Tracy McGrady, LeBron James, Chris Bosh — not a bad starting Knicks trio next season.
And yesterday, McGrady said the fantasy could happen.
A bold, brassy McGrady said even if he returns to star form, he would take less money to stay in New York next summer to get the chance to team up with two free-agent superstars.
BACK PAGE: MCGRADY HELPS PLAYOFF CHANCES
McGrady will make his Knicks debut tonight vs. Oklahoma City and Coach Mike D’Antoni announced this morning he will be in the starting lineup. He has already has wowed the New York media with a gutsy press-conference performance yesterday. McGrady, who will wear No. 3, Stephon Marbury’s old jersey, was not permitted to practice.
“I’m a guy who has made a lot of money in my career,” McGrady said. “I could retire right now and be fine financially. My kids can be fine. Money is not an issue. [If] these guys want to bring in a LeBron [James] and D-Wade [Dwyane Wade], along with a Chris Bosh or an Amare’ Stoudemire, I’d be a damn fool not to want to stay here. I would definitely embrace the opportunity where money is not an issue.”
The Knicks have room for just two maximum free agents, but the seven-time All-Star said he hopes the Knicks can be financially creative. McGrady hinted he would play for a midlevel ($5.9 million) or biannual ($1.9 million) exception to play with James.
“Don’t get me wrong, if I come back healthy and playing well, we’re going to do some negotiating,” McGrady said. “What I’m saying is, if LeBron comes, D-Wade comes and you pair [one of them] up with Stoudemire or Chris Bosh, I know I’m not going to get the big bucks.
“But,” McGrady added. “Save a little for me.”
McGrady said he would be shocked if the NBA’s elite free agents didn’t heavily consider the Knicks come July 1.
“If they don’t, they don’t know basketball,” McGrady said. “How can you not look at it that way? Talk about big city, bright lights. This is New York, man. Every player should want to play here. I’m sure they’re looking at it that way from a marketability standpoint. From everything. It’s everything you want.”
And New York is what McGrady wanted now.
“I told [agent Arn Tellem] whatever he has to do to get me in New York,” McGrady said. “I didn’t want to go anywhere else. If I went to Sacramento or somewhere, I wanted a buyout.”
McGrady boasted he will beat the odds and soon get his name mentioned in the same breath as Wade and Bosh. McGrady also feels he can get the Knicks back in the playoff race. At 15 games under .500, the Knicks are seven games out of the eighth slot.
It was quite a press conference by the 30-year-old, who has played six games this season for the Rockets and hasn’t suited up since Dec. 21, when they banished him.
“Just stay tuned,” McGrady said. “This is not the same Tracy from last season, when I was hobbling on one leg. That’s not going to be me. I’m a lot more explosive, a lot more confident in my leg. What I’ve been as far as rehabbing, I feel I can do everything I can do in the past.”
“I’m pretty close to being 100 percent. With surgery, I know Allan Houston had it, a lot of guys who had surgery ended their careers. I’ve worked extremely hard to not allow myself to be one of those players where I can’t prolong my career.”
It has been exactly a year since McGrady’s microfracture right-knee surgery derailed his career.
“Last couple of years, I’ve been injured,” McGrady said. “I recognize that. You got one of the best players in the league that’s going to be a free agent, Bosh, Dwayne, Stoudemire. Those guys are on top right now. I will do what I have to do for two months and I can get my name back in there.”
McGrady also dismissed the notion the Knicks are dead.
“I also want to try to prove [to] these guys I’m going to try get them in the playoffs,” McGrady said. “Seven games out, we’re not that far. I’ve looked at the standings. We run off 5-6 in a row, we’re right there.”
McGrady said he knows he doesn’t have much time to regain his form. Though he has played pickup games in Chicago, the competition was weak. He has tried to stay in shape through other means, including marathon swim sessions.
“I’m not sure if I can play 35 minutes [tonight],” McGrady said. “We only have 29 games. It’s not like I got a month to get in shape. I got to do it right away.”