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Fans in the Tri-State area who collect Knicks merchandise as well as Nets memorabilia know the two teams will be the center of attention this summer for incoming free agents. Here’s a new theory as we enter the final stretch of the NBA season: David Lee as a New Jersey Net. The 26-year old Lee has been a bright spot on an otherwise abysmal Knicks team this season, averaging over 20 points and 11 boards per game and making his first All-Star team. That said, it’s likely the Knicks will let the forward walk in pursuit of big name free agents a la Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. One reasonable destination for Lee would be across the Hudson in New Jersey, where the Nets could boast one of the league’s top front courts with Lee and current center Brook Lopez.

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Expect Lee to attract plenty of attention on the open market, as teams have been trying to wrestle him away from New York through trade for much of the past two seasons.

Is this the end for Allen Iverson? The Philadelphia 76ers announced this morning that the 11-time All-Star will not return to the team this season, news that couldn’t have shocked many fans or 76ers memorabilia collectors given the guard’s recent history. Despite having some of the most in-demand NBA merchandise since his return to Philly, the 34-year old hasn’t played since February 20th due to his daughter Messiah’s lingering illness.

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If this is the end of the NBA line for Iverson, he will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the toughest, greatest scorers in the game’s history. The former MVP averaged just over 13 points in 25 games for the Sixers this season.

Fans who’ve collected Vince Carter autographs on NBA jerseys and signed basketballs will now have one more thing to brag about when dishing about their collection. During yesterday’s Orlando Magic practice session, Carter sunk an 86-foot shot…while sitting down! The best part about the situation may be that there’s video of the shot on YouTube. During All-Star weekend, Carter’s teammate Dwight Howard hit a 52-foot shot while sitting down, a certified Guinness World Record.

Carter, Howard and the Magic head to Houston for an 8:30 tip against the Rockets tonight.

How impressive is Sacramento Kings rookie Tyreke Evans? The fourth overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Evans wowed fans in Knicks merchandise at Madison Square Garden last week by dropping 27 points in the Kings’ 118-114 victory. He’s the unquestioned front runner for the league’s Rookie of the Year title while averaging a freshman-best 20.5 points per game. Fans who’ve collected his autographed Kings memorabilia have to be even more stoked to see what the 20-year old puts up in the face of the leading scorer Kevin Martin’s departure.

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Fresh after suiting up Antawn Jamison for his newest set of NBA apparel, the Cavaliers will look to extend their season-best 13 game winning streak tonight when they host Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets. The Cavs traded for the 33-year old Jamison yesterday hoping he can be the sidekick that gets Lebron James an NBA Championship. A career 20-point scorer and favorite amongst Wizards memorabilia collectors, Jamison will likely be the team’s starting small forward for the remainder of the season.

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Fans and Cavaliers memorabilia collectors want to know: just how close is the team to acquiring All-Star forward Amare Stoudemire from the Phoenix Suns? Talks between the two clubs turned serious over All-Star weekend in Dallas, and the framework for a deal is believed to be in place. Along with Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Cavs would likely send another expiring contract, cash considerations and a draft pick to Phoenix in exchange for Stoudemire, whose current contract expires at the end of this season.

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Finding help for the King is old news for fans who’ve collected Lebron James autographs over the past five seasons. The league’s reigning MVP seems bound to highlight the NBA’s most-prolific free agent class in history this summer. Unless extensions are reached, James would be flanked by superstars Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Ray Allen, Manu Ginobili and Stoudemire.

The Winter Olympics kick off later tonight in Vancouver, but fans and basketball memorabilia collectors in Dallas will likely be gearing up for their own bout with Mother Nature. NBA All-Star Weekend has been hit with a Texas-sized blizzard, with the Dallas area receiving over a foot of snow and the area around Cowboys Stadium getting their highest accumulations in over 30 years.

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Despite the winter weather, fans who’ve collected Lebron James memorabilia know nobody enters the break on more of a hot streak. Lebron had 32 points and 13 assists to help the Cavs beat the Orlando Magic 115-106 last night. It was the Cavaliers’ 13th consecutive victory, setting a new franchise record. James, the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player, has to be the front runner to claim the award through the season’s first half.

On February 12th, it’s hard to believe that of the teams who call New Jersey’s Meadowlands home, (the Nets and the NFL’s Jets and Giants), the New York Jets have the most victories. Oh, and they haven’t played since January 24th! Fans and NBA memorabilia collectors know it’s been a tough year for the Nets and their fans. The team sits 4-48 and is on track for the worst record in NBA history, currently held by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers who finished 9-73. This season-to-forget may have hit the low point Wednesday night with the team’s 97-77 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The low point you ask? The fact that in the face of blizzard conditions and a team teetering on all-time futility, Wednesday’s loss came in front of 1,016 fans. The attendance was so low the team actually closed their Nets merchandise stands that sell licensed team and NBA apparel, basketballs and other collectibles.

The Nets will look to turn it around after this weekend’s All-Star Break, facing the Bobcats in Charlotte on Tuesday February 16th.

The closer I look at the Nuggets, the easier it is to boast ‘Melo’s crew as one of the NBA’s elite. Fans who collect NBA merchandise know the story: Cleveland, Boston, L.A., there seems to be next to no respect for the Nuggets among so many of the sport’s talking heads. One stat completely blew my mind about George Karl’s squad. In 29 games against teams that are at or above .500, the Nuggets are 21-8. That’s the best such record in the league.

With Chauncey Billups finishing up arguably the best month of his NBA career, the Nuggets sit second in the Western Conference at 32-15.

One can look at the jump in demand for Nuggets merchandise as an effect of the team’s success, but the noticeable increase in Nuggets’ NBA team gear is an even bigger one. Fans cloaked in blue and gold made up a large percentage of the crowd in yesterday afternoon’s 103-89 victory over the Spurs.

It’s bad news for fans and for anyone who’s collected his Hornets merchandise or autographed NBA memorabilia, but Chris Paul is headed for the operating table. The Hornets superstar point guard will require arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, an operation likely to sideline the 24-year old for at least the next month. Paul injured the knee last Wednesday against the Warriors, then aggravated the injury further by bumping into a sideline camera Friday night against the Bulls.

The injury comes at a critical time for the Hornets, who currently reside in the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. Rookie guard Darren Collison will likely take over point guard duties until Paul is back at 100%.