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Tonight at midnight (Eastern), the NBA's free agent negotiating period officially begins. Players that have been long rumored to opt out can do so, teams can start making their moves for those players, and the signings can happen beginning July 9. So not surprisingly, the wacky rumors of who might go where are in full swing, and the one I'd like to discuss at the moment is: Corey Maggette to the Orlando Magic! From the Orlando Sentinel:

Los Angeles Clippers guard Corey Maggette told friends over the weekend that he was encouraging the Orlando Magic to make a competitive offer in free agency, allowing him to return to the team where he started his NBA career nine years ago.

"I think he'd come back in a heartbeat," said a Maggette friend who is close to both the player and the Magic organization. "It's something he'd love to see happen."

Maggette played here as a rookie (1999-00). His parents live in Central Florida. He has often spoken about the possibility of returning to the Magic.

Well, with all that to go on, let's get the contracts printed, the pens ready, and Maggette booked on the first plane to Orlando on July 9th! Oh, you want me to take a serious look at this rumor? Alright, if I must.

Maggette is pretty much guaranteed to opt out of the final year of his contract tonight, one that would pay him $7M. He should command far more than that on the free agent market, and he'd be one of the top unrestricted guys who is actually available, unlike say, Gilbert Arenas, who is pretty much a lock to stay with his current team. The Magic can only offer Corey the mid-level for next season ($5.8M), but could offer a five-year, $40M-ish total package. The Clippers are expected to offer a 4-year deal in the same $40M range.

So this deal sounds somewhat plausible if Corey indeed wants to leave Los Angeles. The big question is whether a team will offer him a more lucrative deal than a four or five-year one for $40M, and given that Corey is usually a lock to drop 20+ points per game, I'd say there's a strong possibility of that. Just remember the wildcard in this whole thing, and that's Clippers' owner Donald Sterling. His Maggette man-crush is well-documented, and he did step up last time and match Utah's offer sheet that gave Corey his current deal, which was for six years and $42M. Who's to say he doesn't break the bank to keep Corey in a Clippers' uniform this time around?