It still amazes me that Allen Iverson, who is sure bet for the hall of fame, is still unemployed with the 2009-2010 NBA season right around the corner.

It can’t be easy for any professional athlete, especially one of Iverson’s caliber, to be resorted to coming off the bench when you have been a starter your entire career, but it looks as though he might not have any other option at this point.

Iverson has had his suitors this offseason, but no one seems to be interested enough to take on his baggage and put him in their starting lineup. The Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, Miami Heat and the Memphis Grizzles have shown interest in the former NBA MVP, but only Memphis has made an offer.

Even though Iverson is in the twilight of his career he really hasn’t shown much sign of slowing down, except for the back problems last year with the Detroit Pistons. Last season Iverson averaged 17.5 points and five assists per game, most people look at that as a major decline in numbers and it is, but that was mostly due to injuries and lack of playing time once he was traded to Detroit where he had to split time with Richard Hamilton.

It is still uncertain how the Memphis Grizzles would use Iverson, since they already have a promising young shooting guard in OJ Mayo, but they definitely have something in mind as they look to be on the verge of signing Iverson to a one year deal worth anywhere from $3.5 to $4.4 million dollars.

Iverson posted a twit on his Twitter account last night saying:

“I am looking forward to meeting the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies on tomorrow, along with his staff,” the message attributed to Iverson said. “I want to help them develop a winner.”

Personally, that is an indication to me that Iverson is fed up of waiting for offers and will sign with the Memphis Grizzles sometime this week. I was hoping he would go play in Miami with Dwyane Wade, but I am interested to see what he can do with the Memphis Grizzles who actually do have a promising young team.

It is kind of amazing that a future hall of fame player like Allen Iverson that has been the NBA MVP and won the scoring title four times is out of a job.

How is this possible?

I realize Iverson can be a headache to a NBA head coach and demands minutes, but it would be hard to argue that the guy doesn’t produce on the basketball floor. He is a dynamic scorer that can get you 30 to 50 points on any given night, he is great on ball defender that has consistently been in the top five in steals every season and he is as tough as they come.

Once the Detroit Pistons said that they weren’t interested in signing Iverson the guard was free to pretty much sign where ever he wanted to go and since this was the first time in his career in which he was a free agent it was thought that he would have plenty of interested teams, but that is not the case.

There have only been four teams that have actually shown interest in Iverson the Memphis Grizzles, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers and the Miami Heat. Obviously, Iverson would not be the MAN on the majority of these teams since they already have established superstars like Dwyane Wade, Baron Davis and OJ Mayo so AI would most likely have to settle for a bench role.

The most interested has been the Memphis Grizzles since the addition of Iverson would definitely drastically improve ticket sales in a poor market like Memphis. The problem is that the Grizzles are in the middle of rebuilding and bringing along their young stars like OJ Mayo and Marc Gasol so bringing in Iverson who demands the ball might distrupt the progress of these young players.

The Los Angeles Clippers and the Miami Heat would be the best places for Iverson to land because both teams are packed with talent and could actually make a difference in the league next season. The problem remains the same though as Iverson would have to come off the bench.

Lastly, there is the New York Knicks who are the NBA team to most recently show interest in the former NBA MVP. In New York Iverson could actually be number one guy, but the Knicks are going nowhere and Iverson’s chances of a championship before he calls it quits would be slim to none.

So you see his options in the NBA, but what about Iverson’s options to play overseas?

Well, reportedly the Greek team Olympiakos is very interested in the guard and are willing to offer him $10 million over the next two years.

There is no way an NBA team can compete with that offer right now, so if Iverson is going after the money then Greece is where he is going to end up.

Personally, I think Iverson will end up the Miami Heat. The Heat are trying to bring Carlos Boozer to Miami and have a good young core surrounded around Dwyane Wade and it will be the best chance for Iverson to win a title before he calls it a career.

First, it was Jason Kidd. Will he stay, or will he go?

After weeks of “Brett Favre-like behavior”, Kidd agreed to a 3-year extension, furthering his career with the Mavericks.

Next it was The Matrix. All-Star forward Shawn Marion was traded from the Toronto Raptors involving not only the Mavericks and Raptors, but the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies. Marion, being a versatile slasher brings plenty of experience to the already deep Mavericks.

