Unlike Ingram, I’m not convinced it will be with the Rockets

What, exactly, do you expect the Rockets could get for McGrady? Because, honestly, I can’t see the Rockets getting anything significant.

Let’s break this down into two scenarios:
1) McGrady comes back and is bad/average
2) McGrady comes back and is good/awesome.

Under scenario 1, T-Mac is a grossly overpaid player whose only value to teams is as an expiring contract.

Under scenario 2, he’s still probably overpaid, but he provides a lot of value to a contending team.

BUT, under each of these scenarios, we have to remember that McGrady is making $22 million next year. Because of salary cap rules, that means that the Rockets can only trade him (without another player, anyways) for contracts totalling between $16.5 and $27.5 million.

No contending team has anything like that just lying around in a combination of terrible contracts and young stars they’re desperate to get rid of. Barring a Mark Cuban-style mental breakdown (HERP DERP IMMA TRADE FOR KIDD), I don’t think any team out there is going to trade for a one-season rental like McGrady for anything significant.

So scenario 2 is probably out, but scenario 1 seems even less likely to me. Or, at least, it seems unlikely that it would result in anything helpful for the Rockets. MAYBE the Pacers/Hornets/Kings suddenly decide that they’re financially insolvent and want to give away Granger/Paul/Martin and whatever contractual albatross they have hanging around their necks in exchange for McGrady and some other guys, but I doubt it.

I mean, look at the trades we’ve seen for guys getting paid like McGrady (Garnett, Shaq, etc.). And all of those were for more years under contract and better players.

I think it’s fairly likely that the Rockets hold onto McGrady until at least the end of this season, regardless of what happens between now and February.

The Rockets have been cursed ever since they debuted the Pajama jerseys. 2 rings in 2 seasons before the switch… 0 in the 14 seasons since. Ugh.