NBA miami Heat

Not everyone is waiting for 2010 – the mother of all free agent summers – to try to improve their team by throwing big money at the seasoned veterans.

Even in hard economic times, the top players like Carlos Boozer, Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Kidd will leave teams and get their financial reward in other places. The squeeze will be on the lower-level free agents who must settle for minimum or various exceptions.

What hurts this class is that only seven teams really have major room under the salary cap to make something happen, and they usually aren't the NBA's biggest spenders. Unless the free agents stay with their current teams, only Memphis, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Atlanta, Portland, Toronto and Detroit have major room.

Although there has been plenty of dancing and unofficial talks the last few days, the real dealings can't start until 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

Here is a breakdown by position of the five most intriguing – and unrestricted – free agents.

In the weakest NBA draft in years, sitting out might have been the best thing to do. All the fireworks were done before it even began. The Cavs traded for Shaq. The Magic added Vince Carter. The Wizards snagged Mike Miller instead of the No. 5 pick. Several teams showed little interest in getting involved.

Keep reading after the jump for the Eastern Conference rundown.

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FanHouse fixes a decade of draft-day blunders in Revisiting the NBA Draft.

It's almost unfair to judge a draft after one year, but this is what we're going to do. The final edition of our Revisiting the Draft series examines the 2008 Draft and believe or not, there are teams already harboring regrets from their picks.

Despite the extensive scouting, workouts and interviews involved in the draft, teams still make major mistakes and these days, prospects don't get three years to develop. Of the 14 lottery picks in 2006, six have already changed teams and players such as Patrick O'Bryant and Mouhamed Sene are not guaranteed jobs next season.

The NBA waits for no one, especially if they are taking too long to make an impact. So while teams won't freely admit they made mistakes 12 months after draft night, they will privately admit they overestimated talent and heart, and sooner or later, that will cost front-office jobs.

The Dayton Daily News reports that native Daequan Cook of the Heat has quietly reached out to a local family whose son died in a tragic hit-and-run accident over the weekend. The youngster, 12-year-old DaQuan Sales, was a huge fan of the reigning NBA three-point champ and planned to attend Cook's local basketball camp later this month.

Cook read about the story over the weekend, and privately contacted the family to volunteer to pay for funeral costs, the News reports. (He's also setting up a scholarship fund in DaQuan's name and invited any of his family members to come to the camp for free.) Cook won't talk to the media about it, wishing not to make a big fuss about his generosity. He deserves the positive attention, though.

With only one lottery pick (Washington), there isn't a lot of draft buzz around the Southeast Division. The Orlando Magic, who reached the NBA Finals, don't have any picks, and the Miami Heat, who lost in the first round of the playoffs, have only picks in the second round.

Washington Wizards

Picks: No. 5 (first round), No. 33 (second round).

Needs: After such a disastrous season, they need one of those Obama Stimulus giveaways. They need a quality big man who can rebound, but they also need help on the perimeter so that Gilbert Arenas can limit his minutes and avoid getting hurt again. They need depth, and most importantly, they need some durability because there were too many guys sitting out too many games last season.

Brian Grant, a stout NBA journeyman through the late '90s and early aughts, revealed to ESPN's Ric Bucher today that he is fighting young onset Parkinson's disease. Grant's only 37 years old, three seasons removed from an NBA paycheck and just five years past being a starter on a playoff team (Dwyane Wade's premiere Heat squad).

Grant really opened himself up to Bucher in the story published Monday -- read the clip. Grant seems positive and upset about the fight ahead. It's a destructive, harsh disease (witness Muhammed Ali), but with a fighting spirit the afflicted can maintain control. Grant always showed strength in attempting to defend his era's greatest big men, and no doubt he'll show resolve in the years ahead.

The Wolves followed a popular formula to kick off their search for a general manager: they went after a Spur. Dennis Lindsay, a current San Antonio assistant GM who cut his teeth with Carroll Dawson in Houston, turned down the job, though.

The reasons why remain unknown, though there's simmering consternation that owner Glen Taylor is providing less than full rein for the prospective personnel boss. Taylor/Kevin McHale buddies/disciples Jim Stack and Fred Hoiberg remain in Timberwolf employ, and there's a rumor Taylor may be requesting the new boss to keep them on in meaningful front office roles.

But that issue is not giving pause to former Heat general manager Randy Pfund, who resigned last summer to make way for Pat Riley.

ATLANTA -- Well, as opposed to the eternal first-round drama between the Celtics and the Bulls that culminated Saturday night in Boston, this was that other Game 7, which wasn't necessarily a good thing.

This one featured a slew of wannabes.

A slew of inconsistent wannabes.

That's why they're wannabes.

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After seven hard-fought games complete blowouts, it's finally over: the Atlanta Hawks will advance to the second round, while the Miami Heat will start their summer vacation. Whereas the Celtics and Bulls offered some of the most compelling playoff moments in recent history in their first-round series, history will gladly forget the Hawks and Heat ever played.

Theoretically, a Game 7 in any sport is supposed to be compelling. In reality, though, Atlanta's 91-78 win played out just like the first six games in this dreadful series: the final outcome was decided early (there wasn't a single lead change after the first quarter in any of the seven games), rendering much of the game a mere formality.

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Game 7 of the Heat-Hawks series on Sunday may determine more than just who advances to the second round of the NBA playoffs.

It could influence the even-more-important free agency thinking of Dwyane Wade.

There were times through the first six games of the series -- and times throughout this regular season -- when Wade must have wondered how much easier basketball could be if he had a co-star.

The issue is still out there. And don't discount how the outcome of Game 7 could affect him.

This One Man Show is getting a little old.