Here We Go Again

Tracy McGrady spent last summer attempting to convince the world that the Lakers wanted to sign him. They didn't, but that didn't stop T Mac from mentioning the Lakers over and over when asked about teams he might join or when tweeting his list of potential landing spots. He was like that guy at a bar who repeatedly gets shot down by the same woman but keeps walking back to his buddies and saying, "Bros, check out that look she's giving! I can tell she's into me."

And he succeeded, kinda. He got some people chatting about the prospect of his joining the Lake Show, despite not one credible reporter with sources inside the organization ever mentioning his name among Laker free-agent targets. And as you probably noticed, Tracy ended up signing with the Detroit Pistons, who are not the Los Angeles Lakers.

This summer he's again a free agent, or will be once free agency begins, and I guess we have to give him points for persistency. Undeterred by last summer's rejection, T Mac is once again sending drinks to the Lakers' table. On Friday, under the caption "Yes or No," he tweeted the following pic....

(*exasperated sigh*)

Now, T Mac actually had an OK season with the Pistons, so perhaps he thinks the Lakers regard him was The One That Got Away. That doesn't mean he's at all a good fit or the type of player the Lake Show should be looking to sign.

To begin with, the Triangle is gone, which means there's no longer room in the starting lineup for an oversized, unconventional Ron Harper type at point guard. The Lakers need someone who brings quickness and creativity off the dribble, can run the pick-and-roll and pop from the outside. At this point in his career, none of those things is in McGrady's skill set.

Also, T Mac is an awful defender. In that sense, I suppose, he'd be right at home in the Laker backcourt rotation. And he'll turn 33 next year, which doesn't really work in his favor unless you think the Lakers' problem last season was that they weren't quite old enough. Oh, and he was one of several Piston vets who frequently clashed in the locker room with then-head coach John Kuester, who's now a Laker assistant.

As we say in Hollywood, Tracy: don't call us, we'll call you.

Follow Dex on Twitter @dexterfishmore.