Tracy McGrady News

"Rockets general manager Daryl Morey told the Associated Press on Wednesday that Tracy McGrady is happy in Houston and was surprised at how reports characterized his interest in being traded to Detroit. Morey spoke a day after an ESPN reporter said McGrady had told him he would be interested in playing for the Pistons. Last week, a Canadian-based media outlet reported without citing sources that Detroit was making a run at the seven-time All-Star. Morey said he talked to McGrady on Wednesday morning. ``He said he wanted to win and they (the media) ran with it,'' Morey said. ``He said he's happy in Houston. He just was surprised how it all came out.''"

"At least it seems everybody can agree on this: Tracy McGrady is happy. Whether the Houston Rockets will trade him to, say, the Pistons, is another matter. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith stirred that pot Tuesday when he said McGrady wouldn't mind coming to Detroit and joining Team Dumars. Said Smith: "Is Tracy McGrady interested? Yes, he is. I spoke to Tracy McGrady earlier. His basic thing is he's very happy in Houston, but he wants to win. So whatever is a winning situation for him is something he is more than willing to entertain.""

"A team source indicated today that the Pistons are not “remotely” close to a deal for Houston Rockets superstar Tracy McGrady. Metronews.ca, which is based in Toronto, said in an Internet report — but cited no sources — that the Pistons are "making a big push for McGrady." The Pistons source downplayed the report, saying the Rockets are just one of many teams to whom the club has spoken about potential trades."

"Normally, I am not a big fan of trade speculation. It tends to get ridiculous: How about Jiri Hudler and Jimmy Howard for Sidney Crosby? No? What if they throw in Evgeni Malkin? I'll tell you what: I'll give you my pickle for half your sandwich. No, I won't throw in the barbecue chips. OK, a few. It's silly. But when Joe Dumars announced that he would try to shake up his Pistons core, he practically begged people to speculate. And considering Dumars is unlikely to swing a deal before the draft June 26, or even the start of free agency July 1, this gives us a bunch of time to either a) work or b) dream up trade scenarios. (Or, in my case, both at once!) Let's look at this ..."

"The nagging injuries that sidetracked and sidelined Tracy McGrady at times during the season will factor into his offseason. McGrady on Tuesday underwent arthroscopic surgeries to remove loose bodies from his knee and shoulder and to repair a slightly torn labrum in the shoulder. He is expected to need three months to be fully recovered, though he can begin rehabilitation in the next week or two. Rockets team doctor Tom Clanton said no structural damage was found in the ligament or cartilage of McGrady's left knee."

"Never mind the 40 points, the 10 rebounds and the five assists produced by Rockets guard Tracy McGrady in Houston's 113-91 Game 6 elimination loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday night. The numbers that NBA fans will probably remember the most this offseason about McGrady are zero and 7, as in his 0-7 personal record in playoff series. He had glowing statistics and a spectacular first half in Game 6, but McGrady didn't help his reputation as a first-round flop. Not that it will cause him much stress this summer."

"Though much has been said of the Jazz's strength on their home floor and their vocal fans, Rockets guard Tracy McGrady said there is another factor that makes playing at Utah difficult. "No, it's definitely not the crowd," McGrady said. "The altitude is the most difficult. Those first five minutes are very tough on the lungs. Once you get that second wind, you're fine. We're accustomed to it. We've played up there several times. But I don't care how many times you play up there, the first five minutes are brutal.""

"During the fourth quarter of the first two games in the first-round NBA playoff series, he shot a combined 0-for-4 from the field. In the fourth quarter of the next two, it was a combined 3-for-9. Tuesday night's Game 5 between the Jazz and Houston, however, was a different story altogether for Tracy McGrady. On a 13-for-26 night, the Rockets' seven-time All-Star hit three of his six fourth-quarter shots from the floor."

"McGrady revealed Monday that he's playing on a left knee that's in such bad shape that he has had to take painkilling injections just to get on the floor. He hinted postseason surgery is a possibility."

"With much attention paid to the physical style of the Jazz's defense, particularly on Tracy McGrady, McGrady said he might have a solution."

