If Portland waives Derek Anderson, should the Rockets go after him?

http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=30914

Migration from north appears to be ending

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The raiding of KeyArena is over.
The Trail Blazers stole Nate McMillan from the Seattle SuperSonics, and McMillan pilfered Dean Demopolous as his chief assistant. But Portland probably won’t land Seattle swing man Damien Wilkins, as you may have read elsewhere.
The Blazers may make an offer for the restricted free agent, but they aren’t likely to overpay for him, and it’s even less likely that the Sonics would let him go.
The 6-6 Wilkins averaged 6.3 points in 29 games of the regular season as a rookie last season. The son of ex-NBA guard Gerald Wilkins and nephew of the great Dominique Wilkins is more a slasher than a shooter — he shot .271 from 3-point range and .581 from the foul line in the regular season and playoffs — and is more of a small forward than a shooting guard.
McMillan likes him, but Wilkins doesn’t seem a good fit on a roster flush with 3’s (Darius Miles, Ruben Patterson, Travis Outlaw, Sergei Monia).
Would Portland use all of its midlevel exception (about $5 million) to try to lure Wilkins? Wouldn’t make sense.
“Any offer you make, you have to determine if it’s in your best interests if he accepts it,” Portland GM John Nash says. “You can make an outlandish offer to avoid the other team matching, and sometimes regret it later.” And any reasonable offer for Wilkins will be matched by Seattle.
Portland’s first decision once the moratorium is lifted as expected Thursday is whether to renounce Derek Anderson’s contract and save $9 million in luxury tax.
“Everyone is assuming we will waive Derek,” Nash says. “I don’t know if we will do anything at all, and it may not be him. We’re still waiting for the numbers on the salary cap, luxury tax and midlevel exception.”
The guess here is that Anderson — and his $18.8 million salary over the next two seasons — is gone. That would leave 13 players under contract — Theo Ratliff, Zach Randolph, Miles, Patterson, Joel Przybilla, Sebastian Telfair, Outlaw, Viktor Khryapa, Monia, Charles Smith, Ha Seung Jin and rookies Martell Webster and Jarrett Jack — and a potential two spots to fill.
Both would be guards, with shooting a priority for one spot and experience at point guard for the other.
“We’d like to find somebody capable of pushing Sebastian and competing with him for the starting (point guard) job,” Nash says. “That may not come to bear, but we don’t feel real comfortable with two young point guards and no veteran at the position. It’s not like you can go to a store and pick one off the shelf.
“Some veterans are reluctant to come here because they think the young guys are going to get preferential treatment. Others put winning ahead of anything else.”
The Blazers are interested in Juan Dixon, Steve Blake, Earl Watson, Chris Duhon, Marko Jaric and even Gary Payton, who played with and for McMillan in Seattle but probably wouldn’t opt to end his career with a losing team.
McMillan says he continues to interview coaching candidates but isn’t close to adding to his staff. He spoke with Johnny Davis, who signed to be the No. 1 assistant in Minnesota; with Sidney Lowe, who will join Flip Saunders in Detroit; and with Lionel Hollins, who may also be headed for the Timberwolves.
As for the $4.9 million trade exception the Blazers acquired in the sign-and-trade for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, the Blazers have a full year to exercise it. “If we didn’t sign a free agent, we would be more likely to use it,” Nash says.
Are the Blazers still considering trading Patterson?
“I’m hoping to do one,” Nash says.

 

I still believe rox will sign him!!!!!