The Toronto Raptors still haven’t completed the buyout of the Marcus Camby contract, but Camby becoming a free agent for possibly the last time in his NBA career is inevitable, and the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers are all in the race to try and sign the 17-year  veteran.

The fact that Camby has played only 24 games last season for the Knicks doesn’t deter contending teams, the only kind Camby is looking to play for as he enters what very well might be his final NBA contract. When healthy, Camby is still an imposing defensive presence with a mid-range shots teams should still respect, and his 32.1% from the field last season shouldn’t be taken into account.

Camby has been moving quite a lot of over the last few years, playing for four different teams since 2009. Among those teams are the Houston Rockets, which might be his preferred option in terms of being closer to his home. Camby played 19 games for the Rockets in 2011-2012, averaging 7.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. He has also played for the Clippers for a season and a half, producing his last double-double season average with them in 2008-2009.

The chances for a title might be the thing that gives him the most incentive, which should make the Miami Heat his number one target. There isn’t a lot of minutes Camby has to give, but the Miami Heat wouldn’t mind having another veteran big man to add some minutes of being able to defend the rim, while not putting a player on the court who is completely a black hole when it comes to offense like Joel Anthony.

The Clippers need a big man behind both Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, looking quite thin at that position on the bench right now. As for the Rockets and the Bulls – Camby wouldn’t be in a 10-man rotation probably, but teams that want to win an NBA title need backups to their backups, and Camby, if he can stay healthy for the important parts of the season, can become a very useful addition.

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