"It looks like our happy family could use a few days apart. Why else would Tracy McGrady publicly call out his head coach?"

"Leave it to Andrei Kirilenko to put a new perspective on Tracy McGrady's continuing inability to get the ball in the basket in the fourth quarter."

"Tracy McGrady seemed blown away after Thursday's Game 3 that Andrei Kirilenko didn't get any help defending him."

"It's one thing to criticize Tracy McGrady. Any monkey can do that. That's why God invented talk radio. I'm different. I showed up at Toyota Center on Tuesday afternoon hoping to help our beleaguered superstar."

"McGrady, who is on the verge of his seventh playoff series without advancing, took a brave step last post-season. Rather than getting surly and defensive, he said the Rockets' post-season success was up to him."

"For most players, coming close to a triple-double in an NBA playoff game would be cause for hosannas. But even though Tracy McGrady approached that yardstick for statistical dominance, finishing with 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in Monday's game against the Utah Jazz, nobody wanted to discuss that near-triple-double."

"With the Rockets losing home-court advantage to a team with the best home-court record (37-4) in the NBA, guard Tracy McGrady said the team has to win tonight's game to win their first-round series."

"Tracy McGrady does not want to go to Salt Lake City down 0-2. So when asked specifically about the meaning of tonight's Game 2 here between Houston and Utah, the Rockets' All-Star did not quibble with the question. "Absolutely," McGrady said Sunday. "This is a must-win, because it's tough to win in Utah.""

"Every time the name is brought up, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan takes the opportunity to remind reporters that you do not stop a player like Tracy McGrady, a star of the highest order with the Houston Rockets. That might be the case, but the Jazz have been able to slow McGrady twice in the past week. He finished with 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds in Houston's Game 1 playoff loss Saturday but went just 7-for-21 from the field."

"Rockets guard Tracy McGrady, in a 35.5 percent shooting slump in the 16 games since the end of the Rockets' 22-game winning streak, added a shooting drill to his post-practice routine designed to improve his touch."

"The playoffs have never been easier for Tracy McGrady. Never more laid-back and relaxed."

"As they prepare to open the playoffs against Houston tonight, the Jazz appeared to tip their hand for how they will try to slow Tracy McGrady in Monday's 105-96 victory over the Rockets, a game in which McGrady scored 22 points but hit 7 of 21 shots from the field."

"A postseason ago, the weight of the world was on Tracy McGrady. He famously declared before Houston's NBA Western Conference playoff series with the Jazz that if the Rockets didn't advance, "it's on me.""

"The Utah Jazz were on their way to a 21-point, third-quarter lead when, with the arena relatively quiet before a Jazz free throw, one of the booming voices in the NBA capital of taunting let loose a reminder of Tracy McGrady's history."

"In Houston star Tracy McGrady's assessment, the Suns "have it all" and apparently never had enough before acquiring Shaquille O'Neal."

"When he returns to the court tonight, McGrady said he will begin the serious work of getting his shooting touch playoff-ready. "It's very important," McGrady said. "I want to be efficient when I'm out there. This is the time to be on top of our game. With my shoulder being the way it is, it's been tough. I've been having some good games, and I've also been having some bad games. Hopefully, I'll turn it around and not worry so much about my shoulder and have it cause me to shoot so badly.""

"Rockets guard Tracy McGrady returned to practice Saturday, but said his bruised and sprained left shoulder has improved more slowly than he expected after three days off, but that he expected to be able to play today in San Antonio."

"Forward Tracy McGrady sat out Friday's practice to protect and rest his sore left shoulder. He is expected to be able to go through today's light, shootaround style practice and play Sunday in San Antonio."

"After tweaking his left ankle in the first quarter and getting hit hard on his left shoulder in the fourth quarter of the win over Sacramento, Tracy McGrady was only a spectator at Tuesday's practice."

"They are a team in every sense of the word, a great team, a smart, resourceful and gritty team. The Rockets don't want you to lose sight of the bottom line. There's one other thing to know about these Rockets. They've got the NBA's Most Valuable Player."

"Tracy McGrady wants to know if I'm the guy who accused him of "bailing out" last season. He knows I am, and he says it so playfully that I figure it's his way of breaking the ice and telling me it's time to let bygones be bygones."