After Marion, it was the signing of 12-year NBA veteran Tim Thomas. Thomas agreed to a one year deal.

Today, the Dallas Mavericks signed free-agent Drew Gooden.

Gooden, who is averaging 12 points and 8 rebounds per game over his 7 year career will certainly add a big presence in the paint along side Dirk Nowitzki and Eric Dampier.

The Mavericks, who went 50-32 last year, finishing 6^th in the Western Conference, have in my opinion so far had the best off-season of any franchise in the NBA. They have added tons of experience to their lineup already in addition to Kidd, Nowitzki, and former 6^th Man of The Year Award winner Jason Terry.

I certainly do not believe this makes them the best in the west, but as long as everyone stays healthy, these transactions should help strengthen their team, and keep them in the playoffs for years to come.

By: Dukemich

Lamar Odom finally came to his senses and agreed to a four-year deal with the fourth year being a team option. If the Lakers pick up the option his contract will be worth $33 million for four years. Finally, the Lakers have most of their team back except for Ariza but they brought in Artest to replace him. Even though the Lakers still have most of their championship team intact, they still have a couple of flaws. They still don’t have a good defending point guard and Andrew Bynum is still a question mark. If Bynum does not live up to his expectations, the Lakers don’t have a good center. Even if Bynum is good they still don’t have a backup center. Nevertheless, the Lakers accomplished what they needed to in the free-agent period. Ron Artest is an upgrade. He is tough and he’s a shut down defender. He’s also a scoring threat.

Lakers starting lineup:

PG Derek Fisher

SG Kobe Bryant

F Ron Artest

PF Pau Gasol

C Andrew Bynum

and coming off the bench, Lamar Odom

It’s about time! Lamar Odom has finally made his decision between his old team in the Miami Heat and the 2009 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers and he has choosen to stay with the defending champs.

Los Angeles Lakers fans can rejoice as they have had arguably one of the best offseasons in recent memory, they may have missed out on Trevor Ariza, but countered with Ron Artest and now have locked up Lamar Odom for at least the next three seasons.

There was a lot of doubt in LA that Odom was going to resign after word got out that both Pat Riley and Dwyane Wade were in Los Angeles to talk to Odom about returning to Miami.

Reportedly, Lamar Odom’s new contract with the Los Angeles Lakers is worth $33 million over the next four years with an option in the fourth year. Not exactly the $10 million a year that Odom was hoping for in the begining, but a good amount of money for the forward none the less.

Now the Lakers hopes for another dynasty and shot at winning some more championships while Kobe Bryant is still is in his prime is alive and well.  The Lakers will still have their work cut out for them in a very competitive Western Conference and the title contenders in the East, but I sbelieve the Lakers will still be on top once it is all said and done last season.

The San Antonio Spurs will be tough and the Lakers biggest challenge in the West with a healthy Manu Ginobili and the addition of Richard Jefferson. The Denver Nuggets will be more experienced and looking for some revenge. The Dallas Mavericks may not be a contender just yet, but they have improved their roster with the addition of Shawn Marion and a few others. Even the Portland Trailblazers will be a bit tougher with Andre Miller running the point and some more experience under their belt. In the end though, I think will see a repeat performance by Kobe Bryant and company!

Steve Nash and Grant Hill at one point of their career were the cream of the crop in the NBA, Hill was getting comparisons to Michael Jordan while playing in Detroit and Nash was getting recognized as one of the best point guards of all-time.

Well, over the years both players have had their fare share of struggles. Hill become known as injury prone and Nash could never lead his team to the promise land. Now both players are in a tight spot as they are both in the twilight of their careers and looking to make something of a Phoenix Suns franchise that has fallen from greatness.

Shaq is gone, Amare Stoutamire looks to be good soon enough and there is no real promise for the future in Phoenix, but the Suns have decided to keep both Hill and Nash by signing them both the contracts over the next couple of seasons.

Even though Hill is not the explosive scorer he used to be before he got hurt all those years ago, he is still a very good shooting guard with the versatility to play small forward and even bring the ball up the floor. Is he worth taking on for another two years? That remains to be seen.

Nash on the other hand hasn’t really lost much besides teammates. First it was Shawn Marion and now it is Shaq. The Suns still have Amare, but like I said earlier the future looks bleak to say the least.

