Every weekday morning, Ball Don't Lie serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your Nesquik.

Geoff Calkins, The Commercial Appeal: "We should have known better. Heisley did what he always does. He went for the cheaper solution. He shopped from the discount bin. Never mind that [Zach] Randolph doesn't fit into Heisley's three-year plan because — I hate to be picky — his contract is up in two years. Never mind that Randolph will have a hard time keeping up with a team that has said it wants to run. If the Grizzlies had signed David Lee(notes) as a free agent, they'd have been on the hook for four or five years. With Randolph, it's just two. And the first year won't cost the Grizzlies much because they don't have to pay Richardson's salary. So that gets it down to one year of meaningful spending. That's better than four or five years, right? And it's that math — the fundamental calculation that is driving the Randolph acquisition — that makes it difficult to celebrate today. Why does it always have to be about money with this franchise? Why not, just once, go get the guy who fits best? There is nothing that makes Randolph a better fit for the Grizzlies than Lee. But Lee would have been more expensive, so Randolph it is."

Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post/Times-Picayune: "The negotiations between Chris Andersen(notes) and the Denver Nuggets have begun. Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien is currently in Los Angeles, meeting with Andersen's representatives, notably Denver-based attorney Mark Bryant and agent Steve Huemann of the Los Angeles-based Creative Arts Agency. Bryant said the goal is to try to get Andersen, a former New Orleans Hornets player, a five-year deal around the mid-level exception (in the $5 million range annually). 'I think that's possible. But we're a team player,' Bryant said this morning. 'We'll make the necessary adjustments if we can and find the right fit.' There are numerous teams inquiring about the NBA's No. 2 shot-blocker from last season, notably Houston, which has all-star center Yao Ming(notes) shelved indefinitely, as well as Dallas, Portland and Memphis. But Andersen, who lived in Denver during his two-year banishment for drug abuse, adores the city of Denver and has publicly said he wants to return home."

Eddie Sefko, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram: "The Dallas Mavericks may not strike it rich in free agency, but they are becoming quite adept at adding quality role players. After scoring with Brandon Bass(notes) and James Singleton(notes) in recent summers, the Mavericks started this year’s free-agent season by making a strong pitch to Quinton Ross(notes), the former SMU and Kimball High School standout. Ross has been in the league for five years, the first four with the Los Angeles Clippers and last season with the Memphis Grizzlies. The 6-foot-6 guard has been a part-time starter throughout most of his career. While owner Mark Cuban was wining and dining Jason Kidd(notes) in New York during the first hours after free agency opened, coach Rick Carlisle and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson were meeting with Ross in Dallas. Ross’ numbers (4.6-point career average) will never overwhelm anybody. But he has always been a good defender and can shoot the 3-pointer well enough to keep defenses honest. He shot 37.5 percent from beyond the arc last season."

Richard Justice, Houston Chronicle: "[Marcin] Gortat, who has never made huge money and wasn't part of a college recruiting process, seemed touched when Morey showed him how hundreds of messages were pouring in. By mid-afternoon Wednesday, Gortat had received more than 2,000 messages telling him how he'd love being a Rocket. There's also a tough-love side to this story. Gortat's agent mentioned wanting a full mid-level exception. That amounts to around $30 million over five years. The Rockets aren't offering nearly that much and apparently aren't prepared to go higher. They've assigned a value to Gortat, and if, say, the Mavericks are offering more, the Rockets are prepared to lose him."

Michael Rosenberg, Detroit Free Press: "No other general manager in the NBA has done it. And here is Joe Dumars, trying to do it twice. Dumars built the 2004 NBA champion Pistons without one sure Hall of Famer on the roster. How difficult is that? Those Pistons are the only team in the last 30 years to pull it off. Obviously, Dumars would love to have a Hall of Famer on his team. But they are hard to land. So instead, he is doing what he has done exceptionally well in the past: finding high-caliber, high-character, unappreciated talent that fits into a system, and — this is crucial — signing reasonable contracts to maintain flexibility. So Ben Gordon(notes), the Chicago Bulls' best player, has agreed to become a Piston. Charlie Villanueva(notes), a rising talent, has done so as well. Their arrivals put the Pistons back in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference, and they allow Dumars to keep maneuvering until he has all the right pieces. Remember, he didn't add the final starter on the 2004 champs, Rasheed Wallace(notes), until February of that season."

