Aaron McKie - NBA Career

NBA Career

McKie was selected in the first round (17th overall) of the 1994 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. He has since played for the Detroit Pistons, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Lakers. In the 2000–01 NBA season, McKie was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year, becoming the first Sixers player since Bobby Jones in 1983 to win that honor. McKie played an important role in the NBA Finals-bound team, serving as backup to Eric Snow and Allen Iverson and occasionally played as a starter. He notched consecutive triple doubles during the 2000-01 season, December 30, 2000 vs. the Sacramento Kings (19 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists) and January 3, 2001 vs. the Atlanta Hawks (11 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists).

On August 12, 2005, he was waived by the 76ers as part of the one-time "Amnesty provision" of the new labor agreement, allowing the 76ers to waive a player to avoid the luxury tax on his salary. McKie signed with the Lakers on August 22, 2005 and played 24 regular-season games for them.

In October 2007, McKie rejoined the 76ers as an assistant coach.

On February 1, 2008, McKie was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, along with Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, rights to Marc Gasol, and the 2008 and 2010 first-round draft picks, for Pau Gasol. The Lakers' acquisition of Pau Gasol was only approved by the league office when McKie—who was working as an assistant coach with Philadelphia when the Lakers called to inform him that they wanted to sign him and throw him in for salary-cap reasons—agreed to join the Grizzlies.

He was released from the Grizzlies on May 9, 2008. He rejoined the Philadelphia coaching staff as an assistant in September 2008.