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The Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League have decided to sign former NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady and guarantee him a spot on the Opening Day roster, according to industry sources. McGrady, who is pursuing a baseball career after 17 years in the NBA, was originally in camp with the Skeeters as a non-roster invitee. The team is expected to announce the signing within the next couple of days.
McGrady, 34, is looking to break into baseball as a pitcher after retiring from basketball last August. He was throwing in the 85-86 mph range as of February, and has been working with Roger Clemens in an effort to gain speed on his fastball and develop a slider. In a recent exhibition game for Sugar Land, McGrady pitched an inning against Alvin Community College, surrendering one run on three hits.
In his 17-year major league career with the Raptors (1997-2000), Magic (2000-2004), Rockets (2004-2010), Knicks (2010), Pistons (2010-2011), Hawk (2011-2012) and Spurs (2013), McGrady was a seven-time All-Star who led the entire league in scoring in two different seasons. He scored 18,381 career points while notching 5,276 rebounds and 4,161 assists.