Marcus Camby is officially a free agent. The former New York Knick turned Toronto Raptor mid-way through the season have been bought out and are free to sign elsewhere. With the big man officially on the market, Camby is being targeted by the Miami Heat who are looking for depth in size.
Camby was acquired in a trade that sent Andrea Bargnani to the Knicks. He was owed $7.5 million over the final two seasons of his current contract and the Raptors opted to buy it out. At 39-years-old, Camby only appeared in 24 games with the Knicks, averaging a mere 1.8 points this season.
According to ESPN, Camby is looking to sign with a contending team, shocker. The Miami Heat are heavily interested in Camby as they continue to look for a player with size and rebounding abilities. Camby is not ruling out accepting the veteran's minimum if he can sign with a team poised for the playoffs. The Miami Heat will not sign him for anything more than that. They still have their midlevel exception at their disposal, but would likely not give that to Camby.
The center is hoping to make his decision soon, but the Heat are also in pursuit of center Greg Oden and will hold out to see what that situation brings. Oden is being offered a larger contract by the New Orleans Pelicans, so if he opts to sign there, Camby is the best option and would offer more production right away.
This is not the first time the Heat have targeted Camby. The center was convinced to re-join the Knicks instead of meeting with Pat Riley about signing with Miami last summer, a decision he appears to regret.
"It's unfortunate that I wasn't given a meaningful opportunity to contribute last season in New York. I was really looking forward to the upcoming year as a chance to show the organization what they miss out on last year, and pushing out team toward the Finals...Given that my goal at this point in my career is to have a shot at a championship, however, I'll have to evaluate my options going forward," Camby said.
Oden is not expected to make his decision for weeks, waiting to see what every team offers him. If Miami is serious, Camby will have to be patient.