So was signing these aging superstars a good idea? We will see next season, but I think they could have put their money to better use by going a little younger.

We all knew this was coming as soon as the Cleveland Cavaliers felt they made enough moves to keep LeBron James in Cleveland.

The only problem I see is that just getting Shaq isn’t enough to keep LeBron James in Cleveland for the long haul. Having Shaq in the middle definitely improves the Cavs considerable both on offense and defense, but how many years does he really have left. One? Two or maybe even three?

It was a great move getting Shaq, but compared to the Orlando Magic getting Vince Carter or the Boston Celtics getting Rasheed Wallace it is pale in comparison. Both of those guys don’t have many years left in them either, but they have plenty of playmakers on both of those team where it really doesn’t matter.

Not only will the Magic and the Celtics be better next season, but it is looking like the Miami Heat might be as well. The Heat, much like the Cavs, are doing everything possible to keep their superstar Dwyane Wade from leaving town when he becomes a free agent next season. They are trying to sign Lamar Odom, Allen Iverson and make a trade for Carlos Boozer. Now that sounds like they are trying to build a contender compared to the Cavs just getting Shaq and calling it even.

Will LeBron James sign a contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers? Most likely, but with the amount of money that is going to get thrown at him next offseason from the New York Knicks amongst other teams that have been saving their pennies, the Cavs could be in for a world of hurt.

The Cavs are without a doubt doing the right thing in trying to sign LeBron as quickly as possible, but compared to what he could make if he waits for next Summer the only person that would lose out signing now would be LeBron.

There must be nothing harder for a professional athlete then to leave a championship team. Of course everyone will say money talks, and they are right most of the time, but leaving a team that finally got things together and won a championship, I just don’t know how you do that.

Well, that is exactly what it looks like Lamar Odom is going to do as he seems to be leaning towards rejoining the Miami Heat. The Los Angeles Lakers obviously want to keep ahold of Odom as he was a key piece to the puzzle for their championship run last season, but the two sides just can’t seem to come to an agreement to keep the forward in LA for the next three seasons or so.

Apparently, the Lakers had a pretty good offer on the table for Odom once the offseason began, but Odom insisted on making at least $10 million a year for the duration for the contract. Now Odom is a great player, perhaps one of the best in the league at small forward, but he has been extremely inconsistent over the years for the Lakers and that is what I think is keeping them for offering what Odom wants to stay in LA.

The Miami Heat on the other hand are doing everything in their power to keep Dwyane Wade in Miami for as long as possible. After next season Wade will be free to pick and chose where he wants to go after becoming a free agent and if he doesn’t think the Heat can contend for a title and it is almost a forgone conclusion that he will hit the road in search for team that he finds worthy.

In an effort to keep Wade the Heat have made a variety of moves which includes bringing Jermaine O’Neal to Florida, exploring a trade for Carlos Boozer from the Utah Jazz and courting Lamar Odom to bring him back to the Heat. There even talks of Allen Iverson joining the squad which would without a doubt instantly turn the Heat into contenders in the East.

If the Heat do manage to get Boozer and Odom that might be just enough to make the Heat contenders in the East once again. They weren’t all that bad last season, but it would be hard to argue that Wade was the only reason for that.

As an attempt to make sure Odom choses the Heat over the Lakers, Wade has flown out to LA to have a little chat with his buddy Lamar and try to convince him to make the move.

Will he sign with the Heat? It is looking highly likely unless the Lakers up their offer to Odom’s liking.

He isn’t exactly Jason Kidd, but Andre Miller is definitely an upgrade at the point guard position for the Portland Trailblazers.

Even though the Blazers had a pretty impressive season last year with a bunch of young players they still were dedicated to making their team better this offseason by adding some key free agents to the mix. The one thing that has been missing on this team has been stability at the point guard position and veteran leadership.

Yes, Brandon Roy has turned out to be a great leader and will be one of the best players in the NBA in the near future, but he seriously lacks experience and that was no more apparent than in the first round of the playoffs last year against the Houston Rockets.

Coming into that series I believe the Blazers were the dark horses to make it to the NBA Western Conference Finals to play the Los Angeles Lakers, but boy was I wrong as the Houston Rockets just manhandled the Blazers early and never let up.

