| | Associated Press
TORONTO -- Free agent Tracy McGrady appears set to leave the Toronto Raptors.
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| McGrady |
The 21-year-old forward, speaking in Los Angeles before helping
out with the NBA's 2ball finals, said Thursday it would be "real
tough" for the Raptors to re-sign him. He could get $84 million
over seven years with Toronto.
"You have these veteran guys on the team that don't want to be
there, those are the guys I want to play with," McGrady said,
apparently referring to Charles Oakley, Antonio Davis and Doug
Christie. "It's going to be real tight for me to consider Toronto
(now). There's just a lot of stuff that's not right.
"It's going to be real tough to sign me back. It's going to be
real tough."
McGrady, the club's first-round pick in the 1997 draft, averaged
15.4 points and 6.3 rebounds last season, emerging during the
second half as one of the league's most dynamic talents and a
highly sought free agent. Speculation all season had him leaving
the team, and McGrady said nothing to indicate otherwise.
"I'm the one making the decision, I'm holding all the cards,"
he said. "I'm just sitting back and weighing my options. I want to
see what other (free agent) players do and make my decision."
McGrady said he has no problems with coach Butch Carter, and
wouldn't specifically comment on the coach's attempt to add the
general manager's title to his portfolio in a meeting with Toronto
brass last month.
Carter, who has been the center of controversy for months,
publicly prides himself on his relationship with McGrady. But he
has taken a lot of flak for the way he treated veteran players, for
statements about Indiana coach Bobby Knight and for his attempt to
sue former Raptor Marcus Camby during the playoffs.
"I'm not saying it's Butch's fault," McGrady said of the
recent controversies. "But whoever's fault it is, it's not the
time for me to be commenting on these type of things.
"Everything is cool between me and Butch, between everybody in
the organization. I have no grudges against none of them. But with
that stuff going on, then you have the situation with the veterans
not wanting to be there, then you've got to look at the situation
Vince is in, and he's got two years left."
Asked if Vince Carter's recent talk about staying in Toronto for the long haul made any impression on him, McGrady replied, "Yeah, it helped."
"But verbally, it's just hard to go by that word, because
things can change," McGrady said. "I really don't know as far as
me and Vince's situation if he stays, will he be willing to stay if
I re-sign? Will he be willing to re-sign back with Toronto?"
Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald said he was surprised by
McGrady's comments and would call him as soon as possible.
The free agent market opens July 1, with clubs able to sign
players beginning Aug. 1.
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