NBA Rumors: 7 Players Who Desperate Teams Are Turning to

Deron Williams is off the market. So are Steve Nash, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, Gerald Wallace, Jamal Crawford, Brandon Roy and Goran Dragic, among a long list of NBA ex-free agents.

A list that's likely to swell within the next few days, as the likes of Eric Gordon, Roy Hibbert, Nicolas Batum and Jeremy Lin come to terms with their restricted free agency.

Pure namedropping aside, the drying up of the free agent pool is quickly becoming cause for panic around The Association. Teams like the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets and the Phoenix Suns are still flush with cap space as their options for improvement continue to dwindle.

All of which means big paydays and showers of attention for mediocre youngsters, fading veterans and soon-to-be-card-carrying AARP members seeking something more than a seat on the bench...

...because desperate times like these call for desperate measures.

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Ramon Sessions

It's never a good day at the office when acquiring Ramon Sessions sounds like a good idea. Just ask the Los Angeles Lakers, who were thrilled to add his youth, speed and athleticism to the aging void at point guard last season, only to find out firsthand why he'd played for four NBA teams (and one D-League squad) in five years since turning pro.

As in: his inconsistent outside shot, his penchant for turnovers and his inability to keep even his own shadow from getting to the basket.

That hasn't stopped the Mavericks and the Rockets from calling, per Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com. The Mavs struck out on Plans A (Deron Williams), B (Steve Nash) and C (Jason Kidd), leaving them without a starting point guard and a presumably disgruntled superstar in Dirk Nowitzki. Sessions wouldn't likely make Dirk any happier; though at 26 years old, the kid's best basketball may yet be ahead of him.

As for the Rockets, their need at lead guard comes after trading Kyle Lowry to the Toronto Raptors and letting Goran Dragic walk back to the Phoenix Suns, with the New York Knicks expected to match their "poison pill" offer sheet to Jeremy Lin. Sessions, then, would seem to be yet another piece in Daryl Morey's plan to build a fringe playoff team if he can't lure a superstar to Houston via trade.

Raymond Felton

To be sure, the Mavs and Rockets could do worse than Ramon Sessions at the point. Speaking of which, the Rockets have already reached out to Raymond Felton, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

Luckily for them, the Knicks appear to have the inside track on signing Felton. According to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News, the Knicks are courting Felton in case they decide not to match Houston's offer sheet for Jeremy Lin. Felton played well in New York before he was shipped to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony trade and has hardly been heard from since.

The Suns had courted Felton before signing Goran Dragic (per Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic), leaving the former North Carolina Tar Heel to sit and wait as teams continue to sort through the rest of the stack.    

Aaron Brooks

Aaron Brooks might not have to wait so long, though. Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle reports that Brooks and the Rockets have eyes for each other, regardless of what happens with Jeremy Lin.

Brooks spent three-and-a-half seasons in Houston before he was traded to Phoenix for Goran Dragic and was last seen playing in China. The Suns have since renounced Brooks' Bird rights, thereby making him a target for the Rockets and (like everyone else) the Mavs.

Brooks has never been so much a pure point guard, per se, as an undersized scoring guard, though his quickness and craftiness will be welcome wherever he winds up.  

Elton Brand

Tired of hearing about the Dallas Mavericks?

Elton Brand surely won't be, especially if the Mavs manage to pick him up. The Philadelphia 76ers cut Brand under the league's one-time amnesty provision, thereby landing the two-time All-Star on a waiver wire to which Dallas will have access by virtue of being under the cap.

According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Mavs plan to bid on Brand's services once the Sixers' move becomes official on July 11th. The addition of Brand would hardly make up for whiffing on Deron Williams and Dallas doesn't exactly need a huge helping hand at power forward, not with Dirk Nowitzki firmly entrenched.

But...well, even a hobbled, 33-year-old Brand is better than nothing...right?

Derek Fisher

As long as we're on the topic of old, washed-up veterans, why not give a shout-out to Derek Fisher?

Like so many 30-somethings this summer, Fisher has been courted by a hefty handful of teams in search of his dwindling services. Howard Beck of The New York Times reports that the Brooklyn Nets, the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Oklahoma City Thunder and (of course) the Mavs are the leaders in the clubhouse, with the Knicks having fallen out after signing Jason Kidd.

Fish's no longer a viable starter in the NBA, though he's still capable of hitting big shots from time to time and providing a dose of veteran leadership in the clubhouse.

Kirk Hinrich

The parade of aging point guards continues with Kirk Hinrich, who looks likely to return to the Chicago Bulls, per Steve Kyler of Hoopsworld. The 31-year-old started his NBA career in the Windy City and would serve as a solid fill-in for the injured Derrick Rose.

Hinrich's numbers dipped across the board during his season-and-a-half with the Atlanta Hawks—albeit while serving in a reserve role over the course of the 2011-12 season—after ceding his spot to Jeff Teague.

The former Kansas Jayhawk may not be quite the player he was during his first stint in Chicago, though he's still capable of hitting outside shots, playing tough defense and manning either backcourt spot when necessary. He'd be a welcome addition to a Bulls squad seeking a temporary D-Rose replacement. 

That is, if the Mavs (predictably) don't get to him first.

Omer Asik

Much of the Bulls' offseason currently hinges on their decision regarding Omer Asik. The Rockets have already extended Asik a three-year, $24.2 million offer sheet, per KC Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.

That's a hefty helping of dough for a dude who averaged 3.1 points and 5.3 rebounds last season, though some of Chicago's players seem to think it's a price worth matching, largely for his defensive presence.

Whether Bulls brass agrees with that sentiment remains to be seen. It's possible, as Johnson notes, that the Bulls will look to work out a sign-and-trade with the Rockets for Courtney Lee, with whom Houston cut ties amidst their dogged pursuit of Jeremy Lin.

In any case, while it'd be reasonable to defend the Rockets' Asik deal—given the cash so often splashed at seven-footers who can walk and chew gum at the same time—it's just as easy to bash Daryl Morey's potential move as nothing more than a lateral step for a team that continues to tread water.

At least the Mavs haven't gotten involved...yet.