As a result of the Blazers early exit, the Portland front office decided to make some moves this offseason. The Blazers intially wanted David Lee, Paul Milsap or Jason Kidd, but they settled on Andre Miller of the Philadelphia 76ers. Like I said earlier, he is no Kidd, but he brings experience and veteran leadership to team in desperate need for it.

Reportedly, the deal for Miller is worth about $21 million over three years with $14 million of that being guaranteed.

Dallas Mavericks Sign Drew Gooden

AP source: Gooden says he’s headed to Dallas

A source close to the negotiations tells The Associated Press that the Dallas Mavericks have reached an agreement with free agent big man Drew Gooden(notes).

The source, who did not wish to be identified because a contract hasn’t been signed yet, said Monday that the deal is “verbally done.”

Gooden said on his Twitter page Monday that he had three deciding factors in his decision to join the Mavs: winning, playing time and money. He wrote: “Dallas is the team!”

Owner Mark Cuban did not return an email seeking confirmation of the deal, but did post “Welcome Drew” on his Twitter page.

Gooden, 27, played in 19 games for the San Antonio Spurs last year, averaging 9.8 points and 4.4 rebounds. The 6-foot-10 Gooden averages 12 points and 7.9 rebounds and will help a frontcourt that lost Brandon Bass(notes) to free agency.

The Mavs would be his seventh team.

… for more visit yahoo/gooden story

DISCUSS THIS STORY

The Lamar Odom saga continues as the veteran forward’s future is still up in the air as he tries to make up his mind about signing with the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers or his former team in the Miami Heat.

Personally, I think Lamar Odom needs to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers right now and he will regret it if he doesn’t.

Do you really think the Heat are going to contend for a title?

Dwyane Wade might not even be there in a year and you actually want to take that chance when the Lakers have become the elite team in the NBA. Now the Heat might be able to pull off a trade to get Carlos Boozer and that would definitely improve their chances of contending, but I am not sure it would be enough to be able to compete with the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics who have all improved their teams.

Who knows what is going on in Odom’s mind right now, but one thing for sure he might be done in LA. I hate to think of the Lakers without Odom as I am a huge Lakers fan, but I guess you can only do so much to keep players in the league these days.

I was certain that Trevor Ariza would be back.

Why wouldn’t you sign a young hometown kid like Trevor who actually loves to play defense and started to become a threat on offense?

Seems crazy to let a player like that go, but the Lakers couldn’t hold on to him. Ron Artest may have had a lot to do with it, but I guarantee the Lakers would not have been NBA champs without Ariza playing the way he did.

Lamar Odom on the other hand is a match up nightmare with his length, athleticism and ability to bring the basketball up the floor like Scottie Pippen did with the Chicago Bulls back in the day. Odom may not be as consistent as Pippen was, but when the guy is on his game he is as good as they come.

The Lakers should be ok without Odom after signing Ron Artest, but the potential of the possible dynasty could fall apart quickly if the chemistry goes to hell and Ron-Ron becomes more of a headache than an impact player.

Even though the Lakers and Odom started to talk contract again last week it looks like he is leaning towards joining Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat. Reportedly, Wade is on his way to Los Angeles to try and convince Odom to comeback to Miami.

So the news isn’t so good for Lakers fans like myself, but Miami’s attempt to get back to contending status will get one more step closer if they get this deal done with Odom.

Stephan Marbury Breaks Down on JustinTV

This offseason, the Portland Trail Blazers have been tossed aside by Hedo Turkoglu, and wasted their time pursuing restricted free-agent Paul Millsap, whose contract offer was matched by the Utah Jazz. General Manager Kevin Pritchard had a hellish first few months, as he watched these two stars, along with many other possibilities, slip through his fingertips. Despite crushing blow after crushing blow, and the fact that talent grew thin, he vowed to stay aggressive, and pursue whoever was deemed a perfect fit. He found that player, someone they have coveted for years: point guard Andre Miller.

Miller, as I wrote here, has his drawbacks: he’s 33 years old, has little playoff experience, and can’t hit the side of a barn from three-point land. Yet, Pritchard and the rest of the Blazers front office saw him as an upgrade at the point guard position, someone of star quality who could take the pressure off stars Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge. He saw a player who has missed an unbelievably low three games during his ten-year career. He saw a player that can score 20 points and dish 10 assists when called upon; Miller’s career averages are 14 points and 7 assists per game. He saw a player that can help the Blazers attain their goal: a championship.

