McGrady’s Raptor Days May Be Over

Free agent Tracy McGrady appears set to leave the Toronto Raptors.

The 21-year-old forward, speaking in Los Angeles before helping out with the NBA’s 2ball finals, said Thursday it would be “real tough” for the Raptors to re-sign him. He could get $84 million over seven years with Toronto.

“You have these veteran guys on the team that don’t want to be there, those are the guys I want to play with,” McGrady said, apparently referring to Charles Oakley, Antonio Davis and Doug Christie. “It’s going to be real tight for me to consider Toronto [now]. There’s just a lot of stuff that’s not right.

“It’s going to be real tough to sign me back. It’s going to be real tough.”

McGrady, the club’s first-round pick in the 1997 draft, averaged 15.4 points and 6.3 rebounds last season, emerging during the second half as one of the league’s most dynamic talents and a highly sought free agent.

*

Michael Jordan won a court battle over the use of his name on a Chicago restaurant as a federal judge threw out a contract that gave rights to the name to two business executives.

U.S. District Judge James Moran ruled that business executive Gene Silverberg--whose brother Joseph was his partner--had materially hurt Jordan by saying publicly that the NBA great had lost popularity and was a weaker restaurant draw.

*

NBA veteran Rick Mahorn and Orlando Magic assistant Eric Musselman will be assistant coaches on Lon Kruger’s staff in Atlanta. Mahorn, 41, coached in the Continental Basketball Assn. last season.