Count me as one of the few fans that remember Tracy McGrady for what he was…and now what he is now.

Count me as one of the few fans who sincerely wishes that the NBA falls victim to another round of T-Mac attacks.

Also, count me as one of the many fans who feel that we’re probably counting down the days until McGrady hang up his Adidas for good.

We’ve all witnessed the physical decline that has come upon McGrady.  The results have been crippling the watch, particularly when they are coming from a guy who led the league in scoring twice and was the first player to throw himself an alley-oop off the glass in a real, regular season game.

Sometimes numbers don’t tell the full story, but in Tracy’s case they do.  In 2006-07, the seven-time NBA All-Star averaged 24.6 points per game.  Now check out his scoring in the subsequent seasons:

2007-2008:  21.6

2008-2009:  15.6

2009-2010:  8.2

The number one culprit behind T-Mac’s decreased production is, indeed, his health, and it’s no secret to anyone.  Over the summer, McGrady was in talks with the Chicago Bulls.  With the Bulls recently signing forward Carlos Boozer to a deal, a healthy McGrady would have been a prized addition to the Chi-Town lineup. 

And there lied the rub.  A ‘healthy’ McGrady.  When was the last time that we saw a ‘healthy’ McGrady?  Orlando, perhaps?  Reports broke that the Bulls were indeed interested in acquiring T-Mac’s services – pending a passed physical. 

The Pistons are hoping that they can keep T-Mac from wearing suits on game day.

Suddenly we began hearing stories linking McGrady to Detroit.

So, what does Detroit think they are going to get from T-Mac?  What did New York think they were going to get last season?  Will T-Mac draw fan interest?

On the basketball court, the fact is that Tracy is a 31-year-old semi-star now.  While he may still have the requisite skill to dominate on any given night, he hasn’t displayed that he has any toughness whatsoever.  Last season, Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince each played in less than 50 games.  Adding in 20 games missed by Ben Gordon illustrates the fragile state of this team.  They need stability, and T-Mac, traditionally, has not been able to provide that over the past 3-4 years of his career.  And he’s only getting older.

All in all, Detroit did not make a sound move here.  They should be in rebuilding mode, and trying to unload veterans – not pick up more.  Youth and draft picks should be the law of the land for this franchise.

But perhaps it’s ironic that McGrady chose this city and this stage in his career.  Based on what we’ve seen recently, the motor city could be the place where T-Mac finally runs out of gas.