After opening discussions with Miller this past week, the guard signed a 3-year, $22 milion contract with Portland. The Blazers worked their magic in negotiating this deal, as the third year is a team option. So, if Miller falters during the 2010-11 season, they can release him from his contract following the season. The Blazers are hoping he’ll work out, and by giving him essentially a two year contract worth $14 million, it’s a low-risk signing that could par immense dividends in the short-term.

Though I have been skeptical of the Blazers pursuit of various point guards this offseason, I really like this deal. Steve Blake was a good player, but the Blazers wanted more scoring and more versatility. Blake shot the three-pointer nearly 15 percent better last season, but with the return of guard Martell Webster, they already have three or four guys who can drain threes on a regular basis. Miller, who has been a starter for his entire career, unlike Blake, could be a valuable mentor to 20-year old guard Jerryd Bayless, who has demonstrated the skills of a scoring guard rather than a point guard.

Because the contract is so small, compared to the 5-years and $53 million Portland offered Turkoglu, it’s a very low-risk, high-reward signing. It also give the Blazers more money to throw at Roy and Aldridge, whose contracts expire at season’s end.

Miller can run a up-tempo offense, though he didn’t necessarily do so with Philadelphia, and is a very good perimeter shooter; despite his lowly three-point percentage of 28 percent, he still managed to shoot 47 percent overall. He’s strong, excels in the post–which is uncanny for a point guard–has a very quick release, and knows his limits. He is also unselfish, so given that the Blazers have so many outside shooters that spread the floor, he will certainly rack up the assists.

Pritchard confirmed the signing, saying “We are excited to add a player of the caliber and character of Andre Miller…He is one of the league’s ironmen who brings a wealth of veteran leadership to our team and is a great fit for our young and improving roster.” It sounds like a good fit to me.

Andre Miller commented on his move to Portland: “I’m really excited for this opportunity with the Trail Blazers and look forward to working with my new team…I hope to provide veteran leadership to a young talented nucleus and help Portland take the next step in the pursuit of a championship.”

After saying all year, on this blog and even more adamantly in my conversations with my father and my cousin Matt, that the Blazers don’t need a point guard, I have officially changed my tune. I am excited, not only because the Blazers were actually able to sign one of their targets, but because that player was Miller, someone who can give them a serious leg-up in the fierce Western Conference.

The Portland Trailblazers have been trying to do something in free agency this offseason to get their team to the next level, but all their efforts have fallen flat until today.

Once free agency began the Blazers had their eyes set getting a veteran point guard or forward or both. First they made an attempt at getting the New York Knicks forward David Lee, but they just couldn’t get a deal done and Lee’s future is still up in the air. The Blazers also flirted with bringing Jason Kidd to Portland, but nothing really came out of that as both the Dallas Mavericks and the New York Knicks were set on signing the future hall of fame point guard. The next attempt at improving their roster was reaching out to Utah Jazz forward Paul Milsap, a contract was offered, but Utah were dead set on keeping him especially since they have been shopping Carlos Boozer.

Finally, after all that wheeling and dealing that went nowhere the Blazers have gotten themselves a veteran point guard in Andre Miller from the Philadelphia 76ers. Now Miller is no Jason Kidd and will probably not have the impact of a David Lee or a Paul Milsap, but he definitely improving the Blazers backcourt next season.

Although the Sixers love Miller they were not interested in signing him to a long term deal like he wanted. The Blazers on the other hand have offered Miller a three year contract worth about $21 million dollars with $14 million of that contract guaranteed with a three year option of $7 million. Miller hasn’t signed yet, but his agent Andy Miller (no relation) said his client will be signing as early as today.

The Blazers may still not be able to compete with teams like the Los Angeles Lakers or the San Antonio Spurs after this deal, but with the veteran leadership of Miller leading this young team the Blazers are taking steps in the right direction and could be a serious threat in the West in the near future.

It what seems to be just a two team race, the Los Angeles Lakers have decided not to give up on Lamar Odom just yet as they resume talks with the forward that was so vital to the Lakers championship run last season.

