Tracy McGrady would rather quickly relocate to another team this summer than slowly rebuild with the Orlando Magic.
If the Magic can't significantly improve next season by
making deals -- moving their No. 1 pick for veteran players, for example -- McGrady told the Sentinel on Friday that he would
"probably have no choice" but to push for a trade in mid-July to a Western Conference team.And, contrary to reports and rumors, it's not the Los Angeles Lakers or the San Antonio Spurs that McGrady is eyeing.McGrady said from his south Orlando home that the
Houston Rockets likely would be his first choice should he and the Magic part ways.
A league source told the Sentinel that T-Mac also would be receptive to the
Indiana Pacers or the
Detroit Pistons because they've had trouble scoring in the playoffs.
Magic General Manager
John Weisbrod says the Magic will continue to do everything they can to keep McGrady in pinstripes.Asked about a report listing the
Lakers and
Spurs as teams that interest him, McGrady said,
"No, not San Antonio and L.A. "I don't want to go there. I don't want to go somewhere where everything's already in place. That would be too easy. I want a challenge."The Magic, as constructed, apparently present too much of a challenge. (
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Orlando won the NBA draft lottery and rights to the No. 1 pick Wednesday, but McGrady's comments temper that coup.
He reiterated he doesn't believe there is a player in the draft who can improve the team dramatically (most experts agree). The top overall draft choice represents the most leverage the Magic have in upgrading the team through trades, considering they have no salary-cap room and most of their players under contract have little market value.
McGrady would rather the Magic trade the pick -- likely Connecticut center Emeka Okafor -- in return for some veteran players who might provide immediate help.
"I don't want to be here rebuilding," McGrady said.Weisbrod said teams started calling the Magic about the pick Thursday. Pulling off such deals is easier said than done. The top pick has been traded only twice since the creation of the lottery in 1985.
"It all depends on who they can get," McGrady said.McGrady rattled off some trade scenarios for the No. 1 pick, and most included shot-blocking defenders. Blocking shots and defending are Okafor's strengths, but McGrady wonders if Okafor can have a major impact, given he'll be a rookie and wants to play power forward.
McGrady, who turned 25 Monday, is still torn. He talks about leaving, but in the next breath becomes emotional, and says he really doesn't want to go anywhere.
"I don't want to leave Orlando, not at all," he said. "Man, I'd love to win here more than anything."But he also is determined not to go through another losing season, much less champion a rebuilding effort.
"I can't do that again. I'm just sick sitting here having to watch guys in the playoffs," he said. "It just eats me up."The Magic are trying to put together a franchise shattered by a league-worst 21-61 season.
McGrady was asked just what it would take for him to stay in Orlando.
"That would take, like, a big man who gets 15 [points] and 10 [rebounds] every night and blocks shots . . . to have a defensive stopper on the wing, a solid point guard and a guy who can knock down open jump shots to prevent the double-teams," he said.McGrady longs to play with a dominant big man such as 7-foot-6 Rockets center Yao Ming, and for a club that needs a superstar to climb into contention. Houston made the playoffs as a seventh seed this season. "I really don't need much to work with; look at our team that got a 3-1 lead on Detroit [in the playoffs last season]. . . . Guys who know how to play the game and will play hard and guys who are coachable."McGrady can opt out of his seven-year, $93-million contact after next season. Weisbrod wants T-Mac to decide if he wants to stay before the start of training camp; if not,
the club will try to accommodate his trade request.McGrady said he'll have an answer around mid-July, after free agents are signed. The Magic have a $5 million middle-class exception to spend.
If he's indeed serious about the deadline, McGrady will not have a chance to gauge Grant Hill's health.
T-Mac said Hill, recovering from a fourth left ankle surgery, was "the key" to him making his decision.Hill said Friday that he won't start serious training until late July or early August. Said Hill,
"I really would like the chance to finally play a whole season with Tracy. I hope we both can."
. Look at the opposite case, Kobe (sorry to go off-topic). He's played his whole career with a superstar, a dominant big man, with excelent results (three-peat, 'nough said), and now he wants to be the leader of a team, to see how far he can take them. Again, IMHO, he will get the same results as McGrady if he tries to do that.
),but he wants that ring.
