McGrady hoping to re-write history with Bulls visit
Ten years after spurning the Bulls as a free agent, Tracy McGrady will visit the Berto Center on Monday hoping to win a spot on the roster.
McGrady, 31, is expected to work out for the Bulls today and prove he is healthy enough to earn a minimum-salary contract. The 6-foot-8 swingman returned from a knee injury to play 24 games with New York late last season.
Whether McGrady can return to his old form is open to debate. He averaged 9.4 points, 3.9 assists and shot 38.9 percent from the field with the Knicks. ESPN.com suggested Sunday the Bulls are prepared to sign McGrady is he proves to be reasonably healthy.
If McGrady does join the Bulls, it would almost certainly be in a part-time role. After signing veteran big man Kurt Thomas and trading for backup point guard C.J. Watson last week, the Bulls have 11 players under contract. The list includes holdovers Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson and James Johnson, along with newcomers Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer and Omer Asik.
The most memorable event in the Bulls' failed free-agent pursuit of 2000 was a welcome party to meet McGrady at O'Hare Airport, complete with mascots, cheerleaders and a three-piece band playing "Sweet Home Chicago." He ended up signing with Orlando. On his Twitter account, McGrady wrote Saturday that he has unfinished business in Chicago.
McGrady averaged 21.6 points for Houston in 2007-08, then missed 79 games over the next two seasons. He worked out last week for the Los Angeles Clippers, but they don't appear to have much interest.
Rose shines for Team USA: Bulls guard Derrick Rose produced 15 points, 8 assists and 5 steals to help lead his White team to 114-96 victory late Saturday night in a USA Basketball scrimmage at Las Vegas. Rose hit 7 of 13 shots with no turnovers.
The game completed a weeklong training camp in preparation for the FIBA World Championships, which begin Aug. 28 in Turkey.
Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant scored a game-high 28 points for the White team, while Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala added 17 and Clippers guard Eric Gordon had 16. The Blue side was led by a pair of Memphis Grizzlies, Rudy Gay with 23 points and O.J. Mayo with 18.