JaVale McGee is on the free agent market after his release from the Philadelphia 76ers and now he is allowed to sign with teams and appear in the playoffs and the Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, LA Clippers, Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls all could be interested in signing him as the postseason gets closer.
According to ESPN.com, the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks have emerged as the top targets for McGee, while Pro Basketball Talk reports "at least four teams" have called about the forward. McGee will officially become a free agent once he clears waivers and Marc Stein tweeted that he may "take his time" deciding which team to sign with. McGee was traded to the Sixers from the Nuggets and the two sides started working on a buyout.
The Sixers had a deadline of Sunday night to release McGee and him still be eligible to appear in the playoffs and that is why the deal went down quickly. The 27-year-old will hit the market and will not lose any salary, including the $3 million on his deal from this season. McGee has $12 million coming to him next season and he will be owed that after getting waived. ESPN.com reports that the Warriors are interested in McGee for their playoff run, while the Heat, Mavericks and Bulls have emerged as landing spots. The playoffs are still a couple months away, but with injuries piling up for some teams around the league, McGee could be a hot target.
The Mavericks were the first team to have reported interest and it comes after they already signed Amar'e Stoudemire after he was waived by the Knicks. Marc Stein reports that the Mavs could be an option, while the Miami Heat are also keeping tabs on the situation. Miami has had issues with their front court depth and they rank in the bottom part of the league in rebounds per game. Chris Sheridan reported at the trading deadline that the Raptors were interested in a big man and after striking out, they could look at signing McGee.
The Rockets, Bulls, Clippers and Thunder have all dealt with injuries as of late and they could look at McGee as an option to help out. The Bulls have had Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose banged up, while the Rockets have played for over a month without Dwight Howard. The Clippers have lost Blake Griffin for a significant chunk of time and they could look at adding McGee to help stay in playoff position.
Miami added Goran Dragic at the trade deadline and they feel they can make some noise in the playoffs as one of the lower seeds. Miami has lost Chris Bosh for the season with blood clots and that could lead the team to bring in McGee, as they want to convince Dragic to stay as a free agent. Making the playoffs this year and at least playing out a first round series could help convince him to remain. The Warriors feel they have a good chance to win the title, while the Mavs could be going all in after trading Rajon Rondo.
