NBA teams can begin negotiating with free agents on Wednesday at 12:01 am Eastern Time. Some players have a pretty good idea of where they might land and know they will be getting a nice payday. For others, they will have to wait to see how the initial dominos fall before they start to get a sense for where they might be playing next season.
HOOPSWORLD takes a look three specific veteran free agents and where they may land this summer.
Antonio McDyess
McDyess was a part of the trade that sent Chauncey Billups to the Denver Nuggets in November of 2008. However, he refused to report and the Nuggets bought out his contract not long after.
McDyess' reason for not reporting? He said he was tired of moving.
That puts the soon to be 35-year-old in quite a pickle this summer because his chances of winning a championship next season in Detroit would seem to be remote. As such, McDyess will almost certainly have no choice but to relocate this summer if he wants a legitimate shot at winning a title. Should he opt to do so, expect there to be plenty of suitors.
The San Antonio Spurs are looking for a veteran big or two, and McDyess would seem to be a near-perfect fit for the Spurs. McDyess is known for being crafty on the floor and a good locker room guy. It's reasonable to believe that he would bring at least as much to the table -- if not more -- than Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas, both of whom were shipped to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Richard Jefferson deal.
Another suitor for McDyess will likely be the Boston Celtics. With Glen "Big Baby" Davis and Leon Powe both scheduled to hit the free agent market this summer, the Celtics have their eyes on free agent post players. While Big Baby was fantastic during Boston's most recent playoff run, one thing the Celtics were lacking at times was the veteran contribution that a guy like James Posey brought to the table during the Celtics' championship run in 2008. While McDyess plays a different position than Posey, he could bring the same kind of veteran savvy the team would like to add a bit more of this summer.
The Cleveland Cavaliers just recently acquired Shaquille O'Neal from the Phoenix Suns in what is believed to be the first in a series of moves the Cavs will make this offseason. With O'Neal now in the fold, the team is interested in finding an additional player or two they can put in the high post to help create balance and adequate spacing off of Shaq's dominating presence in the low post. McDyess would be a very nice fit with his line-drive but still very accurate mid-range jumper.
Finally, one has to believe the Detroit Pistons are still in the mix. If McDyess is to be taken at his word that the reason he didn't report to Denver was because he didn't want to move, it would seem only natural to assume that he would opt to return to the Pistons.
Color me skeptical. Expect McDyess to look for greener pastures elsewhere.
Allen Iverson
Iverson's stock has dropped exponentially in the last year. He went from hoping to ink an $8-10 million a year extension with the Denver Nuggets at this time last summer to simply hoping he can find NBA employment for the 2009-10 season.
The one suitor that has been mentioned in the media of late is the Charlotte Bobcats. Iverson's former coach Larry Brown still has a lot of respect for Iverson and also a team he's trying to push into the NBA Playoffs for the first time in franchise history. On the surface, the idea seems like a good one. However, let's not forget that while Iverson and Brown ended on good terms, they butted heads repeatedly over the course of many years in Philadelphia.
One also has to wonder whether or not Iverson would be open to coming off the bench. The Bobcats are already trying to balance giving minutes to both Raymond Felton and D.J. Augustin. Adding Iverson into that equation would only make things more complicated, even if he sees most of his minutes at the two spot. All that said, expect Brown to try and get the Bobcats to take a look at Iverson this summer.
Another destination for Iverson could be the New York Knicks. While some people will likely dismiss this notion without even giving it a thought, stop and ponder it for just a minute. The Knicks didn't get the point guard they were hoping for in the draft. Moreover, there remains a decent likelihood that both David Lee and Nate Robinson could be playing elsewhere next season as the Knicks prepare to clear salary cap space for 2010. The end result is a team that likely won't make the playoffs and could make the fans in NYC restless.
Enter "The Answer."
The Knicks could sign Iverson to a one-year deal. It would be a near-perfect fit for both parties. The Knicks could bring some excitement to The Garden while the fans wait for the summer of 2010. For Iverson, he could try and revive his career in Mike D'Antoni's shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later offense, which would be a perfect complement to A.I.'s skill-set.
One final destination for Iverson could be the Atlanta Hawks, especially if Mike Bibby departs. Iverson would likely be playing the point guard position if he signed in Atlanta, though, and there are some major issues teams face long-term with that such as Iverson dribbling away the shot-clock while teammates stand on the weakside. This is one of those ideas that might sound good in theory, but in practice it could be detrimental to head coach Mike Woodson's job security.
Stephon Marbury
When Marbury signed with the Boston Celtics late last season, it seemed like everyone had an opinion. Some said Marbury would be the catalyst to an implosion in Boston while others thought he would play an important role for the team in the playoffs. The truth was that while he wasn't the catalyst to an implosion, his contributions also weren't of major significance.
As things stand now, it doesn't look like the Celtics have a ton of interest in bringing Marbury back. The primary focus of Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge appears to be on adding frontcourt depth. Perhaps once he's addressed those concerns, he might think about bringing Marbury back on a one-year deal. Whatever the case, expect Marbury to still be on the free agent market late in the summer.
There's always a chance a team in the Association will take a flier on Marbury. However, those chances seem remote given the fact that he's nothing more than a backup point guard at this stage of his career. And given his history, why take the risk on a guy who is going to play no more than 15 minutes a night, anyway?
Marbury's best chance to cash in very well may be overseas next season. If he does sign with a NBA team, don't expect it to happen until very late in the summer at the earliest.
