UPDATE 12:05 pm: McGrady made this tweet today:
Clippers, Lakers, Bulls, Heat
Which are the four teams he mentioned last night. But read on, as we explain the Clippers seem to have no interest, and the Heat are saying privately they are not going there. You can do the math from there.
8:44 am: He is maybe the biggest free agent name still on the market, but he is having some trouble finding a home.
Tracy McGrady worked out for the Los Angeles Clippers this week, and while both sides were polite and said they would continue to talk no contract offer is forthcoming from L.A. Next up on the workout tour is Chicago next Monday, according to David Aldridge at NBA.com.
Chicago is where McGrady has been living for a couple years -- working out with Tim Grover, Michael Jordan’s trainer -- and is rumored to be where he wants to land. But he has to go into a workout and impress them that at age 31 he is really back from the microfracture surgery in his knee 18 months ago.
Last season McGrady played in 30 games for the Knicks, scoring 8.2 points per game on 38.7 percent shooting. He also had to miss games to rest his knee. The Knicks are looking for a roster turnover and they did not invite McGrady back to be a part of it.
McGrady tweeted yesterday that he has plenty of interest:
The Heat will not be bringing him in, they have said privately they do not want to bring in another big name and personality that could in any way threaten the chemistry of their big three.
What those other teams are weighing is what McGrady can offer on the court and if that is worth the media attention and distraction he could be off it. McGrady at his peak could fill it up with the best of them -- he led the league in scoring twice. There will be pressure from fans and the media to give him some run. Fans that remember the great McGrady and didn’t see him struggle last season.
Maybe the Bulls will like the equation; maybe they think he can defend like Tom Thibodeau wants (actually, I doubt they think that); maybe they think McGrady has something to offer. Maybe they think he can be a veteran backup to Luol Deng (although that is the injury prone backing up the injury prone). But he will have to prove it in a workout.
