LAS VEGAS - Center Marcus Camby is ready to help recruit free-agent guard Allen Iverson to his Los Angeles Clippers.

Camby played with Iverson in Denver during the last half of 2006-07 and for all of 2007-08. When Camby was traded last July to the Clippers, Iverson was disappointed, and four months later he joined Camby in being dispatched by the Nuggets.

"I would," Camby said Monday from the NBA Summer League about his willingness to recruit Iverson, who is being courted by the Clippers. "It'd be a great opportunity for the Clippers (to land Iverson)."

While Iverson, who turned 34 last month and is coming off a disastrous season with Detroit, clearly isn't the same player he was when Camby played with him, the center said not to sell him short.

"I still feel like he's got a lot left," Camby said of Iverson, looking to command a salary for around the midlevel exception of $5.854 million. "I know he wants to come back and bounce back from the season he had last year. Whatever organization gets him will have a Hall of Famer. ... Lots of people say he had a down year and he's lost a step or two. But that guy has a lot of heart. You can never question that."

While Clippers assistant coach Kim Hughes acknowledged he's "heard some things" about his team going after Iverson, he doesn't yet know how close a deal might be. Memphis and Miami are also believed to be in the mix for Iverson, who averaged 17.5 points last season, well below his career average of 27.1.

"I don't know what numbers," Hughes said of Iverson's contract demands. "I've heard from various teams one-year. I don't know what are the teams that can sign him."

If it turns out to be the Clippers who throw Iverson a life preserver, guard Eric Gordon believes he wouldn't have a problem fitting into a backcourt with Gordon and Baron Davis.

"Iverson, he's a Hall-of-Fame type of talent," Gordon said. "You know, if we get him, that'd be fine. That'd be good. ... He should (fit in well)."

If the Clippers need somebody to help recruit Iverson, Camby is ready.

GRIFFIN'S AWESOME DEBUT

For a while, it looked as if Blake Griffin might never miss.

Griffin, the power forward selected with the top pick in the NBA draft, made his first eight shots Monday night in his debut at the NBA Summer League, and led the Clippers to a 93-82 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Griffin finished with a very impressive 27 points and 12 rebounds.

"I just felt good," said Griffin, who shot 11-of-15. "I just felt completely comfortable."

As far as summer leagues go, it was a much-hyped debut. A crowd of about 4,000 included NBA commissioner David Stern and deputy commissioner Adam Silver both sitting at halfcourt.

"That was cool," Griffin said. "It was great to see (Stern) there actually watching, knowing that he cares and he pays attention about games like this. It's not quite the NBA Finals, but he made it out."

MAY WORKING WAY BACK

He might not be playing in the NBA Summer League this week, but forward Sean May will be plenty busy here on the court.

May, who became an unrestricted free agent when the Charlotte Bobcats elected to not pick up his qualifying offer, said he has workouts scheduled in Las Vegas on Tuesday with Portland and Sacramento, on Wednesday with Cleveland and on Thursday with the Clippers, and there might be more. Among those also in the mix for May are Chicago, Denver, Houston and Milwaukee.

"I'm in the best shape I've been in for years," May said. "I feel great."

May, taken with the No. 13 pick after helping North Carolina to a national title in 2005, showed some promise when he averaged 11.9 points and 6.7 rebounds in 2006-07, although injuries limited him to 35 games. But problems really began to surface when his ailing right knee required microfracture surgery in October 2007.

May soared to 295 pounds after the surgery. He never got into shape last season and was barely used by Bobcats coach Larry Brown, appearing in just 12 games.

"It was a bad situation," May said. "It just didn't work out."

But May said he now weighs 260 pounds and his "body fat is down," and he believes he really can help a team. Although he might not command more than a minimum contract, that doesn't bother him.

"I just want an opportunity to play," he said. "The money will be there eventually."

