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You're an NBA general manager, and your owner has just told you that
he's not paying Chris Webber $12 million a year. Or Antonio Davis. Ditto
Allan Houston. And he won't pay what it'll take for Alvin Williams or Aaron
McKie, either. The luxury tax is sticking in his gullet. To build your
squad, you need to go McCrory's instead of Tiffany's, if you know what I'm
saying.
|  | | Bruce Bowen's fine defense should find him regular work. |
I'm here to help.
The following is a list of NBA free agents that are rarely talked
about. Some are graybeards. Some are kids who just need a shot. All have two
things in common: they'll come relatively cheap, and they'll help you win
basketball games next season. Promise. Let everybody else fawn over the
big-ticket items. Go to the NBA's Dollar Store. You'll thank me later.
These guys are ($4.5 million) exceptional:
G Bruce Bowen, Heat. If there's a better on the ball defender
available, introduce him to me. Gregg Popovich, pick up the white courtesy
phone. Here's somebody that can guard on the perimeter.
G Fred Hoiberg, Bulls: Hear me out. You can split the mid-level
exception to sign multiple players; you don't have to give The Mayor the
full $4.5 mil. Whatever you decide to give him, he's pure stroke. And with
the advent of total zones next season, you need a guy like him in reserve.
How about a tearful reunion in Indiana?
F Eddie Robinson, Charlotte: Young and athletic, he clashed at times
with Paul Silas and both sides seem to think a change of venue would do him
good. Bulls already have him on their radar.
F Marc Jackson, Warriors: Well on his way to winning Rookie of the
Year honors last season before getting hurt. Might be Toronto's countermove
if the Raptors lose Antonio Davis to the Magic, but Detroit would make
sense, too.
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| MacCulloch |
C Todd MacCulloch, Sixers: He made $423,500 last season. Is he worth
10 times that amount? Well, when you put it that way, probably not. But
remember, you don't have to spend the full $4.5 on him. And when he gets on
the floor, bodies start flying and he starts getting his hands on the
basketball. About time the Knicks brought in a big man that can actually
play, don't you think?
Sixth Man: Chris Gatling, Cavaliers. He wants the ball. Did you hear
me? He wants the ball. And if you don't get it to him, he'll complain.
Often. But if you do give it to him, he'll put it in the basket. Often.
Would make an awful lot of sense in Milwaukee.
At ($1.3 million) minimum, they know how to play:
G Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Grizzlies: Like Hoiberg, Mahmoud is a gun for
hire: who better to bust zones than this career 35 percent shooter from
three-point range? True, defense is not his strong suit, but as a seventh or
eighth man, who, exactly is he gonna be guarding? Wouldn't he fit right in
in Dallas?
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| Harper |
G Ron Harper, Lakers: This one is more for me. Not that Harp still
doesn't know what he's doing out there. But it's mostly smoke and mirrors
now. And on a personal note, I'd like to have him around for one more year.
It's just pleasant to deal with a guy who doesn't view reporters as the
enemy, and who always has a ribald story or two to tell before a game. On
second thought, Harp, stay in L.A. I need someone to get me into the Garden
of Eden.
F Sam Mitchell, Timberwolves: A classier, better teammate you will not
find at these prices. Made for the Jazz.
F Jabari Smith, Kings: A roster casualty for a team that needed to
clear the decks in case Webber forces a sign and trade. But this 6-11
second-year player may just need someone to believe in him and give him time
to grow. Would fit right in in Washington -- he's first-round pick Kwame
Brown's first cousin.
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| Parks |
C Cherokee Parks, Clippers: My old friend Alan Goldstein of the
Baltimore Sun used to tell this one: for years, Darrall Imhoff managed to
stick around in the league despite minimal talent. One year, Goldie had to
ask him what his secret was to hanging on year after year. Imhoff stuck out
his chest and said, "every backup center has a backup. And that's me." And
that's Parks. The Sixers could stand to keep stockpiling all the bigs they
can get.
Sixth Man: A.C. Green, Heat. How else will we keep The Streak going?
Would be the kind of upstanding citizen they're looking for in Phoenix.
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