While many circumstances are unknown surrounding Tracy McGrady, one thing is for sure; he will no longer going to play for the Houston Rockets, the team he’s been with for the last six years.
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reported on Dec. 28 that McGrady and the Rockets are seeking a trade after “mutually agreeing” to part ways, and many rumors have surfaced in recent weeks as to which teams are in the hunt for this aging and surgically repaired superstar.
Houston has to move him before the Feb. 18 trade deadline or be forced to pay the money they owe for a player who will sit the rest of the season.
While it will be difficult to move McGrady because of his massive $23 million contract, many teams have been mentioned in the McGrady race, from the Knicks and the Wizards to the Jazz and the Sixers. And while it looks like New York will be unable to acquire T-Mac, other teams may see his expiring contract as a chance to clear up cap space for next year’s huge free agent class (LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, etc.).
Whichever team ends up offering McGrady his next contract, it’s likely the older star will have to take a pay cut, as the NBA’s salary cap is expected to drop by $4 million to around $53 million per team for the 2010-11 season.
In any case, McGrady is too good not to be in the NBA next year and he said after last February’s microfracture surgery that, “I rededicated myself, refocused…I’m not even supposed to be playing right now, so that really tells you how hard I’ve been working.”
He also said that whoever signs him will be getting a “hungry player,” so let’s take a look at the teams that are most likely to land the 30-year-old guard/forward.Source
