Tracy McGrady, Icon SMI

Tracy McGrady confirmed on his Web site Wednesday that his season is over:

"My knee hasn't been right all year, and we can't seem to get the pain to go away. We've tried just playing through it, taking back-to-backs off, and extended periods of rest, but none of it has really been effective in limiting the discomfort and allowing me to just go out there and play. I've met with numerous doctors and gotten a number of opinions, and unfortunately I will be undergoing microfracture surgery on my left knee immediately. Microfracture surgery is a serious procedure, but I'm confident that I will be able to return next season with the same strength and explosiveness you are all used to seeing from me. "

On Tuesday, Rockets owner Les Alexander told the Houston Chronicle that the team would not trade McGrady:

"I don't think we're going to part ways with Tracy," said Alexander. "Everybody wants us to. We acquired a great superstar and everybody wants us to trade the great superstar. You don't get superstars that often.

"Daryl [Morey, the Rockets general manager] and I were talking this morning. We both discussed how great Tracy is in the playoffs. There's very few people who have the ability to step up their games in the playoffs and he does. So we're not looking to run away from Tracy. I always thought he was injured and has [health] problems. There will be more news coming out [on his knee] in the next couple days. He's a great player when he's healthy and a great competitor."

...

Alexander said the Rockets are as determined to keep Yao Ming, who can opt out of his contract after next season.

"When you have great players and a guy who works as hard as he does, we want to keep them," Alexander said. "He's a model NBA player. We want to keep him for the rest of his career."

• Season has come to a close (t-mac.com)
• Rockets owner says team won't trade McGrady (Houston Chronicle)