7. Tracy McGrady (New York Knicks)
Tracy McGrady did quite a bit of team hoping during the tail end of his career. Most of the teams he played for during that stretch, however, were by choice. The New York Knicks weren’t.
This isn’t to say McGrady was disappointed to call Madison Square Garden home if only for 24 games, but the circumstances behind the pairing weren’t exactly the most endearing.
The Knicks didn’t want McGrady for his talent when they acquired him via trade during the 2009-10 season, only his expiring $23.2 million contract that opened up the cap space for New York to chase a free agency class headlined by LeBron James.
Tracy McGrady 19 points in first half of Knicks debut, in NY vs Thunder: http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=5442
— INSIDE HOOPS - NBA Basketball (@InsideHoops) February 21, 2010
It’s a type of deal that’s been executed plenty times before — the Knicks just did it last year — but rarely if ever with a player possessing the stature of McGrady, a Hall of Famer and seven-time All-Star.
On his way to averaging a measly 9.4 points per game on 38.9 percent shooting, McGrady had his moments. There was a 26-point debut against the Oklahoma City Thunder and 23 points in a win over the Washington Wizards several games later.
Ultimately, T-Mac was simply the means to an end that never materialized for the Knicks and the story ended before it even really began.