Orlando Magic power forward Horace Grant said Friday that his mind is made up. This, his 16th NBA season, will be his last one.

Grant said he decided last week that he will retire at season's end. Grant, who has been bothered by recurring back spasms this season, said his 36-year-old body no longer can withstand the banging and bruising on a nightly basis.

"I'm just not a young man any longer, and this is basically the end for me," Grant said. "Body-wise it just isn't any good for me to keep going beyond this year. The mind is willing, but the body just isn't quite as able any more."

Grant, the Magic's prized free-agent signee back in 1995, has not been as successful in this second stint with Orlando. The Magic signed him away from the defending World Champion Los Angeles Lakers this past summer, hoping he would be the final piece on a team that would compete for the Eastern Conference crown.

But a season-ending injury to Grant Hill and some spotty defense from the Magic likely dashed those hopes. But Grant said he still has the belief that the Magic can make the playoffs.

"No one has given up on this season whatsoever," Grant said. "Doc (Rivers) is still playing me 37 minutes a night, so obviously he's trying to get everything he can out of me until I retire."

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Magic standout Tracy McGrady missed his second consecutive game Friday night with a strained lower back and will not play tonight when Orlando travels to Dallas. McGrady has been in Atlanta since Wednesday, resting and rehabilitating at the Atlanta Back Clinic.

I talked to the doctors (Friday) and everything really is status quo with Tracy," Magic general manager John Gabriel said. It's nothing other than a strain. Unofficially, I think he'll be back next week after we get him back and reevaluate him this weekend."

McGrady is tied for fourth in the NBA in scoring at 26 points a game. The 22-year-old standout has topped 40 points four times this season, a NBA high."

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Rookie center Brendan Haywood has been receiving heaps of praise from Michael Jordan of late and has been credited with helping the Washington Wizards win eight games games in a row.

Orlando traded Michael Doleac to Cleveland on draft night for the 7-foot, 268-pound center. But after re-signing Andrew DeClercq and Don Reid, Orlando shipped Haywood to Washington for lightly regarded LaRon Profit and a conditional first-round draft choice. Rivers said recently that he was reluctant to let Haywood get away and should have fought harder to keep him in Orlando.

"We liked him a lot, but we didn't know he was going to be a great player -- and really we still don't know that," Rivers said. He's probably playing better than we thought he would and it hurts to see these guys that we traded playing so well."

Haywood had a career-best seven blocks in Washington's win Wednesday. Since returning from a thumb injury, he is averaging 8.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a game.

Doc seemed like he wanted me to be here and when I worked out here he seemed like he wanted to draft me," Haywood recalled. I thought this would be the place for me, but it just didn't work out that way."

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Washington rookie Kwame Brown originally committed to the University of Florida before opting to enter the NBA Draft. He became the first player jumping from the prep level to be taken with the No. 1 pick. But Friday he sounded like he was having second thoughts about his decision to turn pro.

"I could have, maybe should have been a Gator," Brown said. "But I guess that's behind me now and I'm a member of the Washington Wizards."