Odom may have come off the bench last season for the Lakers, but he was just as much if not more effective in a different role showing that his contribution to a possible Lakers dynasty would be huge. He may not be a Pau Gasol or a Ron Artest, but Lamar Odom is one of the best players in the NBA today at his position and at times can be virtually unguardable with his ability to dominant inside the paint and handle the basketball.

Even without Odom next season the Lakers will be a very good basketball team that could be destine to repeat, but with the versatile forward the Lakers are that much better if not the overwhelming favorites to win it all again next year.

Personally, if I were Jerry Buss I would just pay Odom the $10 million a year he is asking for and sit back for the next three to five years and watch the championships mount up, but for some reason Buss is being very stingy and unwilling to budge.

In Buss’ defense I will say that Odom has been grossly overpaid in his career. He is a great player, but he has been an underachiver in years past for the Lakers until last season that is where he really showed his worth.

The only other team that seems to be even be interested in Odom this offseason is the Miami Heat who are trying to do everything they can to keep their superstar Dwyane Wade happy and in Miami before he becomes a free agent next offseason.

Reportedly the Heat have offered Odom a lucrative contract and the forward would be interested, but something makes me think that he is using the Heat as a way to get the Lakers to pay him what he wants and I think it is working.

Just a week ago Lakers owner Jerry Buss pulled his four year $36 million dollar offer due to the fact that he heard that Odom was talking to the Miami Heat who were offering much less at $34 million for five years.

Apparently things have changed as Lamar Odom and the Los Angeles Lakers have started to talk about a contract once again, but there have been talks of Odom now receiving an offer less than before.

Will Odom stay in LA? Remains to be seen, but if he wants to win another championship before his career is over it would be the smart decision.

Andre Miller is 33 years old. In his current 10-year career, he has never reached the second round of the playoffs. Last year, with the Philadelphia 76ers, he took only fifty-three three-pointers and made just fifteen. He averaged nearly three turnovers per game, and didn’t run a particularly up-tempo style offense. So, why would the Portland Trail Blazers open discussions with him?

Well, he has been a steady scorer in his career, and, given his abysmal three-point shooting, has wisely lived predominately on the mid-range jumper. Because of his successful perimeter game and unselfishness (he averaged nearly seven assists last season, a tad lower than his career mark) he has been a borderline All-Star and very dependable.

Evidently, Portland is desperate to make a big splash, and evidently, they don’t trust Steve Blake, nor are they completely sold on Jerryd Bayless as their point guard of the future.

Blake helped the Blazers win 54 games last season. He averaged 11 points, 5 assists, and was fifth in the NBA among guards with a 3.22 Assist/Turnover Ratio. That’s not good enough for Portland.

They want a veteran, which Blake is. But they want someone who is more veteran, Miller, to replace him, someone that is on his last legs who has something left in the tank. Though this swap of sorts may seem to make little sense, Miller, even at his old age, can lot of things better than Blake: he runs an offense better, runs the pick-and-roll better, shoots better, even if his range is eighteen feet, and has a more versatile game; he posts up, and is more physical.

So, based on his upsides, General Manager Kevin Pritchard may not be as crazy for targeting him as I originally thought. I think the Blazers could improve upon their 54-win season with Blake as their starter, mainly because, overall, he succeeded in their scheme, and forged a substaintial amount of chemistry with teammates that will only get better. But I’m not sure that they could challenge the beasts of the West and make a run in the playoffs with him as their starter.

This is Pritchard’s thinking. Miller would be a gamble, but, like I said when the Blazers were targeting small forward and current Toronto Raptor Hedo Turkoglu, he could take the pressure off Brandon Roy scoring-wise, and be able to consistently answer a run by the opposition with a burst of his own. So, perhaps he’s a gamble worth taking.

Throughout this free-agency period, I have wondered why Pritchard hasn’t expressed interest in younger guards such as restricted free-agent Ramon Sessions or current Charlotte Bobcat Raymond Felton. Now I know why. He doesn’t want to block Bayless out entirely. He has faith in him, and still thinks, despite his scorer’s mentiality and iffy point guard skills, that he could take the reigns down the road. So, by signing Miller to, say, a two-year deal, Bayless has a mentor, a veteran and a proven star to look up to, and, once Miller’s contract expires, can take over at the sprightly age of 23.

