In the pantheon of NBA “what ifs,” there are stories that merely spark curiosity, and then there are those that threaten to completely rewrite the history books. We often look back at the Los Angeles Lakers’ dynasty of the early 2000s as an inevitable force of nature—Shaquille O’Neal’s dominance paired with Kobe Bryant’s rising stardom resulted in a three-peat that cemented their legacy. But buried beneath the championship confetti and the legendary feuds lies a secret plan that could have turned that duo into a trio, or perhaps, sent the Lakers down a radically different path.
Recent revelations and resurfaced history have shed light on a fascinating chapter from 1997: Jerry West, the architectural genius behind the Lakers’ success, was dead set on acquiring Tracy McGrady. The vision wasn’t just to draft a solid player; it was to pair the teenage prodigy with a young Kobe Bryant and a prime Shaquille O’Neal. It is a scenario that sounds like a video game cheat code, yet it was tantalizingly close to becoming reality.
The Rise of a Sleeping Giant
To understand the magnitude of this potential move, we have to rewind to July 1996. Tracy McGrady, a lanky kid from Florida, walked into the legendary Adidas ABCD camp as a complete unknown. Wearing jersey number 175—literally the last player invited—he wasn’t on anyone’s radar. There was no national hype, no top-500 ranking, just a kid looking for a chance.
By the end of the camp, everything had changed. The 6’8″ guard dazzled scouts with a blend of athleticism and skill that seemed impossible for his size. He was crossing up future NBA stars like Lamar Odom and throwing down windmill dunks that left the gym in silence. Almost overnight, T-Mac went from “who is that?” to the number one ranked player in the country. He had that rare, effortless glide to his game—a natural talent that made basketball look deceptively easy.
The Workout That Sold “The Logo”
Fast forward to 1997. The Lakers had already secured Kobe Bryant the previous year, a move orchestrated by Jerry West that would eventually pay off in five championships. But West wasn’t satisfied. When McGrady declared for the draft, West brought him in for a workout. According to former Lakers coach Dell Harris, what West saw left him stunned.
Harris is on record stating that McGrady’s workout was “even more impressive” than Kobe’s legendary session a year prior. Let that sink in. Jerry West, the man who watched teenage Kobe destroy defensive specialist Michael Cooper, watched T-Mac and thought, “We might need both of them.”
West’s vision was ahead of its time. He wasn’t looking for a traditional roster; he was trying to construct a “Big Three” before the concept dominated modern basketball. The plan was audacious: keep Shaq, keep Kobe, and trade established All-Star Eddie Jones to move up in the draft and select McGrady. It was a gamble of epic proportions—betting on two teenagers to lead a franchise alongside the most dominant center in the game.
The Owner’s Veto
So, why didn’t we see T-Mac in purple and gold? The answer lies with the late, great Jerry Buss. While West was the visionary scout, Buss was the owner with an eye on the bottom line and a hunger for immediate success. The Lakers had been in a title drought, and the idea of trading a proven All-Star like Eddie Jones for another high school project was a bridge too far.
Buss reportedly shut down the trade, fearing that adding another developing teenager would slow down the team’s timeline. He wanted to win now. It’s a classic conflict between the patience required for development and the urgency of championship contention. Buss’s decision, while frustrating for West at the time, arguably saved the Lakers from a potential implosion—or cost them the greatest dynasty in sports history, depending on how you view it.
Talent vs. Mentality: The Eternal Debate
The failed trade adds a fascinating layer to the endless “Kobe vs. T-Mac” debate. For years, fans and analysts have argued over who was the better player. Gilbert Arenas recently reignited this conversation, suggesting that T-Mac’s raw talent was superior and that his career shouldn’t be diminished just because he didn’t win rings.
Arenas argues that “ring culture” blinds us to individual greatness. He points out that T-Mac was often dragging subpar rosters to the playoffs, averaging 32 points a game in Orlando while Kobe was winning titles with Shaq. The argument is that if roles were reversed—if T-Mac had played with Shaq—he too would have a handful of rings.
However, the video analysis raises a crucial counterpoint: the “Mamba Mentality.” While T-Mac was undeniably gifted, perhaps even more so than Kobe naturally, Kobe possessed a borderline psychotic work ethic. Stories of Kobe being in the gym at 4:00 AM are legendary. Even T-Mac admitted that Kobe’s drive was on another level.
Would T-Mac have developed that same killer instinct if he had been drafted by the Lakers? Or would the “Big Three” have collapsed under the weight of three massive egos? The Lakers eventually fell apart with just two alphas in Shaq and Kobe. Adding a third scorer who needed the ball might have been a recipe for disaster. Phil Jackson, who arrived in 1999, would have had the unenviable task of managing three superstars who all wanted to be “the guy.”
The Verdict of History
In our timeline, the Lakers chose the path of friction. They paired the immovable object (Shaq) with the unstoppable force (Kobe), and the resulting tension fueled a three-peat. They got a player in Kobe who would rather break his own body than accept defeat—a savage competitor who, as Stephen A. Smith noted, “scared the hell” out of opponents because he was a basketball savant.
Tracy McGrady’s career remains one of the great “what ifs” due to injuries and circumstances. He never played with a healthy Hall of Fame big man in his prime. When he finally got Grant Hill, Hill was injured. When he joined Yao Ming, their bodies broke down.
The proposed trade by Jerry West serves as a reminder of how thin the margins are in the NBA. One “yes” from Jerry Buss, and we might be talking about T-Mac as a five-time champion. Instead, we are left with the reality of Kobe’s five rings and T-Mac’s Hall of Fame talent that never quite reached the summit of team success.
In the end, basketball history gave the Lakers exactly what they needed, even if it wasn’t exactly what Jerry West wanted. They got the drama, the dominance, and the rings. But somewhere in an alternate universe, there is a Lakers jersey with “McGrady” on the back hanging in the rafters, leaving us to wonder just how high that team could have flown.
