MEGAN BROWN

“Drivers, start your engines!”  NBA training camps and free agency starts starts tomorrow, and there is going to be a crazy race to sign players.

Teams have been given the green light to speak with players’ agents but no deals can be finalized until the collective bargaining agreement is officially ratified. There is a real sense of urgency to get deals done faster than usual because there will be a limited training camp period followed by a couple of pre-season games before jumping into the regular season which begins on Christmas Day.

There are a few free agents that have the potential to help a good team become a great team and a great team step up to a championship contender. Last season’s MVP Derrick Rose is probably booking rooms at the best Chicago hotels right now trying to recruit players to help him get past the Miami Heat.

Here’s a few of the biggest names with game available at the right price:

Tyson Chandler

Dallas Mavericks. Chandler’s play last season in helping the Mavs win the NBA championship helped raise his stock. His defensive presence and rebounding ability would help a number of teams around the league (Knicks and Heat). I really didn’t see him leaving the Mavs after receiving a lot of praise from his teammates but the NBA is a business and stranger things have happened. He has even said he expects to leave now after not receiving the extension he expected.

Marc Gasol

Memphis Grizzlies. Last season Memphis made a surprising playoff push after star Rudy Gay was injured. Their run was fueled by the dominating inside force provided by Zach Randolph and Gasol. Gasol will definitely be sought after if he hits the market. He was noncommittal when asked about his future plans last season. It will be interesting to see what he decides to do.

Nene

Denver Nuggets. Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler are three starters for the Nuggets that chose to play in China during the lockout and won’t be eligible to return to the NBA until that season is over in March. Nene lost a lot of scoring, rebounding and defensive help when they left. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him leave Denver and if he does there will be a number of teams ready to pounce. A 7-footer with his offensive skills and rebounding ability is a rare commodity.

Jamal Crawford

Atlanta Hawks. Crawford provides instant offense off the bench and LeBron James has already tried to recruit him to the Heat via Twitter. He has said he would be open to playing for a number of different teams and he just wants to win. It will be interesting to see where he ends up.

Dwight Howard and Chris Paul won’t be free agents until the season ends but teams are already plotting ways to get them early. A number of different teams have been not so quietly working hard to package players and draft picks together to trade for both of these franchise players. I see Chris Paul landing in New York with the Knicks at the end of the year and Howard leaving Orlando but there are too many teams looking at him to tell where he will end up.

The countdown to December 9^th is on and the title hopes of a few teams will change in the days following. What will your favorite team do?

Photo: AP

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