Tracy McGrady confirms his China move – NBA Update
After nearly a whole summer of playing the waiting game, Tracy McGrady, the man who once ruled the NBA has decided to take his talent to China.
The 6 ft 8 in forward will be playing for Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles. He revealed that on his official website on Tuesday.
"There are times in life that a new road presents itself and it appears this time has come for me now," he said; "As I enter this next chapter, I am excited to play for Qingdao Eagles in China. I have been to China several times
in the last few years and I love the people and the country. It will be an honour to play for them. I have experienced the best moments a player can experience and have had some dark ones too.”
The seven times All-Star entered the league when he was just eighteen. He was drafted by the Toronto Raptors and went on to play for Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks.
His most successful time came with Magic when he scored at an average of 28.125 over the course of four seasons, the best of which was 02-03, with 32.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists.
The next six years saw McGrady apply his trade at the Rockets. He was sensational till the 07-08 season, but the numbers started to dip in the next one due to shoulder and ankle injuries. Surgeries followed in the off season and
after that McGrady was never the same.
In 2010, McGrady was traded to the Knicks and the next season saw him adorn the Pistons jersey. McGrady played his last NBA season with the Hawks, scoring at an average of 5.3 points in 16.1 minutes, in a total of 52 games.
Tracy’s move is by far the most serious consequence of the harsh financial reality the veterans are facing under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement or CBA. Players like him, Derek Fisher, Leandro Barbosa and Kenyon Martin
are so far without contracts and apparently, they are not willing to accept the veteran’s minimum that is on offer from many, if not all the teams.
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