Officially, that story will not surface which leads me to believe that a Brand deal with the Clippers, although imminent, is not in fact done or complete. That said, I think Miami will not be landing Elton Brand because with the prospect of playing with Baron Davis on the table, they could be a playoff team. Still, will they have enough to get by the Lakers? Will Maggette return to the Clippers or will they jettison his contract in favor of Davis?

If the latter, it seems like Maggette wouldn’t fit in here in Miami. With Shawn Marion, Dorrel Wright, Michael Beasley, Stephane Lasme and Kasib Powell all having the ability to play small forward there seems to be little incentive to acquire Maggette. And he would not sign here to backup Dwyane Wade – that makes no sense for the Heat. Most likely, Maggette will look for something with an already established, winning team like the Spurs, Celtics or even Lakers or he will look for more money elsewhere. That won’t be Miami.

Which brings us to another developing story – Ron Artest. He was quoted as saying his decision to not opt out was a big mistake on his part and that he doesn’t intend to be a King beyond this season. Smells like a trade demand to me – so why not Miami? This is the final year of his contract and Ron Ron is going to make $8.4M. Teams will probably be hesitant to offer him a deal that is beyond a few years because they don’t know where this guy is at mentally which means the market is going to be pretty well-defined and limited for his services. Still, the Heat have assets they could offer and Artest’s hard, physical style of play would work well in the East and would greatly benefit the Heat as they pursue a more open attack from the perimeter – which means Artest could thrive offensively and defensively.

Artest’s contract is manageable enough to trade for and stays within Riley’s parameters of keeping financial flexibility for 2010. A contract like Udonis Haslem, who is making $6.5M, could be a starting point. Mark Blount may be another target, financially, but the Kings would not find that to be a suitable option as Blount has one more year on his contract ($7.3M then $7.9M in 2009-10). The Heat could counter by asking to include Brad Miller, at $11M this year and $12M next year, along with Artest and deal Marion. This would give them a F and a C for Marion and buy the Heat some short term success in terms of personnel.

So, California may provide an option for the Heat to shore up their roster. It just might not come from LA or Oakland. It might come from a little further upstate in Sacramento.

It all started with Elton Brand. He opted out of the final year of his deal and became a free agent, yet word is in LA that he has reached a verbal agreement to re-sign with the Clippers. The details of that deal won’t be made official until July 9th when the NBA moratorium on free agent signings will end.

Indications are strong that Brand is returning because Baron Davis, who shocked the NBA world by opting out of his contract on Monday as well – leaving $17.8 million on the table in Golden State, has shocked everyone again by reaching a verbal agreement with the LA Clippers. The deal is expected to be for 5 years and worth about $65M.

If the Clippers do sign both Brand and Davis, this creates an interesting situation in LA they haven’t seen since, well, 2003. Then, the Clippers were faced with two restricted free agents, Brand and Lamar Odom. The Miami Heat extended an offer first towards Brand, but the Clippers matched which enabled the Heat to extend an offer to Odom and the Clippers could not match. In this situation, if the Clippers commit to both Brand and Davis, it could mean Corey Maggette is the odd man out. Corey Maggette is a free agent and is seeking a new deal which may not materialize in LA. He could be used in a sign-and-trade deal, however.

Regardless, this could prove to be a fertile trade situation for the Miami Heat, who are looking to add a power forward, add depth at center or possibly find another option for a starting point guard. It seems like the possibility of trading for Elton Brand has vanished, since it seems likely the Baron Davis agreement is tide to the fact that Brand is coming back. Yet, this is not an official announcement yet and the Davis signing could be used as leverage by the Clippers to try and re-sign Brand to a more inexpensive deal. With only 5 players currently under contract, and both Chris Kaman and Cuttino Mobley pulling in over $9M a piece, the Clippers are going to be hard-pressed to sign all three free agents, let alone Davis and Brand.

If LA is making a play for Davis and has reached an agreement, it seems that Maggette is the most likely to be sent packing. Miami has inquired about Corey Maggette in the past, and has done so this offseason as well. Could Miami be making a play for Maggette? The only problem is, where would they put him? Who would they trade? Trading for Maggette would only make sense for Miami if they move Shawn Marion or possibly dealing Ricky Davis and another Heat player.

Another key figure that could be factored in any possible deal is Shaun Livingston, who the Clippers have not extended a qualifying offer to making him a free agent. Indications are the Clippers still want to find a way to get him signed to a deal, but to what end is unsure.

For Brand, the courtship began in the offseason off 2003 as the Heat made an offer to the then-restricted free agent. The Clippers matched but ultimately were not able to retain Lamar Odom, whom the Heat had also offered a contract to.

For Baron Davis, it may not be about the money. Then again, it probably is. He left $17.8 million on the table and opted out of his final contract year with the Warriors. The Warriors can still re-sign him, or work out a sign-and-trade deal in order to get something in return for their asset.

Where are the Heat involved in all of this? Nothing is for sure, but the Heat’s big ticket possibility, Shawn Marion, opted to stay in Miami and keep the $17.8M on the table. A Marion trade to either the Clippers or the Warriors could be a match. It would also turn heads and immediately change the fortunes of the Heat who are looking to launch the season with a healthy Dwyane Wade and the #2 overall pick, Michael Beasley.

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