NBA: Will Tracy McGrady Play for Houston Again?
There have been several reports circulating around the league about Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets. With all of the conflicting reports and hemming and hawing that seems to be going on in regards to T-Mac and the Rockets these days one begins to wonder if McGrady will ever suit up for the Rockets again.
The initial reports on McGrady had him telling reporters he expected to be back on the floor for the Rockets earlier this week. Then came statements from the Houston front office stating no firm return date had been established for McGrady. Tracy says he is good to go and ready to play. Head coach Rick Adelman and the Rockets say he simply is not ready to go and McGrady would risk re-injuring his knee again if he comes back too soon.
Both sides flat out deny the Yahoo! sports report claiming the situation culminated in Adelman and McGrady getting into a heated argument over him wanting to play earlier this week. With these recent developments one begins to wonder if he writing has been on the wall in regards to McGrady’s future in Houston.
One has to wonder if T-Mac’s days in Houston were at an end once the Rockets advanced to the second round of the playoffs with him watching from the bench last spring. The monkey on McGrady’s back his entire career has always been his inability to lead a team out of the first round of the playoffs. The fact the Rockets did that without him on the floor last season leads one to realize they do not need him to get to the next level.
The second sign McGrady’s days were over came when the Rockets gave Trevor Ariza a long term contract over the summer. Ariza is off to the best start of his career, is averaging more points per game than McGrady did last season, and is a better defender than T-Mac. Also, the fact the Rockets are currently 6th in the West in terms of playoff seeding does nothing to help McGrady’s case.
Simply put McGrady is a free agent after this season and does not figure in the long term plans of the Rockets. They are clearly building for the future around younger players like Ariza and Aaron Brooks and hoping Yao Ming makes a full recovery and gets back on the court next season. Without Yao they now they do not have the horses to compete with the likes of the Lakers and Spurs come playoff time even if McGrady is out there. They would rather see guys like Brooks, Ariza, and Kyle Lowry get the bulk of the minutes in the back court this season rather than lose minutes to T-Mac.
McGrady is scheduled to have a MRI on Monday to see how stable his bum knee is. If it looks good do not be surprised to see the Rockets maneuver quickly to find a buyer for McGrady’s expiring contract. They will slowly work him back into the rotation off the bench and then move him for the first reasonable offer they get for him, or, they may just buy him out to get him out of their hair.
