Tracy McGrady Feels Sorry For Kobe; Sixers Coach Admits ‘Losses Will Be Mounting Up!’
This coming season, the NBA will have a great divide. There will be clear losers and contenders. The Philadelphia 76ers are the clearest losers, while Tracy McGrady puts the Lakers on the list as well.
Tracy Mc Grady tweeted his sympathy for Kobe after he watched the Lakers play a pre-season game against the Utah Jazz. He is now with NBA TV’s “Open Court” after he retired from basketball last summer.
Sitting here watching the Lakers, and I feel sorry for my boy Jellybean when he comes back!
— Tracy McGrady (@Real_T_Mac) October 23, 2013
The Lakers don’t have the best lineup. Pau Gasol is coming off an injury, Steve Nash is turning 40 and the rest of the roster was filled up with minimum salary players. Most of those players were unsigned by other teams, and some have already left the NBA.
Wesley Johnson was a draft bust from Phoenix, Nick Young and Chris Kaman are free agents which nobody signed. This is a transition year for the Lakers after Dwight Howard left them to join the Houston Rockets. Most Laker fans have accepted that and are looking towards next year.
However, Kobe Bryant is not the type of person who will not compete. Tracy McGrady knows this. They have formed a competitive friendship throughout the years.
Speaking of not competing, a lot of teams in the NBA are taking the strategy called ‘tanking.’ Tanking means building a less competitive team which will lose most of the season, the purpose is to get a high draft pick for next season. This has been done before, but since the NBA has a lottery system, the worst teams will have a better chance, but not guaranteed to have the top draft pick.
That’s enough for the Sixers. They are mounting the most brazen tanking strategy in history by trading their best player for an injured rookie. Their lineup is horrendous, and even their coach admits it.
Coach Brett Brown stated after their preseason loss to Cleveland that they have only six ‘NBA’ players, while the rest are players trying for a spot. From the Philadelphia Inquirer: "For me, I go straight away to just the type of people [that they are]. You know, are they going to be reliable? Are they going to compete? Are they going to be day-to-day? Do they come with personality? Can they be coached? Do they want to be coached? All those things matter."
"It's not even close. It has to be [that way]. Imagine going through the learning curve and the learning pains and, at times, some losses are going to be mounting up and mounting up and mounting up."