T-Mac: Jordan vetoed trading Pippen for me on draft night
Tracy McGrady: The Bulls tried to trade Scottie Pippen for me on draft night, but Michael Jordan vetoed the deal pic.twitter.com/eWYgMok0aZ
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) June 23, 2016
The Chicago Bulls and former general manager Jerry Krause were smitten with high school prospect Tracy McGrady around the time of the 1997 NBA draft, and were even willing to ship off a future hall-of-famer to land him.
During an appearance on ESPN's The Jump with Rachel Nichols and Ramona Shelburne on Thursday, McGrady revealed that the Bulls tried to make a trade for him on draft night in a deal involving Scottie Pippen.
He even flew in for a secret meeting with Bulls management a couple of days before the draft. McGrady sat in the green room under the impression that a move was going to happen.
It was pretty much a done deal, right up until Michael Jordan intervened and had it called off.
Was it the right call? Well, the Bulls went on to complete their second three-peat that season on the heels of a 69-win campaign, with Pippen earning himself a spot on the All-NBA Third team.
McGrady wound up getting drafted by the Toronto Raptors ninth overall, spending three seasons north of the border before moving on to the Orlando Magic.