Damon Stoudamire recently reached an agreement on a buy-out with the Memphis Grizzlies that will make him a free agent once, as expected, he clears waivers on Wednesday.
The teams that have reportedly expressed interest in signing the one-time Rookie of the Year are the Celtics, Raptors, Nuggets, Spurs and Suns.
The Raptors could use some insurance at the point guard position because they are still without the injured T.J. Ford.
The Nuggets have been starting Anthony Carter in place of their own injured point guard, Chucky Atkins. The addition of Stoudamire would definitely strengthen the Nuggets hopes of winning the Northwest Division, but if Stoudamire is hoping to sign with a team that would give him a chance to win a championship, the Nuggets might rank near the bottom of that list.
The Spurs would definitely meet the criteria for trying to win a ring but it seems more like the Spurs are only interested in Mighty Mouse to keep him away from the Suns and Celtics.
Tony Parker gets the bulk of the minutes at the point guard position in San Antonio and back-up Jacque Vaughn, although not a superstar, provides stability and playoff experience, as well as statistics that compare favorably to Stoudamire.
The Suns could definitely use a reliable back-up to Steve Nash, and Stoudamire is remembered fondly in the desert for his contributions to the University of Arizona basketball program.
The problem with the Suns is that Stoudamire and Nash are too small to share the same back-court and Nash already plays about 34 minutes a game. So if Stoudamire is looking for a team where he can play important crunch-time minutes, it's not going to happen in Phoenix.
That leaves the Celtics as his most intriguing possibility. For a team like the Celts that are hoping to win a championship this season, Stoudamire brings the two intangibles that Rondo sorely lacks--playoff experience and 3-point shooting. Rondo is also shooting 58% from the charity stripe this season while Stoudamire is an 83% career foul shooter.
Who would you rather have playing in the last two minutes of a close game?
There are two glaring risks that the Celtics would be making by bringing in Stoudamire-- surprisingly, neither of them involve airport security.
First, what would Rondo think? From the time the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett up until now the Celtics have touted their affinity for Rondo and their faith in him to man the point on a championship-caliber team.
With the exception of the occasional hiccup, Rondo has done very well. He's not going to score 20 points for them too often, but he doesn't have to on this team. His only job is to not turn the ball over, penetrate and kick, play team defense, and hit the occasional outside shot. All of which he's done with relative success.
His outside shot is definitely lacking but he's shooting 48% on the season. For a point guard, that's pretty good. In fact, he's tied with Devin Harris for seventh amongst point guards in that category.
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