The trade deadline has passed. And also soon will the flurry to sign players bought out by the March 1 deadline in order to be playoff eligible.But even after that there will be hope for at least one team that needs more depth in the post. Big man Mikki Moore is on the mend..
Moore's agent, Mark Bartelstein, told FanHouse on Tuesday that Moore, who had surgery Dec. 18 to repair a right heel spur, should be fully healthy by mid-March and ready to return to the NBA.
"He's a veteran guy who's got valuable playoff experience, and he can help a team,'' Bartelstein said.
Moore, 34, was waived by Golden State on Jan. 4 due to his injury and because Warriors wanted to hang onto Chris Hunter, a D-League player who had joined the team on a roster exemption following Golden State's many injuries. The Warriors otherwise would have had to let Hunter go.
Moore's $1.3 million salary was guaranteed for the season. He can sign with any NBA team until the end of the regular season, and be eligible for the playoffs.
If they don't get a big man who gets bought out, the Denver Nuggets are expected to show interest in Moore. The Nuggets, who are looking for addition size for a possible playoff battle with the Lakers, came close to getting Moore after he was bought out last February by Sacramento, but he eventually opted to sign with Boston.
Bartelstein wouldn't discuss specific teams. But he said four to five teams already have called about Moore, and he expects more will after any players bought out are signed, leaving Moore as perhaps the top remaining free-agent big man.
"He should be doing great,'' Bartelstein said about how Moore should be feeling around the middle of next month. "It was really just an irritating thing, and they removed (the bone spur).''
The 6-foot-11 Moore has career averages of 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 12 seasons, including scoring averages of 9.8 in 2006-07 for New Jersey and 8.5 for Sacramento in 2007-08. Moore averaged 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 23 games this season for the Warriors, including getting 20 starts.
But statistics that might interest a possible suitor the most would be Moore averaging 11.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in 12 playoff games for the Nets in 2007.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson
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