Put simply, this would be amazing: “One of the baddest of bad boys in recent NBA history – former Timberwolf J.R. Rider – is negotiating a return to professional basketball in the United States at age 38 … Rider’s agent, Joe Lee, said this morning that Rider hasn’t played organized ball since a 10-game pit stop with the Denver Nuggets in 2001-02. Still, he’s ‘been working out hard’ and playing pickup ball with local college guys in suburban Phoenix, where Rider now makes his home, Lee said. The New Jersey Nets are considering inviting Rider to preseason camp, Lee said, even though that team said it doesn’t see Rider competing for a roster spot. And what about the Timberwolves? ‘He’d go in a heartbeat,’ Lee said. ‘He’s humbled now … he’s matured.”‘