Scouring the Buyout Market

With the team's recent decision to sign Dahntay Jones for the remainder of this season, the Clippers officially have two vacant roster spots. According to ESPN, Doc Rivers, the man tasked with essentially single-handedly running the entire Clippers basketball operation, has already said that he plans to be active on the buyout market. A simple connecting of the dots leads us to believe Doc would love to nab a pair of players that wind up being bought-out by their current clubs. Those two roster spots were freed up when the Clips parted ways with Chris Douglas-Roberts and Jordan Farmar last month.

So, who may be out there for the Clippers?

Amar'e Stoudemire, New York Knicks

Mere seconds after Sunday evening's All Star Game concluded, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News tweeted that the Knicks and Stoudemire had agreed upon a buyout. On Monday, Phil Jackson officially announced that Stoudemire had indeed been waived. Unless there's an insane team out there willing to claim Amar'e off waivers and pay the rest of his boffo $23.4M salary, he'll clear waivers on Wednesday and become an unrestricted free agent.

ESPN New York's Ian Begley says that the Clippers, Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, Stoudemire's former team, have interest in the big man. Unfortunately, Begley (and several others) claim that Stoudemire is leaning toward joining the Mavericks.

Stoudemire's time with the Knicks was largely marred by injuries, and, though he's still only 32, his best days are tiny specks in the rearview mirror at this point. That said, he's still been fairly productive for the Knicks this season whenever he's been able to hit the floor. In 36 games so far this season, he's averaging an excellent 18 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes. Sadly, it seems as though he can't realistically play 36 minutes a game anymore.

Still, he's averaging a respectable 24 minutes per game, and is averaging 12 points and nearly seven rebounds in that time. That's a lot of production despite limited minutes, and he'd absolutely be an upgrade over what the Clips' reserve bigs have offered up this year.

Signing with Dallas would likely give Stoudemire more of an opportunity to play than he would get with the Clippers. Once Blake Griffin returns, he's surely going to be playing his usual 35+ minutes, leaving very little for those behind him on the depth chart. The Mavs are intent on keeping Dirk Nowitzki fresh, which means keeping his minutes at a minimum. 20+ minutes off-the-bench there is a very realistic notion, health permitting.

UPDATE: Multiple outlets are reporting that Stoudemire has committed to sign with the Mavs.

Larry Sanders, Milwaukee Bucks

Sanders carries the most risk of anyone likely to be involved in a buyout, but he also offers the highest potential reward. He's a 26-year-old center that the Bucks inked to a lucrative contract extension in 2013, but things have fallen off the rails since then. He was recently suspended for 10 games by the league for violating the NBA's anti-drug program, on top of being away from the team for "personal reasons" for a spell before that.

However, he reportedly wants to resume his NBA career and has dedicated himself to getting his personal life in order. If he's healthy and motivated, he's one of the league's most fearsome defensive forces protecting the basket. We certainly know by now that the Clippers could sure use a rim protector outside of DeAndre Jordan.

ESPN's Marc Stein reported Monday that Sanders and the Bucks have initiated discussions on a buyout, which would make him a free agent. There's no word yet on whether or not L.A. would have interest in him, but he would make sense as a cheap flier, to be sure.

Kevin Garnett, Brooklyn Nets

KG has been asked about whether or not he'd like a buyout from the Nets in order to join a true championship contender, but the veteran responded that he's "all-in" with Brooklyn. Whether he actually means that or he's just saying it to be a good soldier is debatable, but there's apparently a growing sense around the league that he'd be willing to leave if the Nets broached the subject.

If Garnett were to become free, there's an obvious link with the Clippers, as KG and Doc Rivers won a championship together with the Celtics in 2008. Given L.A.'s glaring hole at Garnett's position, the fit would be natural. He's not capable of playing big minutes anymore, which goes hand-in-hand with the Clippers' usage of Griffin.

But when he does play, he can still be a difference-maker, particularly on defense and on the glass. We also know that the Clips are one of the worst rebounding groups in the league, and Glen Davis isn't doing a whole lot to help matters. In just 20 minutes a game this year, Garnett's averaging 6.8 points and 6.8 boards to go along with one steal per game. He's still capable enough to where the Clippers could likely survive the minutes without Blake Griffin on the floor.

Tayshaun Prince, Boston Celtics

In his post Tuesday afternoon, Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski includes a brief note about the Clippers' interest in Celtics winger Tayshaun Prince. Woj says the Clippers are "hopeful" that Prince is eventually bought-out by the rebuilding Celtics, obviously clearing the way for the veteran to return to Los Angeles, where he grew up.

Prince, of course, won a title in 2004 with the Pistons, where he played from 2002-2013. He was dealt from the Grizzlies to Boston earlier this year in the deal that sent Jeff Green to Memphis. In nine games thus far with Boston, he's averaged about eight points and three rebounds.

LAC has very little depth on the wing, especially after having dealt Reggie Bullock to the Suns last month. Behind Matt Barnes, there's...nobody. Prince, 34, has slowed considerably in the last couple of years, but perhaps the Clippers see him as a decent option to play a handful of minutes off-the-bench and provide some length on defense.
              

As more news breaks regarding potential buyout candidates, we'll continue to update...