NBA.com notebook: Hill's choice may show his priorites

We're going to find out a lot about Grant Hill in the next few days.

Through the big contracts, the injuries and the frustrations, Hill has been one of the more compelling stories in the league for a long time. And now, he's one of the more compelling free agents of 2009.

The 14-year veteran has been relatively healthy for three years now, and played 82 games for the first time in his career this past season. This week, he's reportedly got three offers to consider.

The Arizona Republic reports that the Knicks have given Hill two choices: a one-year deal worth $5 million or a three-year deal worth $10 million. Either way, they're willing to pencil Hill in as their starting small forward, moving incumbent Wilson Chandler to shooting guard.

The Suns want Hill back, but apparently aren't willing to spend as much as New York. The real intrigue comes from Boston, where the Celtics can only give Hill the bi-annual exception, worth about $1.9 million, because they're using their mid-level on Rasheed Wallace.

The Celtics, of course, also can't give Hill the starting job, as guys named Ray Allen and Paul Pierce occupy the wings in Boston. But clearly, Hill's best chance at winning a championship is with the C's.

The Knicks' roster this coming season may be worse (provided they don't bring back David Lee) than the one that just lost 50 games. And the Suns are in the middle of a transition from perennial contender to who-knows-what.

Hill has made his money. The Magic paid him $93 million for seven seasons in which he played an average of 29 games. He took a much more modest contract to play with the Suns the last two seasons, but with the economy slumping, some pretty good players will get pretty modest deals this summer.

In his career, Hill has played 22 postseason games and never been out of the first round. Meanwhile, the Celtics played 26 postseason games in 2008 and made it to the East semis. With Wallace in the fold and Kevin Garnett healthy, Boston has a great chance at another championship.

So which offer will Hill choose to take? It depends on how badly he wants to win.

-- John Schuhmann

Teams won't overpay for likes of Millsap, Lee

New York's David Lee and Utah's Paul Millsap are learning the hard way what the difference is between a free agent and a restricted free agent.

Their status as restricted free agents makes teams hesitant to sign them to reasonable offer sheets. Other teams are reluctant to submit offer sheets out of fear that their cap space will be tied up for up to seven days once they make an offer. There's also the fear that the player's current team will match an offer sheet anyway.

So in order to keep their current teams from matching an offer sheet, another team will have to overpay. But with teams struggling to make money these days, and with a strong free agent market next summer, this is not the time to overpay for complementary players.

While unrestricted free agents are agreeing to deals left and right, Orlando's Marcin Gortat is the only restricted free agent to have reached a deal on a contract. He will soon sign an offer sheet worth the full mid-level exception with the Dallas Mavericks.

Gortat was able to quickly reach a deal with the Mavs because his price tag was lower than those of Lee and Millsap. The two double-double machines, meanwhile, are seeking bigger offers (Lee wants $12 million a year -- which is ridiculous -- according to the New York Times).

Players such as Lee and Millsap deserve more than Gortat. They should be in the $8-million per year range, which the Knicks and Jazz are reportedly willing to give.

-- John Schuhmann

Magic focus on Bass, McDyess in wake of Gortat

Don't expect Orlando general manager to match the offer sheet Dallas dangled in front of Gortat. The Mavericks are believed to have offered him a five-year deal starting at the full mid-level exception and worth nearly $34 million.

The Magic have seven days to match the offer and keep Dwight Howard's 25-year-old backup, and Smith will likely use the entire week. But instead of retaining Gortat, Orlando has turned its interests to other free agent big men, including Antonio McDyess and Brandon Bass.

McDyess, however, has emerged as San Antonio's top target. Bass has drawn interest from at least a dozen teams, with his team of the last two years (Dallas) and the previous two years (New Orleans) among the frontrunners.

-- Art Garcia