Yet it does rank as one of the growing curiosities in the NBA this summer:

Why, on Aug. 18, is Louis Amundson still available?

With his high-energy contributions throughout Phoenix’s thoroughly unexpected run to the Western Conference finals, Amundson didn’t merely cement his standing as a fan favorite in the desert. He legitimately emerged as one of the faces synonymous with the Suns’ vaunted bench bunch last season, which had Phoenix privately fearful throughout the playoffs that Amundson could attract some decent free-agent dollars in spite of his well-chronicled limitations as an offensively-challenged power forward who’s also undersized.

Yet free agency is nearly seven weeks old and Amundson remains unsigned. He’s still waiting after watching the Suns decide to fill their Amare Stoudemire void by re-signing Channing Frye, signing Hakim Warrick and trading for Hedo Turkoglu to be a ball-handling power forward.

It appears, though, that Amundson’s wait might finally be ending. Sources close to the situation say that the 6-foot-9, 225-pounder is inching closer to a decision, with at least three teams known to be actively in pursuit – Golden State, New Orleans and Indiana. One source says an unidentified fourth team remains in the mix.

Another source told ESPN.com that the Hornets and Warriors are making the hardest push, but the Pacers have not been shy about their need for another big man after using Troy Murphy’s expiring contract last week to help facilitate the four-team traded that netted the point guard Indy has long coveted in Darren Collison

http://espn.go.com/blog/TrueHoop/post/_/id/19249/warriors-hornets-pacers-in-amundson-hunt

But with who? Brown’s agent, Mark Bartelstein wouldn’t get into details
Monday, only to say that he and Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak continue to
talk.

“We’re working on it. It’s a work in progress,” Bartelstein said.

All that Brown has to is decide between a possible starting spot with either Cleveland or the Knicks or a smaller role and possibly less money to stay with the Lakers. CBSSports.com reported last week the Knicks have extended a formal offer to Brown.

Brown has played for four different teams in 3½ seasons. He averaged career highs in points (8.1), rebounds (2.2) and assists (1.3) last season, but would find his playing time lessened with the signing of Steve Blake.

http://lakers.ocregister.com/2010/08/02/brown-update-deal-could-come-by-end-of-the-week/40023/

“Some of my closest friends happen to be certain guys up in this
free-agent market,’’ Flash told reporters in Miami during a weekend
promotional event.

“We’ve been friends since we came into the NBA. We signed with the same
agent. So, we can’t eat together? No worries. Just friends eating
dinner.”

When approached at halftime of Game 2 in the NBA final played at Staples Center, Bosh politely refused comment on the swirling speculation surrounding his pending free agency.

No one at this year’s NBA final believes Bosh is staying in Toronto.

The unanswered questions remain where is he going to end up playing and what, if any, piece or pieces the Raptors will fetch in a potential sign and trade.

Bosh would be an ideal complement playing alongside Wade, LeBron James or Kobe Bryant.

Ideally, it would make more sense for the Raptors to package disgruntled small forward Hedo Turkoglu or over-priced Jose Calderon as part of a sign and trade.

Whatever happens, the process will be complicated, likely involving multiple teams.

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/basketball/2010/06/13/14377656.html

But he plans to be a heavyweight next season.

The Grizzlies’ soon-to-be restricted free agent forward has engaged in a
training regime earmarked for boxers since the regular season ended.
Gay, who is about to enter his fifth NBA season, has taken his offseason
workout to another level as he prepares for a USA Basketball training
camp next month and a possible maximum contract offer when free agency
begins July 1.

"I’m not fighting anyone," Gay said this weekend when reached by phone.
"I’m going through the training. There’s no more in-shape athlete than a
boxer."

Gay said he picked up the idea of training like a boxer from other NBA players such as Cuttino Mobley, Al Harrington, David West and Manu Ginobili.

The likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire will soak up most of the big money. On the second tier, Gay will be highly coveted.

One team that will make a strong run at Gay is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Team owner Glen Taylor and president of basketball operations David Kahn have already targeted Gay as an attainable player to uplift the struggling franchise.

Griz owner Michael Heisley continues to insist that Gay will be a Grizzly next season. Memphis (namely Heisley) has the right to match any offer sheet that is presented to Gay from another team.

Meanwhile, former NBA star Alonzo Mourning has been successful in recruiting Gay to join his team of volunteers providing aide in Haiti. Gay boarded a flight Saturday and spent the day helping Haiti victims recover from the devastating earthquake that rocked the island earlier this year.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jun/06/gays-ready-to-answer-the-bell/

Sure, free agency has slowed down considerably in the past few weeks, but there are still quite a few noteworthy names ripe for the picking. This is the latest on what’s up with those players, including who has interest in whom and when the next deal might go down.Allen Iverson – For the moment, the Miami HEAT seem like the frontrunner for AI’s services. Pat Riley has been said to have some interest in the last week, but like most teams the idea of adding Iverson comes with a pretty strong caveat. How is a player as good as Iverson still available? And even more interesting, how is he not even being heavily pursued by a single team? Europe still seems the strongest financial opportunity for Iverson, but as far as the NBA is concerned, the HEAT is the best guess for now, though some would still say it’d be smart for Charlotte to take a flier on him.

