McGrady to play in the Philippines?

If someone had said five years ago that T-Mac was going to suit up for Ginebra alongside Jay-Jay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), nobody with any real knowledge about professional basketball would've taken that person seriously. Then again, the same could be said if someone mentioned that Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul, together with a few other NBA stars were going to play a couple of exhibition games in the Philippines.

After major strides by Philippine basketball (and major spending by a guy named "MVP"), having big NBA names play in the Philippines is no longer a dubious possibility. It was also about five years ago when rumors of already retired NBA legend Karl Malone playing in the PBA was met with harsh criticism and ridicule by basketball fans from and outside of the Philippines. The notion then was that the PBA was such an inferior league and that Malone would be embarrassing himself if he made such a move.

How times have changed.

These days, a pit stop in the Philippines by a former high-profile NBA player isn't such a bad move anymore. The Philippines has shown its willingness to cough up cash, and the competition level has steadily improved. It's perhaps why just a few years removed from his days as an NBA All-Star, Tracy McGrady's handlers are eyeing the Philippines as a destination for the former NBA scoring champion.

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Local agent Sheryl Reyes, who has a partnership McGrady's agency, was quoted by InterAKTV about bringing the 33-year-old, 6'8" forward to the PBA.

 

“Several people told me we can’t bring McGrady to China, now it has become possible,” Reyes wrote in a text message. “My next agenda is to bring him in the PBA as a replacement import just like what I did with those ex-NBA players last season.”

McGrady has signed to play in China this season and is scheduled to arrive in the country on the third week of October to play for the Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

The CBA season will end just as the PBA's 6'8" and below import-reinforced Commissioner’s Cup season starts. Though he is definitely not the same T-Mac who used to drop 50 points and put together highlight reel dunks on a nightly basis in the NBA (see related: T-Mac’s finest NBA moments), the PBA stands to gain in having a player with McGrady's credentials. It will not only help the league's resurgence in popularity after some trying years in the mid-2000's, but it also drums up the Philippines even more as a global player in basketball as it has shown in recent years.

Source: dennis guillermo (ph.nba.com)