A PAIR OF KARLS

If Coby Karl has a chance to make the Denver Nuggets, coached by father George, will the situation be similar to what the NCAA selection committee does? If a certain school is being discussed and its athletic director is on the committee, he has to leave the room.

Perhaps it's a bit early to be wondering about that. But Coby, if he has a strong showing for the Nuggets in the NBA Summer League, would become a candidate to be the first son ever to play for his father in the NBA.

"It would be something that would be a great gift," George Karl said of that happening. "It would be fun to do. I know there are some people who throw some negatives out, but I think Coby is tough enough to handle those decisions and I think I'm mature enough to handle making good decisions even though he's my son."

Coby played for the Lakers in 2007-08 before spending most of last season in Spain. While his father openingly talks about the possibility of a father-son reunion in Denver, Coby downplays it.

"I don't really look at it like him being the coach," Coby said of being on Denver's summer team, which debuts Tuesday and will be coached by assistant John Welch while George Karl watches from the stands. "But it is a comfortable situation for me. I've been fortunate to be around the organization and I know the staff so that aspect makes it a comfortable situation. But it's still a business and I'm trying to get a job."

Already, George Karl is dropping subtle hints about loving to have his son on the roster.

"He fits a little bit our weaknesses," said the coach. "The more we pass the ball and the more we find the open man... I think Coby (adds that)."

MATCHING ON GORTAT

Roll out the clichés. It's back to square one for Dallas. It's back to the drawing board.

The Mavericks learned Monday that Orlando matched the five-year, $34 million offer sheet Marcin Gortat signed last week with Dallas. That's a lot of money for a guy who averaged 3.8 points last season, but Magic officials were worried about not having a true center backing up Dwight Howard.

"They valued him the same way we did, so they liked him," said Dallas owner Mark Cuban. "That's the way it goes."

Cuban said he never was sure during the process which way Orlando would go because "they said they were going to take all" of the seven days allotted after last Wednesday's signing to consider whether to match.

So what's next this offseason for the Mavericks, who so far have re-signed Jason Kidd and acquired Shawn Marion in a trade?

"There are a lot of guys out there, so we have a lot of options," said Cuban, not wanting to offer specific names.

CARTER TO RE-SIGN?

George Karl said he's optimistic backup point guard Anthony Carter will end up re-signing with Denver, although it might take some time.

The Nuggets have offered Carter a minimum deal worth $1.3 million. Carter, 34, is holding out for a multi-year contract, but few believe any team will make such an offer in this economy.

"I don't think it's going to happen the next couple of weeks because I know he went away for at least a couple of weeks," Karl said of when such a re-signing might occur. "A.C. has been really positive. He's already said as soon as he gets back he'd like to spend some time with Ty (Lawson, Denver's rookie point guard). I think he's pursuing maybe a little better offer, but I also think he's desirous to be with the (Nuggets)."

The Nuggets lost their starting shooting guard last week when Dahntay Jones signed a four-year, $11 million deal with Indiana, although Karl already has said J.R. Smith will start next season. But the Nuggets on Monday got a replacement for Jones when they acquired guard Arron Afflalo from Detroit along with forward Walter Sharpe and cash for a future second-round pick.

Nuggets point guard Chauncey Billups, Afflalo's teammate with the Pistons in 2007-08 and at the start of last season, gave Nuggets management a recommendation on Afflalo, which helped seal the deal. The Pistons were looking to unload Afflalo, making $1.09 million next season, and Sharpe, making $736,420, to carve out additional salary-cap room.

While Sharpe was easy to fit into the trade due to making the minimum, the Nuggets were able to take on Afflalo because they had a $9.79 million trade exception from the Nov. 3, 2008 deal in which they sent Iverson to Detroit and got Billups. Taking away Afflalo's salary, they now have an exception worth $8.7 million that expires Nov. 3, 2009.

Chris Tomasson has covered the NBA for the bulk of the past 23 seasons, most recently the Denver Nuggets for the late, great Rocky Mountain News. He is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News and can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com.