A signing of Miller, an unrestricted free-agent, isn’t imminent, but is a distinct possibility. There had been rumblings that a sign-and-trade could be hashed out, meaning Miller would sign with Philadelphia, then be traded to the Blazers for Blake. Now, it appears Pritchard is looking at Miller solely as a free-agent, and wouldn’t acquire him. So, instead of trading Blake for him, he could get another player of need, a backup power-forward perhaps, for Blake and presumably Travis Outlaw.

If the Blazers feel the need to upgrade, and think Miller would fill their need, then pull the trigger. After all, given what he could bring to a team full of youth, he’s not a bad player to go after.

Read Sports Geek’s argument that the worst move is the Rockets signing Trevor Ariza and Bleacher Fan’s argument that the worst move is the Cavaliers re-resigning Anderson Varejao.

The Sports Debates has decided to take a look at all the moves that have taken place so far this offseason and determine the three worst moves. We’re not going to debate the best moves because quite frankly, that’s just too boring.

Sports Geek will argue that the Houston Rockets signing Trevor Ariza was the worst move to date while Bleacher Fan will argue the contract the Cleveland Cavaliers gave Anderson Varejao is a terrible deal for them.

Meanwhile, I am arguing the worst move involved Orlando and the Polish Hammer! Marcin Gortat was drafted in 2005, but didn’t play his first game until March 1, 2008. So, for the sake of this argument, let’s call him a two year “veteran.” He played an average of 12.6 minutes per game this past season. He averaged 3.8 points per game. At 7-feet tall, he’s the backup for center Dwight Howard. But, after a solid postseason in which he played big minutes for the Magic as they made their run to the NBA Finals, Gortat was signed to an offer sheet by the Dallas Mavericks.

Now, judging by everything I just told you, you are probably thinking something along the lines of, “Dallas probably signed him to a three year deal worth about $15M.” Hah! You’re wrong!

Gortat signed an offer sheet for five years and $34 MILLION DOLLARS with the Mavericks. That’s an average of almost $7M dollars per season. Surely, Orlando wouldn’t match that, letting Gortat walk. Notice that Magic general manager Otis Smith said he would not pay more than $5M per year for a guy who will back up Howard. The Magic had seven days to match the offer, and all indications were that Gortat could pack his bags and head to Dallas, where he would have a chance to compete for a starting position.

Something happened on Gortat’s way to the Lone Star State. To the amazement of many experts in NBA circles, and to the shock of Loyal Homer, the Magic matched the offer sheet!!!!!

“You’ve got to be kidding me!!!!” That was my reaction when I first heard the news!

In a time when the NBA market is considerably down due to the economy, the Magic gave big money to a permanent backup. There are starters who don’t make anywhere close to that money. As I stated earlier, this is after “flourishing” this past year to the tune of 3.8 points per game. I think this is an example of someone cashing in on a team’s postseason success. Just imagine the deal he would get if he averaged double figures in points!!!

Kudos to Gortat and his agent for getting this amount of money. I hope everyone involved knows what they’re doing! On the surface, it appears they don’t!

Read Bleacher Fan’s argument that the worst NBA free agency move was the Cleveland Cavaliers re-signing Anderson Varejao and Loyal Homer’s argument that the Orlando Magic matching Marcin Gortat’s offer sheet is.

For me, NBA free agency is not about making a splash with a big name player, it is about finding the right missing piece to put a team over the top. Finding the right player can mean re-signing a valuable player, correctly passing on a tantalizing opportunity, or finding a player who is that diamond in the rough who no longer fits into his former team’s strategy, but is perfect for another team. Those are examples of how free agency is supposed to work. But, sometimes teams sign players that are not a good fit.

This off-season, the single worst free agent move belongs to the Houston Rockets for signing free agent forward Trevor Ariza.

Skeptical? Consider three reasons.

First, the Rockets chose to use the money from an injury exception (about the same as the mid-level exception, $5.7M) for Yao Ming – who will miss the entirety of next season with a fractured foot – to sign a forward. Yao’s injury leaves a very weak center position on the roster. The Rockets have the following players under contract who could play center next season: 6-8 Joey Dorsey, 6-9 Luis Scola. Despite the lack of great center’s out there in free agency, the Rockets needed to explore a way to fill that gaping hole in their roster. Even though they lost forward Ron Artest to the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency, the more glaring need to fill on the Rockets is the center position given that a great deal of the current roster and offensive approach is designed around that position.