"He did what only the great ones can do. He took over the game. He made it his. He did things that take your breath away, and he made them look easy. Tracy McGrady isn't the only reason the Rockets had another magical night. He's just the biggest."

"The day after the Houston Rockets found out that Yao Ming was going to miss the rest of the regular season with a stress fracture in his left foot, the team assembled in the locker room. The talk was how most observers around the league were officially declaring the Rockets dead. That's when Tracy McGrady stood up."

"Try not to take this personally, but Tracy McGrady hates you. All right, maybe not you specifically, but what you think. He knows you never thought much of him as a leader, even though it's pretty clear it was never really in his serene personality."

"Regardless if he had a clear look at the basket or if Peterson was standing two inches from him or three feet, McGrady was virtually unstoppable in leading the Rockets to a 106-96 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 18,279 Saturday night at the Toyota Center."

"But the misfortune of losing Houston center Yao Ming, who is out for the season with a stress fracture in his foot, has given McGrady an opportunity to prove himself. It's going to take a fairly impressive performance from him to keep the Rockets afloat."

"But this is about getting into the playoffs, a do-or-die scenario of its own in the Western Conference this year. McGrady can't salvage his all-style, no-substance reputation by keeping Houston in the top eight but it would be a good place to start."

"With Yao out for the season, the familiar spotlight will shift to McGrady, with responsibility for the Rockets' fate fairly or unfairly on him again. But he declared that with a team richer in offensive options, he does not have to reprise last season's playoff declaration: "It's on me.""

"Confidence grew when Tracy McGrady was injured. Best of all, when McGrady returned, he worked hard to fit in. His points are down, his assists down. Carl Landry and Luis Scola have continued to grow. Rafer Alston has been very, very solid."

"How McGrady responds to the challenge in front of him will go a long way toward shaping his legacy in the NBA."

"It says here that McGray has more heart than many Rockets fans give him credit for. Maybe this is hyperbole, but it i arguable that McGrady's entire legacy is on the line over the next 30 ballgames."

"The Bulls have been looking for that player for the last few years without much success. The biggest names that might be on the market this summer are Jermaine O'Neal of the Pacers and Tracy McGrady of the Rockets."

"Rockets guard Tracy McGrady laughed at the suggestion there could be hard feelings between he and Bobby Jackson, acquired from New Orleans on Thursday, after an on-court fight between them when McGrady played in Orlando, Jackson in Sacramento."

"By the time the Rockets arrived for their Thursday morning shootaround, the lockers of Bonzi Wells and Mike James were empty. "It's a sad day,'' Tracy McGrady said."

"Rockets swingman Tracy McGrady was given the day off from Friday's practice and stayed home to recuperate from the upper respiratory infection that forced him to spend Thursday in the hospital and slowed him in the 92-77 victory over Cleveland."

"The NBA honored Houston guard Tracy McGrady with the Community Assist Award for his ongoing charitable work. McGrady traveled to Darfur this summer, and on Jan. 3 he announced his participation in the Stand Up for Darfur humanitarian project...Cavaliers forward Ira Newble, who has been involved with groups trying to assist the victims in Darfur, was pleased to hear about McGrady's efforts."

"Rockets guard Tracy McGrady arrived at Toyota Center at 6:50 p.m., having spent the day at Memorial Hermann Hospital treating what Rockets team physical Dr. Jim Muntz called “a horrible, horrible upper respiratory infection.” Rockets coach Rick Adelman started McGrady, but was monitoring him closely."

"Of all the criticism Tracy McGrady hears, there was one that especially rankled him. Game on the line. Star player drives toward the basket. Reads the defense. Passes to the open man for the final, decisive shot."

"Rockets guard Tracy McGrady returned to practice Wednesday, a day after he was unable to play against Golden State because of illness. McGrady had gone to Tuesday's shootaround, but could not return when his condition worsened during the day. "(I feel a) little bit better," he said."

"After the Rockets' Tuesday-morning shootaround, McGrady didn't bat at eye at needing to pass two teams to reach the playoffs."