Is it 1997 all over again? Because lately we’re hearing names like Reggie Miller, Allan Houston and Penny Hardaway being thrown around NBA personnel circles. After missing out on everyone from Mo Williams to Matt Barnes on the market, the Heat signed Penny yesterday. If the knees are OK, Penny can play some PG minutes and spell D-Wade for stretches. He’s not a terrible pickup, but of all the professional-level guards out there, is 36-year-old Penny really the best option? … Of course this means Penny and Shaq are back together, and while it sounds cool right now, all that’s gonna do is make you feel really old whenever they’re on the court together … You’ve heard about the Celtics talking with Reggie about a possible comeback, and now Allan Houston is talking about getting back in the League. We’d actually heard whispers about H20 coming back a couple months ago; now he’s saying his arthritic knees are fine (’cause they just heal like that, right?) and he told reporters, “It’s just a matter of getting myself back in game shape.” The Mavs and Cavs are said to be interested, with the Celtics, Heat, Spurs and Suns possibly in the mix as well … Now, we have no doubt Reggie and Allan can still light it up from the outside; as we saw from Bob Cousy in Blue Chips, the stroke doesn’t go away. And all three of these guys have enough basketball IQ and moves in the arsenal to get their share of points even if they’ve lost a step. But what about defense? Let’s say you’re, oh, Jim O’Brien and you’re coaching the Pacers against Miami. If Penny’s in the game, why wouldn’t you just put someone like Marquis Daniels on an island with Penny and let him go to work? Even if Penny was a lock-down defender in his prime (and he wasn’t), instincts and smarts only get you so far. A guy like Daniels is too quick for Penny to hang with, and Pat Riley can only hide a guy on D so much. Reggie (41), Houston (36) and Penny (36) can still help an NBA team on one end of the floor, but how many points are they gonna give up on the other end? … Jermaine O’Neal was asked straight-up on the Pacers website, “Where do you wanna play?” J.O. answered, “I want to be here. I want to be a Pacer.” But he also added, “If we’re thinking about going extremely young, it doesn’t make any sense to keep me because if we go extremely young, as a fan and as an athlete you know it takes years to get back to that competitive level.” And as far as the interview Jermaine did during the Paul Pierce/Baron Davis charity weekend? “Normally, when you hear players say something was taken out of context, it really wasn’t,” he said. “But in this case it really was and that’s why I want to let people know my mind isn’t anywhere else.” … So is O’Neal gonna get traded? Seeing as his situation is almost exactly like Kevin Garnett’s, we’d say he’s definitely somewhere else by the ‘08 trade deadline. The Pacers aren’t contending, and if they really wanna commit to rebuilding, J.O. is their most attractive asset and takes up a ton of their cap space … Speaking of KG, here’s Marko Jaric translated from an interview with European media: “I’m not happy with the Kevin Garnett trade. We’re not expected to win and I want to be with a team that fights for the title. If it’s not the Wolves, it must be another team.” OK, thanks for that … Amare is gonna be the cover guy for the NBA ‘08 video game, the second year in a row for him … Remember when we talked about NBA Live 08 having international squads? After what we read on ClipperBlog, now we’re dying to see what Team Greece looks like. Apparently Baby Shaq has blown up so much that he was pretty much benched all season by his pro team, and the Greek national team isn’t so hot on him anymore … D-Wade made Esquire’s “Best Dressed Men in the World” list. Looks like Vlad Radmanovic has to wait another year … We’re out like Marko …

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1. Allan Houston to the Front Office
2. We Reminisce: Allan Houston drops 53 on threepeat Lakers
3. Allan Houston At Knicks Camp