Memphis is the only team in the league which has the salary cap to be able to afford McDyess, especially in the 48-hour waiver window. This would require the Grizzlies to take into account the original contract terms of McDyess, and consequentially make his Denver move pointless. The NBA front-office has confirmed that the Grizzlies, though after much consideration, will not be putting in a waiver claim.
If unclaimed for 48 hours, McDyess can sign with any team, other than Detroit, from Wednesday. But to return to Pistons, a wait of 30 days will be required for McDyess, as that is when all conditions to the trade will be satisfied by the Pistons and the Nuggets. But Detroit seems to be the most likely candidate to acquire McDyess, provided the Grizzlies stay away.
The two major dates for the veteran would be December 7th, which is the first day that Detroit can re-sign McDyess, provided he clears waivers, drawing parallels to last season when the San Antonio Spurs re-signed Brent Barry a month after he was traded to Seattle for Kurt Thomas. The second date is December 6th, as that becomes the first day that Detroit can safely re-sign McDyess.
McDyess picking anyone but the Pistons would be a shock, provided he gets to choose his next team. This is in line with his well-known aversion to relocating at his age, 34. A source also revealed, “Dice only wants to play in Detroit.”
But the decision to rejoin the Pistons might mean that McDyess walks out on a lot of money. With a $1.9 million annual salary-cap exception, the Pistons can only begin from there on, whereas Cleveland can offer $5.1 million, San Antonio $2.1 million and Boston can put $2.4 million on the table. But it is commonly believed that McDyess will be basing his choice on the fact that he wants to return to Detroit more than earn good money. On a plus side, the Pistons can offer McDyess a one year-contract during offseason, which will enable him to recoup some of his losses. This move will not affect the Pistons’ plans for the 2010 free-agent market.
The Nuggets on the other hand, recently waived veteran Juwan Howard to make enough roster-room for Samb, and though they had hoped for a third stint by McDyess, they are now looking to re-sign forward Howard, for additional front-court depth.
Another possibility is that the Grizzlies decide to make a move and acquire McDyess, who though unwilling to mentor their young team, would still give them plenty of options for a trade, with many teams waiting eagerly to avoid McDyess’ return to Detroit.
Michael Curry, Pistons’ coach, revealed to The Detroit News, before Sunday’s loss to Boston, “I said on the day of the trade that losing [him] would create a big void for us. The last two games, you can tell that Dice wasn’t out there with that second unit. When we had to take Rasheed [Wallace] out of the game, we had a veteran player [in McDyess] who could spread the floor and allow Rodney Stuckey to get to the basket. Now with Max [Jason Maxiell] and Kwame [Brown], we don’t have that shooter who can do that.”
Kevin Garnett, of the Boston Celtics, spoke to The Boston Globe, stating that he was rooting for McDyess to return to the defending champs, instead of opting to be Celtics’ replacement for P.J. Brown. Garnett said, “Dice and I are very cool, obviously, we’re competitors. We don’t spend a lot of time [together]. But when I do see Dice, I make it my business to speak. I consider him family with Andy and all of us. [Miller’s clients are] tight-knit. We’re family, I do consider him family and I always worry about his well-being.”
On being asked about McDyess’ return to Detroit, Curry said: “I wish I was confident. It would make my life a lot easier. But I don’t know what is going to happen with the situation.”