All this Reggie Miller talk had spurned some good natured ribbing across sunny Blahgbados about other aging ex-NBA superstars that could make a return to the hardcourt. Penny Hardaway apparently didn’t get the “joke” part of that memo, as he’s making a triumphant return to Florida to reunite with the Big Aristotle for another run at a title. Of course, this time they’re both older, maybe a little fatter and definitely a lot slower. And they don’t have Dennis Scott. But they do have Dwayne Wade, who may or may not play the exact same position as Penny.
But that redundancy seems to be the logical answer for why Penny, Reggie and any other aging doofus hipsters might bust a move back to the Association – protection of today’s superstars. Are Ray Allen and Paul Pierce injury prone? Well, that label is a bit of a misnomer, but each suffered serious injuries last season and if the Celtics plan on marching to a title, there’s no need for either one to even sniff more than 35 minutes of court time next season, particularly in the East, and particularly with Kevin Garnett on the team. And the same applies for Dwyane Wade – maybe as tough as they come in terms of minutes played and all-out willingness on the court – who has suffered several key injuries throughout his career, probably a direct result of logging too many minutes on an understaffed and overaged Heat team. Penny and Reggie aren’t going to come in and average 20 points a pop on their teams but they are going to average about 15 minutes a game and provide the relief that Allen, Pierce and Wade need to sustain the full 82 games (yes, we realize not everyone plays all out for the season, but these guys do). So, if/when some of these aging guys sign–Penny already has and Reggie’s name is being floated, obviously–are we going to see a Renaissance of career revival? Um, no. Are we going to see some more similar moves from teams looking to jockey into the upper tier of a weak conference? Yessir. Potentially good moves by the Celtics and Heat? Absolutely.
Plus, there’s always the possible added bonuses of not only seeing “Lil’ Penny” make a comeback looking like the grandfather LeBron, but there’s a decent (like 50% we would say) that Dennis Rodman’s name gets tossed around in the next month.
