Rockets star Tracy McGrady practiced with his teammates on Monday for the first time in nine months.

He had microfracture surgery on his left knee in February.

It isn't known when McGrady will play in an actual game. He claims he's ready to go, but Houston coach Rick Adelman and the organization are being more cautious.

"I'm ready to play basketball," McGrady said. "Everybody is making a big deal because I say I'm ready and GM and my coach say I'm not ready. Everybody wants to make a big deal that I'm this diva ... It's crazy."

He was set to undergo an MRI on his troublesome knee on Monday, but McGrady called that "irrelevant."

Rockets assistant coach Elston Turner says that the team doesn't want to bring the star back too quickly.

"He's gone through a major surgery and it's a process to get him back on the court full-time," Turner said. "When you're building a team there's chemistry that players develop. So when he does come back we would like him to be back instead of in a week, out a week, in a week. It messes up our chemistry."