Uncontested Shots: The Latest On Iverson, Millsap, Odom & the Blazers

Lakers and Odom Still Far Apart

It’s amazing how fast things can change during free agency. Just a couple days ago the Orange County Register was reporting that the Lakers and Lamar Odom were close to an agreement that would pay Odom north of $8 million for next season.

Now it seems that the two sides are further apart then ever. So much so that the Dallas Mavericks are now expressing interest in Odom in the wake of the Orlando Magic electing to match the Mavs offer sheet to Marcin Gortat.

Odom and his agent Jeff Schwartz are unlikely to take less money from either the Mavs or the Miami Heat just to spite the Lakers but the situation in Portland with Paul Millsap is the main hold-up. The Blazers are the only team with significant cap space who is willing to spend it and they are waiting to see if the Jazz will match their offer sheet to Millsap.

The Jazz intend to match the front-loaded offer but would like to first find a taker for Carlos Boozer’s contract to better accommodate Millsap’s deal. What most writers and bloggers have failed to mention is that luxury tax payments are based on team salaries at the end of the season.

So the Jazz are in no rush to get a deal done immediately when they won’t have to move Boozer until the trade deadline if they are afraid of their luxury tax bill for next season.

What’s funny is how Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace probably could have had Carlos Boozer for Quentin Richardson’s expiring contract if he had just waited a week before taking Zach Randolph from the Clippers for Richardson.

Should the Jazz match the offer sheet to Millsap the question then becomes who do they target next? They could go after New York Knicks restricted free agent David Lee but they could be sick and tired restricted free agency and instead go after someone like Odom who would be theirs if they decided he was the guy they wanted.

If I’m Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak I get on the phone with Aaron Goodwin, the agent for free agent forward Matt Barnes. While Barnes is no Odom he would be a nice consolation prize if they could get him signed for the biannual exemption of $1.9 million.

The mere threat of the Lakers looking at other options might be enough to get Odom to accept their latest offer.

Other free agents the Lakers could target with their biannual exemption are Chris Wilcox, Drew Gooden, and Fabricio Oberto although both Wilcox and Gooden could probably sign for more elsewhere. Oberto was bought out by the Pistons so he won’t be as expensive.

Another idea the Lakers might want to explore is the thought of trading Adam Morrison’s expiring contract and maybe Sasha Vujacic for the Knicks Jared Jeffries and a signed-and-traded Nate Robinson.

Robinson is currently a restricted free agent who hasn’t received a lot of attention from teams and has reportedly been contacted by teams in Europe. Morrison has one more year left on his deal and Vujacic and Jeffries both have two years left on their respective deals.

Since Jeffries is due to make $1.4 million more than Vujacic in 2010-11 the Knicks would create an additional $1.4 million in cap space for next summer. Ideally the Knicks would prefer to move Jeffries for an expiring contract but that’s a pipe dream unless Jeffries can increase his value during the regular season.

In paying Jeffries and Robinson, the Lakers would still be spending less money than they would for Odom, Morrison, and Vujacic. Jeffries deal would also expire the same summer that the Lakers would have to re-sign Pau Gasol.

Update: 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit is reporting that a Richard Hamilton for Carlos Boozer trade is in the works

Speaking of the Blazers

Jason Quick wrote a great piece last week on his blog in The Oregonian that I forgot to post about what a horrible summer this has been so far for the Blazers.

The Blazers were considered the best destination for free agents since they had the combination of an up-and-coming team with cap space as opposed to a rebuilding team with cap space.

With escalating salaries and a salary cap due to decrease even more next summer this will be the last summer the Blazers will have significant space and it would be a tragedy if they failed to use it.

Not only did the Blazers strike out on Hedo Turkoglu but rookie draft pick Patrick Mills broke his foot in a summer league game last Thursday. Now they are dealing with the issues surrounding contract extensions for Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Roy wants maximum years and maximum dollars but the Blazers are reluctant to offer him what he desires because they know that the max will go down next season and they can sign Roy for less. That’s the same exact reason why Roy wants to sign an extension now.

Whether or not they manage to snag Millsap away from Utah, the mere fact that they wanted him can’t make Aldridge happy when he feels he’s the power forward of the future.

Wolves Interested in Rambis

I think it’s hilarious that the Wolves are considering replacing Kevin McHale with Kurt Rambis. The only thing funnier would have been the Rockets or Lakers replacing Rudy Tomjanovich with Kermit Washington.

If Rambis does take the job it will be because Phil Jackson plans to stay beyond just the last season on his current contract or because the Lakers have told Rambis that either Byron Scott or Brian Shaw is more likely to succeed Jackson.

If Rambis knew he would be strongly considered next-in-line there would be no reason for him to even inquire about coaching vacancies.

Iverson to the Clippers?

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the Clippers are in ‘serious discussions’ with Allen Iverson’s agent about signing Iverson to a one-year, mid-level deal.

Iverson would prefer to start so the Clippers would like assurances that he won’t have a problem backing up last season’s draft pick Eric Gordon.

I can’t see any type of happy ending with a Clippers-Iverson marriage. It would be a big win for the Clips because it would generate more interest in Los Angeles’ red-headed step-child and guarantee at least five more national television appearances with Iverson and top-pick Blake Griffin.

I know that Griffin dazzled in his Summer League debut but I could care less. While I have high hopes and expectations for Griffin I put absolutely zero credence in the Summer League. Jerryd Bayless was the MVP of last year’s Vegas Summer League. He averaged close to 30 points per game then followed it up by averaging three during the regular season. Marco Belinelli scored 60 points in his first two games in Vegas two years ago and now he’s irrelevant.

Childress Not Exchanging His Drachmas Just Yet

Josh Childress will not be opting out of his deal with Olympiakos to return to the NBA. The good news for Childress is that he’ll make more money than any NBA team was willing to offer him. The bad news is that he’s still going to be a restricted free agent should he decide to return to the NBA next year.

Childress suffered an abdominal tear last season that kept him out of the Euroleague Top 16. Another year with more suitors in free agency next summer will probably help him to sign an offer sheet the Hawks won’t match.

The Biggest Loser – Vegas Edition

Sean May is in Las Vegas working out for NBA teams and trying to get a contract for next season. Part of me thinks that Mays’s agent is only scheduling the workouts because it’s the only way he can get his client to work out.

Eddy Curry is also in Vegas and reportedly looks like he’s in much better shape. Nothing says “time to get in shape” like upcoming free agency. Curry is still two seasons away from free agency but he’d be smarter getting in shape for this season.

No word yet on how Oliver Miller and Stanley Roberts have looked in Vegas. Most likely it’s because they’re still dining on $2 lobster at the Imperial Palace’s all-you-can-eat buffet.

Uncontested Shots will run every Tuesday and Friday from now until at least the start of the season. For up to the minute updates on all free agent happenings follow Andrew Ungvari on Twitter.