Some free agents are still home alone
With camp just weeks away, big names — and big duds — are available
Aaron Josefczyk / ReutersGuard Delonte West, who will serve a 10-game supsension at the start of the season, may be the best remaining free agent available, writes NBCSports.com contributor Ira Winderman.
OPINION
By Ira Winderman
NBCSports.com
updated 2:33 p.m. ET Aug. 23, 2010
 | Ira Winderman |
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In some precincts, the "No Vacancy" sign already is out.
In others, there already are more guaranteed contracts than roster spots available.
And yet, free agency not only isn't over, but there are more than a few recognizable names still on the board.
As August turns to September, with the start of training camp now just weeks away, we offer a look into who is left, well aware that talent is not necessarily the overwhelming factor on the late-game personnel market.
Allen Iverson: Figure on one more "burst" from Iverson, when he fires up the Twitter, puts the PR machine to work, and get his name out.
But it did not end well in Detroit. It did not end well in Memphis. And it came to a surprisingly abrupt ending in Philadelphia.
Oh, there might yet be another round of reports linking Iverson to the Knicks, because that is what tabloids do. And it might actually make a small degree of sense. But Allen Iverson has never been a bit player, has never been a complementary piece.
What does make sense is him playing behind a dominant point guard, where he could fill such a scoring role, be himself for 10 to 12 minutes a game. There could be something to be said about New Orleans, as sort of a stop-gap Collison.
Or it just might be over.
Jerry Stackhouse: The very reason that revived Stackhouse's career last season could be the reason why we won't be hearing his name for a while.
By waiting until midseason to return to the league with the Bucks last season, Stackhouse provided more of a boost than might have been expected from a 35-year-old.
A similar wait could not only benefit Stackhouse this time around, but could benefit his decision, with his skill set best suited for a contender. A Bucks reunion might even make some sense.
In January. Or February.
Delonte West: Baggage? You bet.
But don't overstate the 10-game suspension at the start of the season. Rashard Lewis came through that just fine last season, as did the Magic.
With West, it’s the hush and whispers that tell the story. If he doesn't sign somewhere soon, you'd have to wonder about the background checks.
But he's a quality scorer and ballhandler, a starting-caliber player. Someone could wind up with a very good player starting the second week in November.
An argument could be made that he is the best remaining available free agent.
Larry Hughes: There certainly is reason to believe Hughes still could help a team. But that help would come when a leading scorer is unavailable.
So it comes down to how limited a role Hughes is willing to accept. It did not end well with the Knicks or Bulls, and there wasn't much of a chance with the Bobcats.
On a contender, Hughes could contribute to a few wins along the way, filling in for an injured perimeter star. It's the rest of the games, when there might not be any minutes, that are the concern.
Flip Murray: It wasn't all that long ago when Murray was the type of scorer just about every team was seeking for it bench.
But Charlotte and Chicago, two defensive-oriented teams, hardly were the best fits last season. And now it's almost as if Murray has become forgotten.
This is another case of a player almost taken for granted, as if his ilk will be available should such a second-team scoring need arise.
Michael Finley: Shooters typically are at a premium on the free-agent market, just not older shooters.
When you need to talk your way out of San Antonio, when Boston looks elsewhere, perhaps that's when it's time to call it a career.
The swiftness of the fall seemingly sends a clear message, as does being replaced by Von Wafer.
Kwame Brown: The surprise is not that he still is available, but rather how he has been able to line up steady work before reaching this point.
Early in the offseason, Brown was being listed as one of the few remaining quality big men. Then reality set in.
Now Michael Jordan is taking one more crack to make things right with Kwame, after that partnership went so wrong in Washington, with Kwame on the cusp of a Bobcats minimum deal.
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Adam Morrison: Another didn't-you-used-to-be-somebody.
Haven't we almost come to expect to see Morrison in the D-League by this point?
Last month's open tryout in Las Vegas in conjunction with the summer league there attracted a few feelers, but no offers.
Oh, he'll find work this season. But that work might come in Sioux Falls.
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