Veteran Talent: Age 32+

Jason Kidd (36) PG: One of the best of all-time, his Dallas team just couldn’t get it done in a hyper-competitive West.  He’s looking for a contender.  While he might be slowing down a bit, Kidd is still a top flight guard with size. You wonder if the Lakers and Trailblazers won’t be on his meeting list.

Andre Miller (33) PG: Eternally under-rated, Miller has been known to will teams to victory.  His weakness is his 3-point shooting.  He also is in a strong position with the 76ers, who don’t have an heir apparent, should he get offers elsewhere.

Allen Iverson (34) SG: Iverson was a disaster with Detriot.  There’s some question as to how much of his decline was age and how much was his being a horrible fit for Detroit’s system.  At 34, there’s also some question as to how much money a team will want to throw at him as a starter.  On the other hand, if his ego can handle being the bench scorer, he might have contending teams lining up.  Iverson is likely what Boston had in mind when they signed Marbury.

Rasheed Wallace (34 — 35 when the season starts) PF/C: Rasheed is slowing down, but can still rebound a bit and score in the low double digits.  The question is what he wants to be paid and what role he’s willing to accept.  With the right mindset, he could be a great veteran signing for a contender.

Antonio McDyess (34 — 35 when the season starts) PF/C: McDyess, much like Wallace, is the valuable, but aging front court veteran many play-off teams covet.  The difference is, McDyess seems to be a bit more comfortable being a role player.  Of course, with McDyess, there’s a very big question whether he’d want to play anywhere else at this stage of his career.

Rasho  Nesterovic (33) C: Might be looking to return to Europe.  Still, Nestrovic is a competent, if unspectacular, big man with championship experience from his Spurs days.

Grant Hill (36 – - 37 when the season starts) SF: Perhaps the ultimate veteran role model, Hill is coming off the first 82 game season of his career, shot well and put up solid, if unspectacular numbers.  If he wants to play another year, he’ll have an offer, though his age is getting pretty high for a wing player.  Still, you want to show young players how to act, there aren’t many better to have in the locker room.

Joe Smith (33 — 34 when the season starts) PF: A popular play-off push veteran, Smith is looking to be slowing down, but the veteran pedigree will have teams looking if he’s still wanting to play.

Desmond Mason (31 — 32 when the season starts) SF: Never a good outside shooter, Mason’s more of a slasher and defender.  Probably on the downswing, and coming off knee surgery as he’s turning 32 is a probable red flag.

Wally Szczerbiak (32) SG/SF: Wally was weak in the play-offs, and he’s definitely slowing down, but he also shot .411 from beyond the arc in the regular season.  He shot .167 from beyond the arc in the play-offs, but somebody will look at the regular season and give him a specialist position near the end of the bench.

Stephon Marbury (32) PG: One of three things happened with Marbury when he signed with the Celtics: Maybe he just never got back in shape.  Maybe there was too much rust to shake off.  Maybe he just couldn’t sync with their system.  For the most part, Marbury looked awful.  Amazingly, he seemed hesitant to shoot at times.  Does Marbury still want to play in the NBA?  Does he want to play in Italy, as he’s mused in the past?  Can he get back in the right shape and mindset?  Remember, for all his strange behavior, Marbury is #20 in career assists and #87 in career points scored (NBA/ABA combined.  If he wants to play, somebody will give him a look.  He has the talent to start again, but there are a lot of questions as to whether he can put it back together again. Still, hope is alive for Starbury playing for Scott Skiles and giving birth to a plethora of memorable press conferences.

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