It's bargain hunting time in the NBA.
With the DeAndre Jordan saga officially over, LaMarcus Aldridge inked to a new deal with the San Antonio Spurs and Marc Gasol returning to the Memphis Grizzlies on a max contract, franchises have turned their attention to the league's clearance rack.
As teams sift through the available options and potential offerings of former max-contract superstars, here are the latest rumors and rumblings on a few high-profile big men.
Sacramento Eyeing J-Smoove?
According to Yahoo Sports' Marc Spears, the Sacramento Kings continue to express interest in enigmatic power forward Josh Smith:
That's what we call playing with fire.
The Kings already have enigmas slotted into the starting lineup in the form of point guard Rajon Rondo and center DeMarcus Cousins. Making Smith the third head of that Hydra would be asking for trouble.
While he proved capable of rehabilitating his image after the Houston Rockets claimed him off waivers, those were special circumstances. The Rockets' forgiving, free-flowing, up-tempo system allowed Smith to shoot through his mistakes, and he developed into a worthy secondary ball-handler behind James Harden.
In 55 appearances with the Rockets, Smith averaged 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and hit 33 percent of his threes.
Whether the Kings could put him in a position to post similar numbers remains to be seen. Since Cousins commands a ton of touches and Rondo needs the ball in his hands to be effective, Smith would be pigeonholed upon arrival. Plus, Rudy Gay can't be ignored in the mid-post or on the wing.
The Kings have several high-profile mouths to feed, and their roster composition simply isn't conducive to satisfying Smith's volume-scoring appetite.
Multiple Clubs Interested in Boozer
Contenders are rounding out their rotations with cheap veteran talent, which means the market for Carlos Boozer's services is starting to heat up, according to ESPN.com's Chris Broussard:
The New Orleans Pelicans are an intriguing option, but they've already re-signed Alexis Ajinca, OmerAsik, Dante Cunningham and extended Anthony Davis this summer.
We can probably cross off the Toronto Raptors, too, after they agreed to terms with power forward Luis Scola on a one-year, $3 million deal.
The Dallas Mavericks remain an interesting landing spot, though. Following their failed pursuit of DeAndre Jordan, Dallas is in desperate need of frontcourt depth.
Boozer can provide just that—on offense, at least.
During his lone season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Boozer averaged 11.8 points and shot 49.9 percent from the field—his most efficient conversion rate since the 2011-12 season. His player efficiency rating also clocked in at 16.4, according to Basketball-Reference.com. Through 13 seasons, Boozer has posted a below-average PER just once.
Stoudemire South Beach-Bound?
According to Bleacher Report's Jared Zwerling, the Miami Heat are in the running to land Amar'e Stoudemire with one of their salary-cap exceptions:
And at this point in his career, Stoudemire isn't exactly worried about capitalizing on his remaining earning potential.
"I'm already paid in full," Stoudemire said after Dallas was eliminated from the playoffs, according to ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon. "Money is great to have, but it's not what I'm searching for at this point."
If Stoudemire is seeking an opportunity to contend for a title, then the Heat make plenty of sense. With a core consisting of Goran Dragic, Chris Bosh, Luol Deng, Dwyane Wade and HassanWhiteside, Miami should be able to thrust itself back into the Eastern Conference's elite tier.
While Stoudemire's not as explosive as he once was around the rim, he's still among the league's most efficient scorers below the free-throw line.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, Stoudemire shot 72.5 percent inside of three feet and 55.8 percent between three and 10 feet over the course of 18 games with the Mavericks last season.
The Heat could certainly do worse if they're searching for cost-effective depth in the frontcourt.
Unless otherwise noted, all free-agent moves courtesy of ESPN's player movement tracker.
Read more Carlos Boozer news on BleacherReport.com