I'll post the story here because I'm not sure if people here have ESPN insider:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=harrington-100714

Five years, $34 million? For Al Harrington?

OK, it sounds like a lot. Harrington can fill it up, but he's 30 years old and historically some of the worst contracts have been midlevel deals for players in the 28-30 range.

But what if I told you the deal was three years, $26 million? Does that sound so bad? Because that's effectively the deal the Nuggets agreed to with Harrington. I'm told the last two years of the deal are only half guaranteed, which means Denver can walk away having paid for three years at just under $9 million a pop.

And that's actually a decent value, especially in this year's bloated market, because of the No. 1 consideration -- the guy can still play. Harrington's PER has been above the league average for three straight seasons, and while he won't be garnering any All-Defense votes, he's a fairly mobile big man who can move to the 3 in a pinch. He can also fill it up, having averaged better than a point every two minutes for each of the past five seasons.

Harrington is especially crucial for the Nuggets for two other reasons.

First, the market for big men was rapidly drying up on them and the Nuggets were desperate for one with Chris Andersen and Kenyon Martin recuperating from knee injuries that could leave them on the shelf when the season starts.

Second, Harrington provides a new dimension for Denver: a big man who can step away from the basket, play pick-and-pop and provide more spacing for Carmelo Anthony to do his thing around the basket. Denver opponents always crowded the paint and the Nuggets lacked an effective answer; Harrington changes that equation entirely.

Folks in Denver should also be giving a wink and a nod to owner Stan Kroenke for pulling the trigger on this deal. The Nuggets are already $3 million over the luxury tax, which means Harrington's deal will effectively cost Kroenke close to $12 million in tax payments this season. The other casualty is Linas Kleiza. Any chance of matching Toronto's four-year, $19 million offer sheet just went out the window, as the Nuggets have both a full roster (they also agreed to terms with vets Anthony Carter and Shelden Williams) and a budget hole.

Nonetheless, it's a strong move for Denver after losing out on Jermaine O'Neal (Celtics) and Udonis Haslem (Heat). In a Western Conference where it's anyone's guess who the second-best team might be, this deal keeps the Nuggets strongly in the running for that honor.