NBA Rumors: Former Stars in Need of Big Preseason to Secure Roster Spot

With NBA training camps on the horizon, this is crunch time for fringe players that are hoping to grab a coveted roster spot for the 2012-13 season.

While most of these players are young up-and-comers without any established track record, others are former stars. Injuries or pure ineffectiveness have stopped their growth as players, and now all that is left to do is pray for a paycheck.

Who are these stars and what are their chances of making a roster? Here's a look at a few big-name guys that will need a strong preseason to make an NBA roster. 

Tracy McGrady (FA)

For Tracy McGrady, the time is running out.

Still without an NBA contract for the 2012-13 season, the 33-year-old forward is in the midst of a workout spree, which most recently included the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs (via Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski).

There has even been some talk of him going overseas.

Via Yahoo! Sports:

"

Time is running out for the 33-year-old McGrady to secure a guaranteed contract for the season. Sources say he will likely have to choose between accepting a "make-good" training-camp invite or going overseas – perhaps to China.

"

For the former All-Star, his road to NBA irrelevance has been one riddled with injury and postseason disappointment. Once the league's best natural scorer of his era (and, yes, that includes Kobe Bryant), McGrady has missed an astounding 173 games over the past eight seasons—an average of nearly 22 games per season.

Included in that time have been stops in Houston, New York, Detroit and Atlanta—the latter three of which have come in the last three seasons. 

McGrady will almost surely be playing for another franchise next season, if he actually receives a contract offer. His stat line with the Hawks (5.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 43.7 FG%, 13.69 PER) included a myriad of career lows. With Atlanta seemingly in a retooling phase, there is no reason outside of name value to bring McGrady back. 

Considering his long-standing history as a face of the NBA, McGrady will not be satisfied towel-waving at the end of the bench. He'll expect minutes worthy of a seventh or eighth man.

It's just wholly unclear whether the former All-Star is still deserving of such a distinction. 

Josh Howard (FA)

Similar to McGrady, Howard is a former All-Star hitting the desperation circuit trying to find any team that will give him a chance.

A career submarined by knee problems and some character issues, Howard has spent the past two-and-a-half years in relative obscurity with the Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz.

Over that span, the 32-year-old has missed 115 of a possible 180 games and been abjectly ineffective even when he has been on the court. Each of the last two seasons has seen Howard shoot below 40 percent (his only two instances below that percentage) and have player efficiency ratings that rank in the lowest quartile of NBA players. 

Nonetheless, Howard's injuries and limited effectiveness have not stopped teams from inquiring about his services. He has been linked to the Charlotte Bobcats (via Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer) and will visit with the San Antonio Spurs on Monday (via Yahoo! Sports' Marc J. Spears). 

If Howard is able to hook on with one of those teams, he will likely receive a one-year, non-guaranteed contract. For him to earn a guarantee and a roster spot come October, his new team will need to see a marked improvement in health and play.

Andray Blatche (Brooklyn Nets)

Seemingly blackballed by NBA teams throughout the offseason after a bitter end in Washington, Blatche finally latched on (sorry) with the Nets last Wednesday.

The deal is expected to be for one year and the veteran's minimum (about $1.2 million for someone with Blatche's experience).

Nonetheless, that contract does not come with a guarantee of playing time nor does it guarantee payment. The 26-year-old's agreement with Brooklyn is non-guaranteed (per ESPN New York's Jared Zwerling and Mike Mazzeo), meaning one off-the-court misstep or ineffectiveness on it could lead to a dismissal without pay.

For a player that has often been looked at as lazy and entitled, that non-guarantee could prove to be a much-needed kick in the backside. After landing a $35 million contract in September of 2010, Blatche came out with a career-best season in 2010-11, averaging 16.8 points and 8.3 rebounds a night.

Always enigmatic, yet with limitless potential, it seemed like Blatche was finally having his breakout as a player.

Last season proved otherwise. He showed up following the league's lockout out of shape and was effectively banished from the team after March due to poor conditioning (via the Washington Post). 

Amnestied in the offseason by the Wizards, this could already be Blatche's last opportunity in the NBA. What he makes of it will define whether he makes Brooklyn's roster this season.

As always, the talent will be there. It's just about time that the head checks in.

Josh Childress (Brooklyn Nets)

It's unclear what happened to Childress during his time in Greece, but it seems he left an NBA-level of effectiveness with him overseas.

A rising young star before taking his two-year NBA hiatus with Olympiacos, the 29-year-old swingman was a complete non-factor in his two years with the Phoenix Suns.

Last season Childress played in just 34 games, seemingly falling out of favor with the coaching staff and averaging a career-low of just 2.9 points per game.

Unlike many of his cohorts on this list, Childress has no character issues to speak of. By all accounts, he is a good-hearted, smart player whose former teammates obviously root for him.

Childress' biggest question coming into Nets camp will simply be about how much of the once-promising talent he has lost. Though his one-year deal with Brooklyn is non-guaranteed, he is widely considered the favorite to win a backup forward spot behind Gerald Wallace. 

Nonetheless, the Nets' roster is loaded with veteran talent. If Childress is horrendously ineffective during training camp, it could be a quick stop in Brooklyn. 

Rashard Lewis / Mike Miller/ James Jones (Miami Heat)

I usually don't make grandiose statements about what teams must do because, most of the time, those blanket statements are used as cheap ways to spark debate and generate buzz.

However, at least one of three men must be banished from the Heat's roster before the champs start their title defense in October. 

It's one thing to surround Dwyane Wade and LeBron James—two of the game's best slash-and-kick players—with guys who can knock down an open three-pointer. It's another to completely overload the roster with those type of players the way Miami has done this offseason.

Other than Lewis, Miller and Jones, the Heat also has offseason signee Ray Allen and incumbent forward Shane Battier. Including James and Wade, that gives Miami seven players whose natural position is on the wing.

And don't think any of these players will be satisfied rocking a business suit all season en route to a cheap ring opportunity.

The team touted the Lewis signing, even having an introductory press conference for the former All-Star. Miller has worked his you-know-what off all offseason to recover from a career-threatening back injury. And Jones is one of the organization's longest-tenured players whose resume deserves more respect than it gets.

There is too much talent for too few minutes here, and something will have to give. Expect the preseason to give us that answer.