Tracy McGrady: An Intriguing Prospect for the Chicago Bulls

When Tracy McGrady was granted an indefinite leave of absence and put on the trading block by the Houston Rockets just before the new year, it spurned questions from teams all around the league.

Would he fit with our club?

What more would the Rockets want besides expiring contracts (T-Mac's $23.2 million is the richest contract in the NBA, not to mention it's coming off the books after this season)?

Does the 30-year-old even have anything left after numerous injuries the past few seasons?

All of which made me think, could and should the Bulls be interested in the seven-time NBA All-Star?

But the answer always came back a maybe.

On one hand, the Bulls are currently 17-20 and in eighth place in the Eastern Conference and a talent like T-Mac can't be taken lightly.

His 21.9 points per game over his career are intriguing to a team that has had trouble scoring so far this season.

However, in each of the past four seasons, he's seen his scoring average drop, but most will point to his recent inability to stay healthy to explain his drop in production.

But with the regular season almost half way over, shouldn't he be able to stay healthy in just over 40 games?

If so, would his productive numbers return on a team without a proven scorer?

Also, wouldn't he basically just be a rent-a-player until the star-studded 2010 off-season finally arrives?

It'd be hard-pressed for McGrady not to want a multi-year deal with his recent injury woes and unproductive seasons, and I would hope the Bulls would at least look at guys like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, or Joe Johnson before they would try to lock up someone with so many questions surrounding him.

But although some of these questions may be alarming, it's still difficult to overcome not at least seeing what the Rockets would want in a deal for a guy who used to be one of the premier scorers in the league.

Which begs another question, would he be worth the weight that the Rockets are looking for?

First there's the expiring contracts.

To match McGrady, the Bulls would probably throw in Brad Miller ($12.25 million) and Jerome James ($6.6 million).

In a dream scenario they would also throw in John Salmons ($5.5 million this season) who has a player option for 2010 that he may consider picking up since many teams may shy away with the numbers he's had so far this season.

The problem with this trade though is rather obvious. Why would the Rockets take on the player option plaguing the Bulls for a guy who has proven to be inconsistent?

A more likely scenario would have Miller, James and either Tyrus Thomas or Joakim Noah, where contracts would take a backseat to talent in youth.

Both Thomas and Noah are intriguing prospects to many NBA teams.

With Thomas, you have a freakishly athletic power forward who is still in his developmental stage (and is only 23 years old).

With Noah, you have a guy who has recently come into his own as a force on the boards (his 12.2 rebounds a game are third in the NBA). Also, at 24 (soon to be 25) he would provide a solid young core with budding superstars Aaron Brooks and Trevor Ariza.

But would it be worth parting ways with either of these players, both of whom still have solid futures ahead of them, for a guy who could just be around for a few months?

In all honesty, with McGrady, the Bulls would probably be looking at around a five or six seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs (pending T-Mac actually being productive again).

Making a run in the playoffs would seem rather unlikely, and adding McGrady wouldn't be much of an upgrade once in the postseason (where he's known for shying away from the big shot).

So would it be worth giving away young talent like Thomas or Noah for a guy who will basically just hamper the Bulls' draft status?

I'd say that as of right now, while the team is finding its rhythm and starting to win games again, it's not worth the risk.

But ask me the same question after a four-game losing streak and it might sound enticing once again.