Friday, July 20, 2012

NBA free agency: A handful of players still looking for homes

To say the least, the cupboard of the NBA free-agent market has gotten pretty bare. It is not, however, entirely empty. There are still a handful of players whose situations have yet to be resolved who can be contributors next year.

Bargain bin

Carl Landry. Because he is not that tall, Landry has been overlooked during his career. And in that career, he has averaged 12.1 points in 24.9 minutes on 53.5 percent shooting.

Brandon Rush. The Golden State Warriors can match offers on Rush, and likely will do so. He shot 45.2 percent from the 3-point line last year.

Delonte West. Filling in for Jason Kidd and coming off the bench, West had a good year for the Dallas Mavericks. He is still dogged by his off-court reputation, otherwise, he?d be signed by now.

Courtney Lee. His ability to defend and capable performance as a scorer has gotten him plenty of attention since the Rockets made him an unrestricted free agent. Don?t rule out a return to Houston.

Shannon Brown. Brown is a pretty consistent combo guard off the bench, plays good defense and can make perimeter shots.

Randy Foye. Foye presents a dilemma?he is not good enough to be a starter, but he is terrible when asked to come off the bench. Other than that, he?s a keeper.

Nate Robinson. This is what happens when you spend the first few years of your career driving coaches batty?even when you actually do have a pretty good year heading into free agency, as Robinson did, no one wants you.

Big and young

Andray Blatche. He was a bad egg in the locker room and was amnestied by the Washington Wizards. But he is only 25 and has talent. He's worth a risk.

Robin Lopez. He is a restricted free agent, and even with Marcin Gortat on hand as the starter, the Phoenix Suns are likely to keep him.

Jordan Hill. Hill bolstered his stock late in the year and in the playoffs with the L.A. Lakers, and is trying to cash in. The Minnesota Timberwolves remain a viable option.

Greg Stiemsma. He?s another Timberwolves option. Stiemsma is not that young (he was a 26-year-old rookie last year), but he is big and adept shot-blocker.

What you see is what you get

Leandro Barbosa. Still a very effective (if erratic) combo guard off the bench, and would fit in nicely with a contender.

Carlos Delfino. He?s a solid pro, though he should not be a starter, as he was in Milwaukee last year.

Jonny Flynn. Flynn has never gotten back on track after suffering a hip injury in 2010. He was not particularly impressive last year, but he is four years removed from being the No. 6 pick in the draft. So someone (Cleveland?) will roll the dice.

Mickael Pietrus. He plays tough D, but he went AWOL offensively late in the year for the Celtics. Still can knock down 3s, though.

You again?

Tracy McGrady. McGrady was a versatile bench contributor for the Atlanta Hawks last year, and can probably fill that kind of role for a few more years.

Michael Redd. Overall, last year?s numbers seem to show that Redd has no business being back in the NBA. But look closer?once he got his legs back, he was actually pretty good, averaging 11.4 points on 40.5 percent 3-point shooting in 15 April games.

Derek Fisher. If not for 229 games worth of playoff experience, the 37-year-old Fisher probably would not be in the league any longer.

Gilbert Arenas. His stint in Memphis did not reinvigorate his career. But he did not torpedo the locker room, either, and that might be all he needed to do to get another shot.

Source: http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2012-07-18/nba-free-agency-andray-blatche-javale-mcgee-delonte-west-mavericks-cavaliers

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