Second, and even more exasperating for Rockets fans, Ariza was signed very quickly in the free agency period. The quick signing is bewildering because many other players were available at the forward position that could help fill the role Artest filled. Rather than waiting out the off-season a bit, the Rockets made an aggressive offer (five years $33.5M) to a player with questionable NBA experience. Ariza is being paid as a big time player who can be the focus of an offense, not as the type of player he is – a journeyman with complementary skills… which brings us to reason number three.

Trevor Ariza is overrated. Granted, he played wonderfully in the 2009 NBA Finals (you’d think the Orlando Magic would have learned to look for him on in-bound plays after his second steal and dunk), scoring 11 points a game, grabbing six rebounds, and averaging nearly two steals a game. Ariza averaged less than nine points a game in the regular season, and has averaged less than seven points a game for his career – yet, he’s being paid as a major offensive contributor would be. For his career is shoots below 30 percent from long range, and only 66% from the free throw line. These are not the type of stats that usually fetch nearly $35M.

Ariza is a good complementary player, he is not the all-around player his contract figures may lead you to believe he is. Kudos to Ariza’s agent, David Lee, who has been criticized by some. He landed Ariza a contract that is far more valuable than the player. But, Ariza better enjoy his money – it’s the last big contract he’ll ever sign.

A great deal has happened in this off-season already, and it appears August is poised for a lot of off the court action, too. But it will be hard to top such a peculiar, rushed move with the remaining crop of free agents (depending on who signs Allen Iverson!).

Mavs Talk To Lamar Odom, Lakers Pull Offer

The headline might sound a little crazy and unlikely, but believe it or not, the Los Angeles Clippers are the frontrunners to sign free agent Allen Iverson right now.

When Allen Iverson went on the free agent market for the first time in his career this NBA offseason he was getting interest for almost no teams. Iverson is arguably the best six foot guard ever to play this game and still has a few good years left in him, but along with his scoring touch comes baggage.

A general manager of any NBA team would be nuts to say they wouldn’t like Allen Iverson on their team, he brings defense, passing and an uncanny ability to put up 30 to 40 points on any given night. Like most great players in the NBA though, he doesn’t want to come off the bench when he knows he is still one of the best players in the league at the guard position.

Personally, I can’t really blame Iverson for not wanting to be a bench player. His entire career all the way down to his high school days, Iverson has been a starter and the star of the team. Even when Iverson was the All American quarterback he was the man, but now since most teams are either trying to go younger or already have their superstar guards in place it seems like there is no place for Iverson to fit in.

Initially, the Memphis Grizzles, Miami Heat and the Charlotte Bobcats were interested in signing Iverson, but he would have a limite role on these teams. Now it seems that the Los Angeles Clippers are in the hunt for Iverson and are in serious talks to bring the superstar to Los Angeles.

Will Iverson fit in with the Clippers? Remains to be seen, but the potential of a Baron Davis, Allen Iverson backcourt and a Blake Griffin, Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman frontcourt could be a title contender.

The only problem will be convincing Iverson to come off the bench for either Baron Davis at the point or second year man Eric Gordon at the two guard. Who knows though? Maybe coach Mike Dunleavy will come up with a way to get Iverson 30 minutes or so off the bench.

Out of the three teams mentioned before that are interested in AI the Memphis Grizzles seems like the most likely destination because Iverson might get a starting role and that he should, but I get the feeling the temptation of coming to LA to play with Blake Griffin and Baron Davis will be too much to resist even if he has to come off the bench.

In my opinion, adding Iverson to the Clippers makes them contenders. Maybe not title contenders just yet, but playoff contenders without a doubt. The Clippers are a team stacked with talent up and down the roster, but failed to put it together last season do to a serious lack of team chemistry and injuries. With Iverson in the mix though and hot head Zach Randolph gone things might start to turn around for the other team in LA.

It would be interesting to see how it all unfolds if Iverson does chose to sign with the Clippers, which would be one year deal for the mid-level exception, but if it does work the West might have another contender to watch out for besides the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs.