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Monday, July 2
 
CWebb not the only name in demand

By Marc Stein
Special to ESPN.com

There's a reason, friends, why half the NBA was traded last week in a 72-hour span.
Michael Finley
Dallas' Finley is on the hot list of most-wanted free agents.

Reason being: It's much more financially friendly to shuffle salaries already on the books, as opposed to spending wildly in the summer.

That's the way teams think in the new NBA, where every owner not named Paul Allen or Mark Cuban is openly fearful of the forthcoming luxury tax. "Spooked" is the word used by Seattle president Wally Walker, and most of the other words in circulation are unprintable. No one wants to pay the dreaded dollar-for-dollar tax, which will be assessed to clubs with payrolls above $56 million.

Mind you, until a leaguewide audit is completed, that figure is just an estimate. The threshold could wind up a little higher than $56 million, or maybe a little less. So easiest thing, GMs figure, is to just stay as far away from the mid-50s as possible. Which could mean splitting up that meaty $4.5 million salary-cap exception between two players, as opposed to burning it on one body.

Still, there are roughly 150 free agents out there as of Sunday at 12:01 a.m. ... and the cap-less NHL isn't going to have all the fun. Come July 18, when the NBA's moratorium on signings and trades is lifted, there's going to be action. More trades, certainly, to follow those blockbusters involving Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Elton Brand and Jason Kidd/Stephon Marbury. The few teams way under the cap -- Chicago, Detroit and LA Clippers -- are eager for the opportunity to join in the wheel-dealing as third-party facilitators.

So you'll still need ESPN.com's annual Rough Guide to free agency. And here it is:

Fab Five

  • Kings forward Chris Webber: Free-agent life isn't as luxurious as it used to be, thanks to that blasted tax. Apparently no one was waiting with a plane at midnight Saturday to whisk Webber to a lavish recruiting trip, which might be because his options seem to be dwindling. The Bulls and Clippers were never going after him, and even Webber's hometown Pistons don't give themselves much of a chance. Detroit acquired Clifford Robinson instead, to serve either as a handy fallback or to give them an extra piece to work with as a third-team helper in a Webber deal. So, what does that leave? Knicks or Pacers in a three-way deal, which looms as CWebb's only likely escape route to the cushy East. Otherwise, he'll be back scanning the stands at ARCO Arena, taking last looks at the fans who just saw him swept again by the Lakers.

  • Mavericks swingman Michael Finley: He might be going somewhere ... on a recruiting visit or two. Just to remind the Mavs' faithful not to take his return for granted. But that's as far as it goes. Every other team in the league does see Finley's return to Dallas as a formality, even if he caused a nervous heartbeat or two last month by declining to show at a local awards banquet he historically attends.

    Mutombo
    Mutombo

  • Sixers center Dikembe Mutombo: Five games in the Finals against Shaquille O'Neal merely confirmed what the wise ol' warrior already knew. Which is: Stay in the East. Stay with little A.I. If only Philly could be so sure about Larry Brown and Pat Croce.

  • Raptors forward/center Antonio Davis: The move to Orlando seems so inevitable that some folks mistakenly assume he has already joined the Magic. Truth is, though, no one in this upper tier seems as certain to relocate as Davis -- not even Webber. The Magic are trying frantically to create the requisite cap space, which means a lucky team with cap space is about to land Bo Outlaw for nothing more than a second-round pick. You can hear the Raptors' panic from here.

  • Knicks guard Allan Houston: It's not quite a Finleyesque formality, but it's close. No one expects Houston to be sporting anything other than Knicks colors for the max unless team and player work together on a sign-and-trade.

    Anderson
    Anderson

    Next Five

  • Spurs guard Derek Anderson: The X-factor believes his name should be scribbled with those in the tier above. Unfortunately, Anderson averaged only 11 points on 32 percent shooting in the playoffs -- and we mean before he was decked by Juwan Howard. San Antonio faces quite the quandary now. Anderson joined them last summer for a paltry $2.25 million, and now expects no less than $7 million next season. Trouble is, if Anderson and David Robinson consume all of their cap space, the Spurs won't be able to recruit the needed replacements for Avery Johnson and Sean Elliott. It's going to be awfully tough to stand up to the Lakers if they bring back the same team, which has the Spurs praying Anderson and Robinson will be reasonable in their demands.

  • Sixers guard Aaron McKie: Should the Spurs make the determination that Anderson isn't worth the cash he seeks, expect them to look here. With his defensive prowess and toughness -- Finals excepted -- McKie would make a fine Spur. Lots of teams would like him, actually, but Philadelphia remains foremost on that list and will fight to keep him.

    Mason
    Mason

  • Heat forward Anthony Mason: Pat Riley has made it clear that the free-spending days are over in Miami, so score another one for the luxury tax. As a result, every big name Heater apart from Alonzo Mourning has been mentioned as a candidate for exile. Common sense says Riles would rather part with Mason before he moved Brian Grant or Eddie Jones. Question is, how much Mase interest will there be beyond the $4.5 exception level? It probably takes a sign-and-trade to get Mase the money he expects.

  • Rockets forward Maurice Taylor: Could just be a Webber smoke screen, but the recent buzz in Houston has the Rockets more excited about retaining Taylor and lining him up alongside Eddie Griffin than splashing out for the summer's marquee man. Taylor, for his part, is equally intent on re-signing, talking confidently about how much more he has to offer. We'll see. Figure for now that Taylor stays, with judgment reserved on the Griffin partnership.

    Williams
    Williams

  • Raptors forward Jerome Williams: Imagine if Toronto lost its Junk Yard Dog in addition to Davis. Fact is, it isn't that hard to imagine. Williams is going to draw lots of feelers from teams that will see him as a cost-efficient option to the higher-priced rebounding specialists. Vince Carter could be getting awfully lonely in a hurry.

    Generation Next

  • Raptors guard Alvin Williams: If we're talking about keeping Carter, from a Toronto perspective, this might be the most important Williams. It's probably unfair to the Raptors that everyone assumes Antonio, Jerome and Alvin are all gone, but you'd struggle to find anyone suggesting that they'll keep all three. Alvin, like the other two guys, is going to attract serious attention after a fine playoffs.

  • Hornets guard Eddie Robinson: Here's another athletic prospect on the rise (Miami's Bruce Bowen is another) who certainly boosted his stock in recent months. Charlotte's penny-pinching reputation isn't the real roadblock here, since it can only offer the $4.5 million exception because of cap constraints. It's the tough competition that has the Hornets worried; Robinson got calls from six teams Sunday when free-agency season opened and could be one of the summer's most chased commodities.

    Mohammed
    Mohammed

  • Hawks center Nazr Mohammed: Everyone needs a center, and Mohammed played one in Atlanta after getting traded and getting his chance. Nazr, post-Sixers, averaged 13 points and nine rebounds. He's going to get some calls.

  • Warriors center Marc Jackson: Like Mohammed, Jackson is bound to make the phone purr despite ringing up his success over a short span. Golden State doesn't think it'll lose Jackson as long as no one offers more than the $4.5 exception. If someone puts a richer chunk of cap space on the table -- the same circumstances Dallas faces with Calvin Booth -- the Warriors will have no recourse to keep Jackson from bolting.

  • Lakers guard Tyronn Lue: Yes, it does seem like every last Jerry West draft pick pans out. Lue is yet another who, after two seasons of near-silence, became a factor in the Finals. A tiny one, true, but still a factor. Lue was dubbed by one L.A. wag as "The Answering Machine" for his efforts opposite Allen Iverson. He might have done just enough to earn some free-agent money elsewhere, since the Lakers are fast-approaching the luxury-tax threshold and will be reluctant to spend on a situational player.

    Generation Ex

  • Spurs center David Robinson: The Admiral heads an array of big names from a previous life. Were this 1996, or maybe even 1998, there would be an absolute frenzy surrounding such a dreamy array of Olympians. Not now, though. San Antonio, for example, is simply hoping Robinson re-ups for two more seasons and less than half of last season's $15 mil. Gregg Popovich flew straight to Hawaii once free-agency season started to sell the plan to Robinson immediately.

    Stockton
    Stockton

  • Jazz guard John Stockton: Raul Lopez is a long, long way away, given that Utah's first-rounder remains under contract to Spanish power Real Madrid through 2007. Stock won't last that long, but he'll come back for at least another year or two.

  • Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon: Again, if this is really the new plan, Dream might be right there with Mo Taylor atop the list of Houston targets -- ahead of Webber. It would certainly be nice, in the spirit of this Cal Ripken-Tony Gwynn summer, for Olajuwon to go out a Rocket. Especially since Seattle's Patrick Ewing, another free agent who hit the market a little late, is headed for his third team.

    Hardaway
    Hardaway

  • Heat guard Tim Hardaway: In the potential Riley clearout, Hardaway is a prime contender, since Timmy won't want to stomach the pay cut Riles has in mind. The good news? The Mavericks want to reunite Hardaway with Don Nelson, preferably in a big sign-and-trade swap featuring Howard Eisley. Since Miami would be reluctant to take on Eisley's huge contract, a straight signing is more likely -- although Chicago, Hardaway's hometown team, thinks it can convince him to sign on and tutor all the high school kiddies. There will be other suitors as well, surely.

  • Wizards guard Mitch Richmond: Courtesy of his buyout from Washington, Richmond joined the other Run TMCers -- yeah, Golden State's Chris Mullin is available, too -- in the free-agent queue. He wants to go to the Lakers or Heat, but might find that both teams want to give him only part of the $4.5 million exception. As mentioned way up above, there could be a lot of that going around. Speculation is already spreading that Portland, New York and Dallas will be the only teams willing to use the whole $4.5 mil. on one player ... although Minnesota probably has to consider it if Kevin Garnett is ever going to get some more help.

    Fallen ... and they can't get up

  • Lakers guard Isaiah Rider: Reduced to volunteering for LA's summer-league team and begging Phil Jackson to give him one more chance. Much as he revels in these no-hope cases, Phil probably will provide it.

  • Sonics guard Ruben Patterson: Should have been one of the off-season's most intriguing free agents. The intrigue now surrounds how many teams will be willing to add him after Patterson was sentenced May 15 to a year in jail, with all but 15 days suspended, under a modified guilty plea to an attempted rape charge.

  • Cavaliers forward Chris Gatling: The Blazers' Rod Strickland was another option here, but we couldn't overlook poor Gatling. Yup, you guessed it: He's on the move again. Cleveland isn't expected to bring Gat back, which would force him onto team No. 7 in the past two seasons. Told you hockey can't hog all the player movement.

    Marc Stein, who covers the NBA for The Dallas Morning News, is a regular contributor with ESPN.com.





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