Jeff McDonald, S.A. Express-News: "The Pistons waived Fabricio Oberto(notes) this afternoon, returning the former Spurs big man to the free agent pool. Traded last week in the deal that brought Richard Jefferson(notes) from Milwaukee, and then promptly shipped to Detroit, Oberto would have to wait a league-mandated 20 days to re-sign with the Spurs. It remains to be seen how hard the Spurs will pursue him. Much will depend on what kind of other free-agent bigs the Spurs are able to lure during free agency, as well as on how rookie DeJuan Blair(notes) pans out over the summer. Meanwhile, Bruce Bowen(notes) — another piece of the Jefferson trade — is expected to join Oberto on the market, eventually. The Bucks have until Aug. 1 to set Bowen loose and avoid paying the guaranteed portion of his contract ($2 million). The Spurs are not expected to bring Bowen back should he become a free agent."

John Reid, The Times-Picayune: "Although Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower initially said addressing the team's frontcourt depth was a priority in free agency, one of the first calls he made after midnight Wednesday morning was to guard Jannero Pargo's(notes) agent, Mark Bartelstein. Teams could begin negotiating with free agents at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, but players cannot sign contracts until July 8. 'I talked with Jeff, and they remain interested in Jannero,' Bartelstein said. 'But he said they still have things to work out with their roster.' Bower could be working on a trade before any contract offer is extended to a free agent. Multiple league sources said last week the Hornets have been shopping starting center Tyson Chandler(notes). In addition, New Orleans could be interested in moving one of their veteran guards — Morris Peterson(notes), Antonio Daniels(notes) or Devin Brown(notes) — in a trade. Bower declined to discuss any trade discussions."

Phil Jasner, Philadelphia Daily News: "Whatever is destined to happen in negotiations between the 76ers and free-agent point guard Andre Miller(notes), one aspect came clearly into focus yesterday: It won't be quick. That was the sense of a source familiar with the discussion between Sixers president/general manager Ed Stefanski and Andre Miller's agent, Andy Miller, on the first day of the NBA's free-agency period. Stefanski is not free to comment publicly until July 8, the first day deals can be finalized. With that in mind, available information is sketchy, but here's what the Daily News has gleaned so far: Andy Miller, in a best-case scenario, would like a contract of 3 or 4 years, probably starting at a figure similar to the $10.3 million Andre Miller earned in 2008-09. The Sixers seem much more interested in 1 or 2 years, uncomfortable with a script in which they could be paying major dollars to an aging veteran at the same time their young core is maturing, reducing any salary-cap/luxury-tax flexibility they might have."

Kevin Tatum, Philadelphia Inquirer: "Though the Sixers have said their preference is to re-sign Miller, speculation stirred this week that had them looking to do a sign-and-trade with the Portland Trail Blazers that would bring point guard Steve Blake(notes) to Philadelphia. But in a published report in the Portland Tribune on Tuesday, representatives of both teams denied that such talks were in the offing. [Andre] Iguodala, who signed an $80 million, six-year contract last August as his free agent year was approaching, doesn't envy Miller's position. 'I went through it last year a little bit,' said Iguodala, who recently returned from a vacation in Italy. 'I had teams calling, but this summer's a little different than any other summer. With the economy and salary caps, I had perfect timing. I hope next time it comes up, I have perfect timing again.'"

Doug Smith, The Toronto Star: "Toronto also remains in contention to re-sign forward Shawn Marion(notes), who is attracting very little interest on the open market. General manager Bryan Colangelo said last week he had a number in mind for a contract offer to Marion, who was paid almost $18 million last season and will surely take a significant pay cut. There was no indication what that number was and the Raptors are monitoring movement around the league to see if they can get the 6-foot-7 Marion back in the fold at the amount and terms they want. The 24-year-old [Linas] Kleiza, who lost his major role with Denver late last season, could be had for much less than the expected $5.6 million so-called mid-level salary cap exception, which is about all the money Toronto will have at its disposal to chase free agents from other teams. The forward was paid about $1.8 million last season by Nuggets, who are likely to let him go without a fight because of financial considerations. Toronto would then be free to use whatever's left of the exception to further bolster the bench."

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald: "Leon Powe, recovering from his third knee surgery, did not receive a qualifying offer from the Celtics by the Tuesday night deadline. As a result, Powe became an unrestricted free agent. Five teams reportedly called with interest in the power forward after midnight, including Miami, Memphis and Orlando. 'Of course I was disappointed, because I want to come back,' he said yesterday. 'I love the fans. It was just a wonderful place to play.' Powe walked away from his conversation believing his time as a Celtic was finished. Asked whether he got the sense the Celtics might be interested in re-signing him later this summer, Powe said, 'I wasn't feeling a vibe like that. I knew they wouldn't (extend a qualifying offer), so I just have to move on. They told me, 'Good luck with another team.' Doc told me that he wanted me there, and he would do whatever he could to make sure I came back, but Danny came to me yesterday saying that they only have a two-year window, and I would be taking up a roster spot for someone else.'"

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