Tracy McGrady is headed to the Knicks in a three-way blockbuster deal with the Rockets and Kings, a move that will save the Knicks $9.4 million in salary-cap room with rookie lottery pick Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries being shipped out.
Jeffries will save the Knicks $6.9 million in cap room and Hill an additional $2.5 million. That’s enough to net two max-salary free agents this offseason, allowing the potential of LeBron James and a prime-time partner, maybe Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh.
“This trade improves our position to achieve our long-term goals, while also keeping us competitive for the remainder of the season,” Knicks president Donnie Walsh said today.
Walsh’s goal all season was to open up more cap space to make New York more attractive to James.
“I think that’s probably what everything up in the last two years has been about, getting cap room and setting ourselves up for summer and trying to create a better atmosphere and trying to win as many games as we can,” coach Mike D’Antoni said today.
“There’s a lot of things that we want to do. But a major component is creating as much cap space as we can. But I don’t think it’s everything.”
McGrady addressed the trade this afternoon on his Web page.
“I can’t wait to get back on the court to continue doing what I love to do. I am excited to be headed to New York and look forward to wearing a Knick uniform,” he wrote this afternoon. “I know that I can and will contribute to this organization.
“It’s a dream to play in New York and there is nothing that compares to playing in the Garden. Knick fans are some of the most knowledgeable and passionate fans in the league, and it will be an honor to play in front of them and to play for the great city of New York.”
McGrady has been working out in Chicago with renowned trainer Tim Grover.
“Put him in a uniform and let him go Saturday,” Grover told The Post. “He’s very excited.”
The Knicks will add McGrady and Kings backup guard Sergio Rodriguez, whom D’Antoni likes. The Knicks give up Jeffries, Hill, Larry Hughes, and two conditional first-round picks. The 2012 draft pick is protected only at the No. 1 slot. The 2011 pick — if the Knicks finish with a worse record than Houston — is protected through No. 5.
Hill and Jeffries goes to Houston, which made the three-way deal to acquire coveted Kevin Martin from Sacramento. The Kings get Houston’s Carl Landry, whom they coveted, Joey Dorsey and Hughes.
“Tracy McGrady has been one of the premiere players in our league over the past decade and we have every indication that he is healthy and committed to re-establishing himself as one of the best in our game,” Walsh said. “We also added Sergio, who should immediately help us.”
The extra salary-cap room is obviously the key for the Knicks, but a chance to catch lightning in a bottle with McGrady lends intrigue to the final 29 games of this season. At 15 games under .500, the Knicks likely are too far gone to get back into the playoff race as they adjust to their new roster that is expected to include Eddie House, the Celtic who’s headed to New York in the Nate Robinson trade.
The top six free agents who are considered potential maximum players are James, Wade, Bosh, Joe Johnson (a D’Antoni favorite), Amare Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer.
As for McGrady, he’s played six games with Houston, averaging seven minutes as he recovers from microfracture surgery. But he’s a former superstar still with a great skill level, even if he won’t have the explosiveness because of the surgery he had last season.
Wade told The Post during All-Star Weekend he worked out with McGrady over the summer in Chicago and feels he never got a chance to find his rhythm with the Rockets.