate Screech.
Ok, I'm deliberating the real issue: Will the Pistons sign 31-year-old, seven-time All-Star Tracy McGrady to a league minimum contract, similar to the one Shaqrock signed with Boston?


• Vincent Goodwill's latest update is that the Pistons are weighing the plus & minuses: 

#Pistons will evaluating [sic] #McGrady...his health, effect on the team's chemistry is an issue...still no offer yet

• Interesting tidbits from Langlois' Monday morning mailbag (emphasis mine):

Adding McGrady, who can play small forward and shooting guard, adds to the depth at those two positions. Since the Pistons haven’t dealt yet, it’s logical to assume that Dumars hasn’t gotten the offer he wants but has gotten offers. To take that a step further, it makes sense that Dumars has been holding out hope to get an upgrade for his frontcourt if he was going to trade an impact player like Rip Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince. Adding McGrady, to essentially replace one of those players, might embolden Joe D to recalibrate his expectations; instead of taking back a frontcourt player – and productive ones are tough to acquire – maybe he’d be more inclined to trade one or the other for cap relief and/or draft picks. We’ll see.

Of course, the major issue is T-Mac's health:

If the Pistons add McGrady, and if McGrady can stay healthy, then the Pistons are suddenly a pretty intriguing team offensively – assuming they’re getting the Tracy McGrady we all remember. At 31, McGrady should still have productive years left. And that’s the wild card in the equation for me: Arnie Kander. In the tight fraternity of NBA players, Kander’s advice is solicited by many players who have chronic injury issues and Kander has maintained a dialogue with McGrady over the years. If McGrady comes here, I think a big part of the attraction for him will be his belief that Kander can help keep him healthy with daily hands-on care.

• This signing could mean one of several things, according to Patrick Hayes: 

• Another move is in the works. McGrady, a veteran superstar, would want minutes. The Pistons don’t have any to give out on the perimeter. I would think they would be considering clearing a spot for him to play if they are considering bringing him on.

• Maybe he’s insurance in case they have concerns about the full-season health of Tayshaun Prince or Rip Hamilton, who both had major injury struggles last season.

• Maybe the team wants to bring in a star to sell tickets, but Dumars is not familiar with any stars post 2003 or so.  

• Maybe they’re not convinced that Austin Daye is ready to provide big minutes and/or production. Or, maybe they are bringing in the lanky, finesse perimeter player in McGrady to mentor the lanky, finesse player Daye.