Pat Riley Offered Young Tracy McGrady A Max Contract

While being a guest on the Bill Simmons Podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst told an amazing story about how Pat Riley and Alonzo Mourning offered McGrady a max contract. Read the story told by Windhorst below.

“They bring him down on a private jet and they bring him to Alonzo Mourning‘s house on the same day. And they have drinks and they hang out and you know Zo was, like, one of the coolest guys in the league. He still is one of the coolest guys in the league. They’re chilling at Zo’s house and all of a sudden, this speedboat pulls up. And Zo says, ‘Hey Tracy, let’s go for a ride.’ They get into the speedboat. They hit go and the speedboat goes 80 miles an hour across Biscayne Bay, zapping by the arena, downtown Miami, beautiful. It pulls in to Pat Riley‘s house down the cove. And Riley’s standing there holding the max contract offer.”

Windhorst went on to say that he believes this is the second-best pitch the Miami Heat has made to a player, with the first slot going to the presentation they gave Gordon Hayward before he signed with the Boston Celtics.