For a decision to be based on something so simple, the question of when Tracy McGrady will play basketball quickly grew complicated.

After all the drama of his declared target date now two weeks past and insistence that he is ready, McGrady has returned to Rockets practices and continued to travel with the team, hoping for his chance like so many players on the fringe of a roster.

Rockets coach Rick Adelman said again on Wednesday that there is “no timetable” for McGrady’s return. There is, he said, one criterion to meet for McGrady to make his season debut. McGrady, Adelman said, must be ready in Adelman’s estimation to help the Rockets win.

As uncomplicated as that seems, however, the decision seems more about basketball than health considerations, with the Rockets wanting McGrady to improve in private workouts and team practices, rather than to move his next step of rehab to actual games. McGrady’s most recent prediction about when he would return had him playing by the Rockets’ current road trip. That now seems unlikely.

“We have to keep talking about it and evaluating it,” Adelman said. “It’s more than just throwing him out there. It’s how is it going to affect our team, how is he going to help us, how many minutes can he play. All those things I feel in my mind I have to be certain about.”

The decision has been made more difficult, Adelman said, because the Rockets can no longer afford a step back if McGrady works his way back on the court.

“Last year, we were able to work him in, even if he struggled some, because we had Yao (Ming), we had Ron (Artest); we were pretty good,” Adelman said. “This year, how much effect will he have on us? That’s what I’m trying to judge now. He’s coming along, but you want him to be able to go out and do well and us do well, so it’s a win-win situation.”

“Tracy wants to play, but we want to be very cautious about it. We tried that last year, when he was in and out of the lineup. We want to be sure when he is there, he doesn’t have any setbacks. When the time is right and we feel he is going to be a positive addition, we’ll make that decision.”