“If it don’t happen this summer, I’ll ride off into the sunset,” McGrady told reporters before sitting out the Knicks’ season finale, a 131-113 loss at Toronto.
“If I could go through another offseason of working my [butt] off, and I don’t feel I’m getting any better, I can’t see myself coming back playing the way I’m playing right now. I just don’t see it happening,” he said.
via Tracy McGrady of New York Knicks says he’ll retire if he can’t regain form – ESPN New York.
You have to really hand it to Daryl Morey and Rick Adelman on this one. They knew all along that former Houston Rocket guard Tracy McGrady was finished, held him out before that became abundantly clear, and extracted a king’s ransom through his banishment.
At the same time, it should be clear that Donnie Walsh and the Knicks were not duped. That trade was never about McGrady the player.
I shudder to think of the state wherein we would lie had T-Mac not been dealt. The Houston Rockets would be facing the prospect of certain mediocrity while also being capped out. Instead, they’re in position to realistically contend next year and have the assets to make a run at a Class A free agent.
I really hope it is fully appreciated just how much was at stake, and just how much was accomplished on February 18th.