Drew Gooden

[T]he amnesty clause (that we're having to pretend will exist here, but which almost certainly will exist in some form) will further expand the range of available talents. A lot of decent players are going to become available, not because they can't play the game, but because they can't justify their contract. A lot of the candidates are obvious and inevitable, some perhaps less so. Here's a potential list:

- Milwaukee: John Salmons, Corey Maggette and Drew Gooden - Pretty much every dollar Milwaukee gave out last summer is one they would like back. Salmons put up his worst season since his Philadelphia days, while Maggette proved to yet another team who hoped to convert his numbers into production that it wasn't possible. Meanwhile, Drew Gooden barely played, and shot every time down when he did, hitting only 43% of said chucks.

Two years after last having cap space - and buggering it up - the Clippers are back in the mix. Their upcoming free agents are to be Steve Blake, Rasual Butler, Travis Outlaw, Mardy Collins, Drew Gooden, Craig Smith, Steve Novak, Bobby Brown and Brian Skinner - some nice role players in there, but no one worth jeopardising possible cap room for. (Furthermore, Gooden has already agreed to sign with Milwaukee, and Blake has agreed to sign with the L.A. Lakers.)

[...] While we're at it, a bonus Drew Gooden fact that I found out while Googling Dajuan Wagner information: Drew Gooden has a Finnish mother, and thus is eligible to play for the Finnish national team. In fact, he enquired about the possibility of doing so a few years ago, but eventually declined because he didn't want to jeopardise any chance of joining Team USA in the future.

Gooden played for the US Under-21 national team back in the day, but I don't think this is sufficient enough to prevent him from playing for Finland. Therefore, I am officially on the "Drew Gooden for Team Finland" bandwagon. With former Hawks forward Hanno Mottola coming out of retirement this season, Finland could put together a semi-decent lineup. Teemu Rannikko, Petteri Koponen, Shaun Huff, Hanno Mottola, Drew Gooden.....you know, I've seen worse international lineups out there. They could beat Wales.

[...] Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes also managed to achieve the dubious honour of being traded at three consecutive trade deadlines, with Gooden compounding his misery by compiling four trades in that time. It also seems reasonably inevitable that Gooden will be bought out by his new team (the L.A. Clippers), making him possibly the first player ever to be salary dumped at the deadline, only to be bought out and sign with a contender, in consecutive seasons. Congratulations, I think.

[...]

Gooden is now onto his 9th team in 8 years, having played for 7 (soon to be 8). He is putting on a solid run for the Most NBA Teams Played For record, currently joined owned at 12 by Tony Massenburg, Chucky Brown and Jim Jackson. If only he'd played a minute for the Wizards.

Drew Gooden was neither waived nor traded this week. Therefore, for all that fuss about his 'novel' contract, nothing actually happened with it. Now, he's just a plain old expiring.