Grant Hill explains how Doc Rivers blew Magic's meeting with Tim Duncan
Oh, what could have been.
In the summer of 2000, the Orlando Magic brought in Tim Duncan for a free agency pitch. They had already landed Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady was right around the corner, and Duncan was so enamored with Orlando that his choice came down to signing with the Magic or staying with the San Antonio Spurs.
However, the meeting didn't quite go as planned for Orlando, as Hill explained on ESPN's The Jump on Wednesday. Duncan asked if the Magic would allow family members on the team plane, and Doc Rivers (who coached them at that time) said no.
It all went downhill from there.
Grant Hill just admitted that Doc Rivers blew the Tim Duncan signing with Orlando when he said spouses weren’t allowed on the team plane.
— #Mickstape (@MickstapeShow) February 15, 2018
T-Mac is STILL sick about it after all these years pic.twitter.com/eojBGAxffs
McGrady, a frequent panelist on The Jump, was floored when he learned he nearly teamed up with Duncan to form what would have been a superteam in a weakened conference. The inside-out combination of McGrady and Duncan would have easily trounced the likes of Jason Kidd's New Jersey Nets or Allen Iverson's Philadelphia 76ers for East supremacy.
Hill's account corroborates the story shared by former Spurs forward Bruce Bowen on a Los Angeles Clippers broadcast earlier this season. Duncan wanted special access and Rivers denied him.