Additionally, coach Rick Adelman strenuously decried having to learn about his struggling starting shooting guard's status via the media rather than from McGrady.

"We're still waiting on second opinions, and then we're going to decide which direction we're going to go," Morey said at Wednesday night's Tux & Tennies Charity Gala at Toyota Center. "That was the plan originally, and that's still the plan. I just talked to his agent (Arn Tellem).

"Tracy hasn't seen the doctor who would likely perform whatever procedure he ends up doing. The decision on the next step is still to be determined. Obviously, the most important person in the decision is Tracy. We think it's best he hears all options before deciding on the final course of action."

As far as McGrady is concerned, the decision has been made.

When an MRI last week showed no change in his condition, McGrady said he was not even considering surgery. But after Tuesday's tests in New York with a more advanced T-2 MRI, one of just two in the nation, he said he would need microfracture surgery.

"My knee hasn't been right all year, and we can't seem to get the pain to go away," McGrady wrote on t-mac.com. "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.

"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," McGrady wrote. "While we've come to this conclusion after much deliberation, we truly feel this is best for both me and the Rockets in the long term."

Define ?we'

When McGrady said how "we" feel, he apparently was not including the Rockets.

Adelman said he didn't know if the seven-time NBA All-Star would need to take the extreme step that McGrady said he would undergo immediately. Adelman was vehement, however, that McGrady should not have made an announcement without even talking to him.

"I found out like everybody else did," Adelman said. "I think there should be a protocol there. There should be a procedure where we have a chance to sit down and talk about a situation and not (have it) announced in the press. I don't know why that happened, why he did that. It certainly is not the way it should be handled.

"I saw what he said in the paper. With everything that's gone on this year, it certainly is not the way it should have gone down. Certainly, we deserve a little bit better than having it announced in the press and not knowing exactly what went down."

McGrady said Wednesday night that he did keep the Rockets informed.

"I don't want this to go back and forth with the team," he said. "I guess it's just a miscommunication. As soon as I left the doctor's office (Tuesday) night, I reported to (Rockets athletic trainer) Keith Jones what I was doing. I guess before he could report it to the team, it got out."

Jones said he did keep team officials informed but that McGrady, who has missed 19 of the Rockets' 54 games this season while trying to rehabilitate his knee after arthroscopic surgery May 6, was only "leaning" toward surgery when they spoke.

"I talked to Dr. (David) Altchek," Jones said. "He called and told me about their appointment and his recommendations. Then I talked to Tracy, and he told me the way he was leaning. From there, I always talk to Daryl, I always talk to (team owner) Leslie (Alexander), and I always talk to the coach and let them know what's going on. I think maybe the confusion comes because there was one more doctor we were going to see, and we were waiting for all information."

In a microfracture procedure, a surgeon creates small fractures in underlying bone to form replacement cartilage known as a "super clot." Rehabilitation can take from six months to a year, depending on how much cartilage must be replaced.

Roster exception possible

If McGrady must miss all of next season, the Rockets could request a disabled player exception to the NBA salary cap that would allow them to spend half of his $23.2 million salary on another player. It is unclear and subject to league review whether his condition would be considered to have fallen within the Dec. 1-June 30 window to make the Rockets eligible for that exception.

In December, McGrady visited Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on the knee. The Rockets announced he would miss one week; McGrady said he would miss three weeks. In January, he agreed he could play hard but would not be able to see action in both games of back-to-backs. Later in January, he took two weeks off from games to work on his conditioning.

Upon returning after each departure, McGrady claimed he had turned a corner. Last week, however, he said the knee had regressed.

Owner caught off guard

Alexander said he expected that McGrady would choose surgery "eventually," but he was surprised McGrady announced it on his own.

"We'll make a statement in a day or two," Alexander said. "I was caught by surprise that he said something."

Players who undergo microfracture surgery have had widely varying degrees of success coming back. McGrady's procedure would be on a non-weight-bearing part of his knee, dramatically improving his prognosis.

The procedure effectively ended the NBA careers of Allan Houston, Terrell Brandon, Jonathan Bender and Jamal Mashburn. Others, such as Chris Webber and Anfernee Hardaway, returned from microfracture surgery but were never the same. Others still, from Amare Stoudemire to Jason Kidd to Antonio McDyess to John Stockton, returned to play well, with Stoudemire seeming as strong as he was before the procedure.

...

T-MAC BACK ON THE SHELF

Assuming Tracy McGrady, as he announced , misses the rest of the season to undergo microfracture knee surgery, he will not play in 47 of the Rockets' 82 games. After he played in 78 of 82 games in his first season in Houston (2004-05), McGrady has missed double-digit games because of injury each season since.

2005-06

Games missed due to injury:

34

The rundown:

Nov. 20-26 (strained back); Jan. 10-18 (back spasms); March 7 (sore back); March 12-June 4 (back).

2006-07

Games missed due to injury:

10

The rundown:

Dec. 12-23 (back spasms); Jan. 17 (sore lower back); Feb. 26 (flu-like symptoms); April 6 (stiff lower back).

2007-08

Games missed due to injury:

16

The rundown:

Nov. 16-17 (right elbow injury); Dec. 20, 28-Jan. 15 (strained tendon/bruised bone in left knee); April 9 (sore left shoulder).

2008-09

Games missed due to injury:

19*

The rundown:

Nov. 26-Dec. 9 (left knee); Dec. 27 (knee); Jan. 3, 7, 10-23 (knee); Jan. 31 (sprained ankle); Feb. 11, 17 (knee).

* - Announced Tuesday he will have surgery on injured left knee and miss the rest of the season, 28 more games.