David Lee

Ramon Sessions

Nate Robinson

Jason Williams

Joe Smith

Raymond Felton

Other Notable Free Agents: C.J. Watson, Wally Szczerbiak, Rashad McCants, Anthony Carter, Desmond Mason, Flip Murray, Stephon Marbury.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13580

2009 NBA Free Agents

The NBA free-agent period began July 1. Players can sign contracts beginning July 8. This was the list available as of today. Read more to see who is on the list

Atlanta Hawks
Unrestricted
Thomas Gardner
Othello Hunter
Zaza Pachulia
Mike Bibby: Agreed to terms with Hawks
Ronald Murray

Restricted
Mario West
Josh Childress
Solomon Jones
Marvin Williams

Boston Celtics
Unrestricted
Stephon Marbury
Mikki Moore
Leon Powe

Restricted
Glen Davis

Charlotte Bobcats
Unrestricted
Juwan Howard
Cartier Martin
Sean May Sean Singletary

Restricted
Raymond Felton

Chicago Bulls
Unrestricted
Ben Gordon: Agreed to terms with Pistons
Lindsey Hunter

Restricted
Aaron Gray

Cleveland Cavaliers
Unrestricted
Joe Smith
Wally Szczerbiak
Anderson Varejao
Lorenzen Wright

Restricted
None

Dallas Mavericks
Unrestricted
Brandon Bass
Gerald Green
Jason Kidd: Agreed to terms with Mavs

Restricted
Ryan Hollins
James Singleton

Denver Nuggets
Unrestricted
Chris Andersen
Anthony Carter
Jason Hart
Dahntay Jones
Johan Petro

Restricted
Linas Kleiza

Detroit Pistons
Unrestricted
Walter Herrmann
Allen Iverson
Antonio McDyess
Rasheed Wallace: Agreed to terms with Celtics

Restricted
None

Golden State Warriors
Unrestricted
Rob Kurz

Restricted
C.J. Watson

Houston Rockets
Unrestricted
Ron Artest: Agreed to terms with Lakers
Dikembe Mutombo
Von Wafer

Restricted
None

Indiana Pacers
Unrestricted
Maceo Baston
Marquis Daniels
Stephen Graham
Rasho Nesterovic

Restricted
Jarrett Jack
Josh McRoberts

Los Angeles Clippers
Unrestricted
Alex Acker
Fred Jones
Brian Skinner

Restricted
Steve Novak

Los Angeles Lakers
Unrestricted
Trevor Ariza: Agreed to terms with Rockets
Lamar Odom

Restricted
Shannon Brown

Memphis Grizzlies
Unrestricted
Chris Mihm
Quinton Ross
Mike Wilks

Restricted
Juan Carlos Navarro
Hakim Warrick

Miami Heat
Unrestricted
Luther Head
Jamaal Magloire

Restricted
Joel Anthony
Jamario Moon

Milwaukee Bucks
Unrestricted
Keith Bogans
Damon Jones
Charlie Villanueva: Agreed to terms with Pistons

Restricted
Ersan Ilyasova
Ramon Sessions

Minnesota Timberwolves
Unrestricted
Rodney Carney
Jason Collins
Kevin Ollie
Shelden Williams

Restricted
None

New Jersey Nets
Unrestricted
Maurice Ager

Restricted
None

New Orleans Hornets
Unrestricted
Ryan Bowen
Melvin Ely
Sean Marks

Restricted
None

New York Knicks
Unrestricted
Chris Wilcox

Restricted
David Lee
Nate Robinson

Oklahoma City Thunder
Unrestricted
Desmond Mason
Malik Rose
Robert Swift

Restricted
None

Orlando Magic
Unrestricted
Adonal Foyle
Tyronn Lue
Jeremy Richardson
Hedo Turkoglu: Agreed to terms with Raptors

Restricted
Marcin Gortat

Philadelphia 76ers
Unrestricted
Royal Ivey
Donyell Marshall
Andre Miller
Theo Ratliff
Kareem Rush

Restricted
None

Phoenix Suns
Unrestricted
Matt Barnes
Grant Hill
Stromile Swift

Restricted
None

Portland Trail Blazers
Unrestricted
Channing Frye
Raef LaFrentz
Shavlik Randolph
Michael Ruffin

Restricted
None

Sacramento Kings
Unrestricted
Calvin Booth
Ike Diogu
Bobby Jackson
Rashad McCants
Cedric Simmons

Restricted
None

San Antonio Spurs
Unrestricted
Drew Gooden
Ime Udoka
Jacque Vaughn

Restricted
None

Toronto Raptors
Unrestricted
Joey Graham
Shawn Marion
Anthony Parker
Jake Voskuhl

Restricted
Carlos Delfino
Pops Mensah-Bonsu

Utah Jazz
Unrestricted
Morris Almond
Jarron Collins
Brevin Knight
Ronnie Price

Restricted
Paul Millsap

Washington Wizards
Unrestricted
Juan Dixon

Restricted
None

1 Hedo Turkoglu, 6-10, F

Versatile player made himself a fortune during the Magic’s run to the Finals. Has become an end-of-game playmaker.

2 Ben Gordon, 6-2, G

A flat-out scorer who, despite size limitations, can create his own shot and score in bunches. Extremely durable too.

3 Andre Miller, 6-3, G

Consummate floor leader who knows how to use his strength effectively and is an above-average defender.

4 Lamar Odom, 6-10, F

Widely expected to re-sign with the Lakers, his versatility allows him to contribute in all areas.

5 Jason Kidd, 6-4, G

At 36, he’s no longer the force he used to be. But

he’s still a unique pass-first point guard who can shred defenses and make those around him better.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-01-nba-free-agentsjul01,0,1341897.story