What if I told you that in the summer of 2004 there almost culminated an even more dominant 1-2 Orlando duo than what even Diesel & Penny provided? Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee Hardaway pretty much provide the NBA benchmark many great guard/big man combos compare themselves to, to this day. This Golden Age of Magic basketball was nearly supplanted a decade later, if not for a few rash decisions by players and management alike during those fateful months after the 2003-04 season, this potential star tandem that never was, once acclimated, would have most likely ran circles around and burned holes through the NBA's ozone, creating an end-day League cataclysm that would have ended in several Magic championships most likely.

To understand what happened that fateful summer, we should first reflect on the greatness of the home town kid who returned four years earlier, the sleepy eyed kid who unexpectedly became a scoring machine while the other great signing of that summer of 2000 (Grant Hill) suffered through sputters and restarts as health issues belied his entire stay in Orlando. He is the first half of the Greatest Magic Duo that Never Was.

Tracy McGrady:

(2000-04, 4 seasons w/ Orlando Magic: 28.1 pts on 45% fg shooting, 36.1% 3fg shooting, 7 rebs, 5.2 asts, 1.6 stls per game) (via Basketball-reference.com)

[Overall Accolades: 7x All Star, 7x All NBA, 2x Scoring Champion]

Top 10 Tracy McGrady Orlando Magic Plays

In June 2000, a young spry, athletic cousin of Vince Carter (how he was pretty much known at the time), Tracy McGrady signed a 7 yr, $92.8 Million dollar contract with his hometown (raised in nearby Auburndale) Orlando Magic.***

McGrady quickly became a sensation, and all across Central Florida basketball courts you could hear cries of "Tracy!" as hoopers rose up for sweet jumpers, mimicking the stroke and effortless range of Orlando's newest golden son. Athletic feats of wonder, self assisted alley oops off the backboard, and pure scoring exhibitions made the Magic an immediate playoff team, although the lack of quality teammate support on the court never made them little more than first and outs (to the Bucks, Hornets and Pistons, in that order). McGrady, for the lack of a better word, most literally carried the team on his back most nights, with little to no help.

After the relative success of making the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, the Magic regressed in the 2003-04 season, starting the season with an awful 1-10 start and league worst 21-61 season, as former All Star Grant Hill went down for the entire season with more ankle problems. These were sad times.

To put this all in perspective, this is the 2003-04 Orlando Magic roster (via Wikipedia):

Orlando Magic roster v t e
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G 3 Bogans, Keith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Kentucky C 55 DeClercq, Andrew 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Florida G 13 Dial, Derrick 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Eastern Michigan G 22 Gaines, Reece 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Louisville F 8 Garrity, Pat 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 238 lb (108 kg) Notre Dame F/C 0 Gooden, Drew 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Kansas F 33 Hill, Grant 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Duke F 5 Howard, Juwan 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Michigan C 34 Hunter, Steven 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) DePaul C 31 Johnsen, Britton 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Utah G 10 Lue, Tyronn 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Nebraska G/F 1 McGrady, Tracy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Mt. Zion Christian Academy (HS) C 27 Pachulia, Zaza 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 275 lb (125 kg) Republic of Georgia C 45 Rooks, Sean 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Arizona G/F 9 Stevenson, DeShawn 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Washington Union (HS)	Head coach Johnny Davis Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Half of these players had no business being on an NBA roster. Orlando's poor record became a blessing in disguise though, as they were rewarded with the Number One pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. Understandably at the time though, Tracy was besides himself by the end of the season, despite the Magic's draft luck, and was already begging to be traded to another team. Unfortunately, in maybe one of the biggest mistakes in Magic history, management obliged him five days later. On June 29th, a blockbuster trade was completed with the Houston Rockets, sending McGrady away with Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, and Reece Gaines for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Kelvin Cato. Had McGrady known now what he did back then, perhaps he decides to stick around, as the Magic selected the help he had always been looking for, less than a week earlier.

The 2004 NBA Draft

The huge back and forth of the day was deciding between the proven college star in Emeka Okafor, or deciding on the high ceiling/athletic potential of some Atlanta high schooler. On June 24th, the Orlando Magic went on to pick the high schooler from Atlanta Christian Academy, guessing correctly and picking Dwight Howard, who would go on to be one of the premier bigs in the NBA, a young defensive terror blessed with the athleticisim to dominate on the court. He is the 2nd half of the Greatest Magic Duo that Never Was.

Dwight Howard:

(2004-12, 8 seasons w/ Orlando Magic: 18.6 pts on 57.5% fg shooting, 12.8 rebs, 2.2 blks per game) (via Basketball-reference.com)

[Overall Accolades: 8x All Star, 8x All NBA, 5x All Defensive, 3x Defensive Player of the Year]

Top 10 Dwight Howard Orlando Magic Plays

Steve Francis. Vince Carter. Jason Richardson. Gilbert Arenas. All players Otis Smith and management thought they could overpay to sidekick effectively next to Howard. We are all very aware of the mediocre success and wasted cap dollars spent to try to ease the burden on Dwight, which would later play into Howard's own decision to fight his way out of Orlando in 2012. What's sad is that had Orlando stuck to its guns and just kept their original wing predecessor, Tracy McGrady, then they may have encountered a level of success much sooner than it took to reload their Stan Van guided teams that got the Magic within 3 wins of a championship against the Lakers.

What if Orlando never traded McGrady?

If McGrady looked back at his career in retrospect, he may very well regret not sticking it out one more season with Orlando, at least to see what might have came from the combination of him and a young Dwight. The ironic part of this story is that throughout his whole tenure in Orlando, McGrady only asked for a dependable supporting roster, one Magic management never provided, and a young D12 patrolling the paint may have played the perfect compliment to Tracy's prowess on the wing.

Imagine a rising star in Dwight helping take the pressure off McGrady, who had for previous seasons had to suffer such post presences as Darko Milicic, Steven Hunter, Andrew DeClerq, and sadly many others. Dwight would have proven an immediate upgrade, and could have created an exciting inside-outside dynamic, one Tracy never got to even attempt to experience until his following season, teaming up with Yao Ming.

Tracy was an underrated playmaker, so you can easily see McGrady pushing the ball up the floor on the break, scanning his horizons, and lifting the ball up softly for a swift young Howard, rim diving for a soaring alley oop.

Or Dwight commanding the paint (though his court awareness and pass outs didn't mature until his later years), kicking out to Tracy for an open 3? The possibilities are endless, and you can bet that Orlando would have been a much more attractive free agent option for players looking to team up with the dynamic duo with the opportunity to win and win now.

Dwight had to wait a whole half a decade to be surrounded by competence (Hedo, Rashard, Jameer, JJ and gang) to take Orlando to the next level, and consequently the NBA Finals.

Who knows what could have been had Tracy stayed and watched Dwight develop into the top Center in the League, while McGrady continued his scoring dominance, creating a pick your poison scenario for ball clubs not named the Magic. That first year would have been somewhat rocky, true, but had that trade not gone down with Houston, and no other significant trades or signings had been made, this is what the 2004-05 Orlando Magic may have really looked like:

PG Jameer Nelson Tyronn Lue

SG Tracy McGrady DeShawn Stevenson

SF Grant Hill* Hedo Turkoglu

PF Juwan Howard Pat Garrity

C Dwight Howard Tony Battie

*Injured

Definitely intriguing, a few tweaks here and there and they may have done some damage together sooner than expected. How much damage is the question?

***Shout out to Sawbonz for the catch, McGrady signed straight up with Orlando, and was not sign and traded for the rights of the infamous Fran Vasquez