WHY DOES HEAT CENTER JERMAINE ONEAL HAVE SUCH AN ATTACHMENTTO EXILED HOUSTON ROCKETS GUARD TRACY MCGRADY?
The story lines are familiar. High school phenom jumps straight to the NBA. Promising prospect must wait his turn to excel. New team, new chance for budding young superstar. All-Star status achieved. Franchise cornerstone signs lucrative deal. Those were the good times — and headlines — Heat center Jermaine O’Neal and Houston Rockets outcast Tracy McGrady shared on a parallel rise to NBA stardom. Now, with both having pushed past age 30, they also share in the the backside of their careers. The devastating knee injuries. The falling out of favor with franchises they helped to turn into winners again. Then, there’s the contract. When it comes to O’Neal and McGrady, the ultimate reason they continue to be linked these days is because of their identical, league-high, $23 million contracts that expire at the end of the season. But whereas the Rockets have determined that McGrady is no longer welcomed and have cast him away until a trade can be worked, O’Neal is trying to make things work
