From the Unlikely Comeback Files: Willis and Houston

It may have been overshadowed by 48 year-old Julio Franco yet again sticking in the majors, but 44 year-old Kevin Willis will apparently audition for a playoff roster spot with the Mavs. The Dallas Morning News reports that Avery is wiling to humor the ageless seven-footer:

Johnson said the team is looking for a big man – if they decide to sign anybody at all.

"Right now, it's kind of the best available person," he said. "I'm real leery about adding anybody right now. But if there's something that makes sense, we'll do it. But it's got to really make sense for us."

The Kevin Willis saga is indeed a strange one. He's one of only fifteen players to reach 16,000 points and 11,000 rebounds, and even capped off his career with a 2003 Spurs ring. Yet he was back as recently as 2004-05, when he made an appearance for the Hawks.

It's also being rumored that Allsn Houston might try and return to the league. Most assumed him a micro-fracture casualty, but apparently there's some life left in him. Who knows, maybe the Michael Ray Richardson fiasco reminded him of his own anti-Semitic glory days. According to The New York Daily News, though, there's a small problem:

At least two NBA coaches believe that Houston is planning to play again. Houston, whose contract expires this summer, retired in October 2005 with chronic knee pain. Until then, he remains the second highest paid player in the league at $20.7 million behind Minnesota's Kevin Garnett ($21 million).

You know, I'm sick of hearing that Garnett's contract brought on the league-mandated max. Seeing as everyone in the universe thinks KG is worth every dime, I think it's time we recognize Houston's mega-deal as the real culprit.