Tracy McGrady’s career with the Houston Rockets appears to be over. The oft-injured guard has left the team and will train on his own while general manager Daryl Morey looks to make a trade.
McGrady missed the first six weeks of this season while working his way back from microfracture surgery on his knee. He made his season debut on December 15th and appeared in six games for the Rockets, averaging 3.2 points in 7.8 minutes per game.
After complaining about his role and asking for more playing time last week, McGrady was given permission to leave the team and attend a birthday party for his son. Apparently he won’t be returning.
Though he’s barely played enough to break a sweat this season, McGrady will draw plenty of interest on the trade market. His $23 million salary is the largest in the NBA this season, and his contract expires at year’s end. A massive expiring contract like that would be tremendously valuable to any team hoping to clear salaries off the books for a run at next summer’s free agents.
Of course, the Rockets could just as easily allow McGrady’s deal to expire and use the cap space themselves. Houston has approximately $39.6 million tied up in contracts for next year — $17.6 million of which could disappear if center Yao Ming opts out of his deal. (He’s not expected to do so.)
The salary cap for next season will likely be in the neighborhood of $50-54 million.
McGrady, Rockets Splitting Up originally appeared on About.com Basketball on Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 at 17:42:51.
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