Bulls' attempt to trade Tracy McGrady for Scottie Pippen

Another great high school prospect who made the transition to the NBA in the 1990s was Tracy McGrady.

In his final year at Mount Zion Christian Academy, McGrady averaged 27.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 7.7 assists. He went to the NBA

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McGrady was asked about that potential trade recently on the Alex Kennedy Podcast, and he said it was a crazy idea for the Bulls to pair him with Michael Jordan by giving away Scottie Pippen to get him

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McGrady would ultimately be selected by the Raptors with the ninth choice in the 1997 NBA Draft, but if Bulls general manager Jerry Krause had his way, events might have turned out quite differently.

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I had exactly the same impression, that it was crazy. Why would they trade for Scottie Pippen, a top 50 NBA Hall of Famer and five-time NBA champion at the time, an 18-year-old high school student?

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I'll just say that Jerry Krause was simply fixated on me. Jerry Krause was at me in 1999–2000 to try to re-sign me when I became a free agent.

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The transaction, which would have sent Pippen for two high selection picks and transferred the Bulls' president Jerry Reinsdorf to the Celtics, was rejected by him.

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Going to Toronto did not work out for McGrady at first too, but he eventually developed into an NBA scoring machine and went on to win two scoring crowns.

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