PRO BASKETBALL: INSIDE THE NBA

[Vesper]

Free Agents.Whose Worthy?

PRO BASKETBALL: INSIDE THE NBA

Not all NBA teams get bang for free agency bucks

Pro player sweepstakes is high-stakes game in and of itself

By SEKOU SMITH

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 07/13/08

NBA free agency, in all its unpredictable glory, is a high-stakes game of what you get for your money.

Guess right on a player and a relatively modest investment, by the NBA's standards, can turn into a quality starter — like Morris Peterson was for the New Orleans Hornets this past season.

RELATED CONTENT

• Photos: NBA free agents worth the money? Vote!

RELATED STORIES

* Not all NBA teams get bang for free agency bucks

* Claxton, Law lead Hawks' summer league roster

* Sixers' pursuit of Smith ends with Brand signing

More Hawks coverage

Guess wrong on a player and a seemingly reasonable investment, by the NBA's standards, of course, goes up in smoke — like the Speedy Claxton deal has for the Hawks.

So what exactly are teams getting for their money on the free-agent market this summer?

SOLID INVESTMENTS

Philadelphia — Elton Brand

The price: The 76ers snatched the summer's top free agent with a five-year, $82 million deal, outbidding the L.A. Clippers and Golden State.

What they get: Brand is coming off an Achilles injury that cost him all but eight games of the 2007-08 season, yet he's still considered one of the league's premier power forwards. Brand is a career 20-and-10 player (20.3 points, 10.2 rebounds) who also blocks shots (2.1 average over his career) in ways that an undersized, 6-foot-8, 254-pound power forward shouldn't be able to do. But he has outplayed expectations ever since he entered the league. The only knock on Brand is that he hasn't led his team to the playoffs consistently. His only postseason trip was a 12-game run after the 2005-06 season.

L.A. Clippers — Baron Davis

The price: The Clippers scooped up L.A. native and former UCLA star Davis with a five-year, $65 million deal.

What they get: Davis is arguably the most underappreciated guard in the league. He's put up top numbers consistently but hasn't found his way onto the All-Star team, due mostly to a glut of other superstar guards in the Western Conference. The Clippers get a complete point guard (21.8 points, 7.6 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals). He is the perfect conductor for a team that will shed its throw-it-into-the-post offense for a more high-octane attack. Davis has had injury issues in the past but played all 82 games last season.

BARGAINS

Miami — James Jones

The price: The Miami native signed a five-year deal that could be worth more than $23 million over the life of the deal.

What they get: The Heat get the steal of the offseason so far and one of the very best long-range shooters in the league. Jones made 44 percent of his shots from beyond the 3-point line last season. The beauty of this signing is that the Heat barely had to do any work to get a player who could have had his choice of destinations. After five years of playing in Indiana, Phoenix and Portland, Jones longed to return to his Miami roots. He recruited the Heat as much as he was recruited. And much like great point guards and centers, every team in the league is always in the market for a great shooter.

Dallas — DeSagana Diop

The price: The Mavericks grabbed their former starting center with a five-year, $31 million deal.

What they get: An upgrade from Erick Dampier for a fraction of the price. Diop, a former lottery pick that never found his niche in Cleveland, appeared to have resurrected his career in Dallas three years ago. But he was part of the package sent to New Jersey last season in the Jason Kidd deal. The Mavericks, wisely, came back to Diop this summer and locked him up with a mid-level offer, an unheard of price for a legitimate 7-footer with potential and the ability to start for a Western Conference playoff team. Diop hasn't piled up eye-popping statistics during his career, but at 7-1 and 280 pounds, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle won't care about his numbers so long as Diop plays defense and plays physical.

THE HEAD-SCRATCHER

Milwaukee — Andrew Bogut

The price: The Bucks and Bogut have agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $60 million in guaranteed money and potentially $72 million with incentives.

What they get: We're cheating here since Bogut won't get a chance to be a free agent, what with the Bucks locking him up with a staggering extension before he could become one. But this deal demands our attention. The Bucks appear to have outbid themselves for a player with career averages of 11.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and just 1.0 blocks. While Bogut has been solid since being taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft, he has been far from dominant. The Bucks have spent plenty of money the past few years in an effort to build a team around Bogut. He is a gifted passer and adequate scorer but far from the anchor for a contender he professed himself to be going into the draft three years ago. This is a huge amount of money to spend on a merely decent player.

[sturt]

Sekou knows this. Anyone knows this. Legitimate centers have always been a premium in the league, and always will be. For the same reason fairly ordinary quarterbacks get excellent money in the NFL, ordinary centers get excellent money in the NBA. No, he's nowhere near worth $12 mil right now, but in 3 years he could be, and definitely in 5 he could be... it's as much a calculation of the market's escalation as it is of Bogut's value. And, if the man earns the incentives, more power to him... that's why they call them "incentives" (... assuming, of course, they're not rewards for silly things like 3 points or 3 rebounds per game).

Guess he needed to add column inches.

[Guest]

Its not like Bogut is a stiff, the guy has talent. I see nothing wrong with the contract, I think he is worth it especially with his team. He does have a tough side to him, a little lame for my taste but it is still a nasty side. He almost averaged a double double at 23 (would have if it was per 36), that is good. His FT% needs some work but that is something where he could improve.

[AtlHomer]

Quote:

---

Its not like Bogut is a stiff, the guy has talent. I see nothing wrong with the contract, I think he is worth it especially with his team. He does have a tough side to him, a little lame for my taste but it is still a nasty side. He almost averaged a double double at 23 (would have if it was per 36), that is good. His FT% needs some work but that is something where he could improve.

Let's see, you think is is worth paying almost 1 million dollars per point because he is 'worth it'. What should you pay someone that averaged 18pts per game? It's amazing how some determine worth when spending OPM.....

[Diesel]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Its not like Bogut is a stiff, the guy has talent. I see nothing wrong with the contract, I think he is worth it especially with his team. He does have a tough side to him, a little lame for my taste but it is still a nasty side. He almost averaged a double double at 23 (would have if it was per 36), that is good. His FT% needs some work but that is something where he could improve.

Let's see, you think is is worth paying almost 1 million dollars per point because he is 'worth it'. What should you pay someone that averaged 18pts per game? It's amazing how some determine worth when spending OPM.....

If Stats were the end all and be all, you might have a point, but his value isn't determined by stats, it's determined by team need. You notice that Richard Jefferson and Micheal Redd and Mo Williams will do must of the scoring. IN fact, top to bottom, Milwaukee has a very solid team if Charlie V. can turn the corner. They may have been paying for that stability... especially at the C position.

[exodus]

Quote:

---

But this deal demands our attention. The Bucks appear to have outbid themselves for a player with career averages of 11.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and just 1.0 blocks.

He averaged 14/10 this past season with 1.7 blocks. He averaged 22/10 against us shooting 61% with 3.75 blocks.

His foul shooting really sucks though as does his jumper. that is what is really holding him back offensively.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Quote:

---

If Stats were the end all and be all, you might have a point, but his value isn't determined by stats, it's determined by team need. You notice that Richard Jefferson and Micheal Redd and Mo Williams will do must of the scoring. IN fact, top to bottom, Milwaukee has a very solid team if Charlie V. can turn the corner. They may have been paying for that stability... especially at the C position.

And that's the exact reason Bogut's extension reminds me so much of the deal Troy Murphy signed ( He averaged 15 pts and 11 rebs in year 4 ). You can't pay a guy that much money strictly for the sake of stability. You have to give him a chance to be a true impact player.

It's the same logic that saw guys like Murphy, Dampier, and Curry get grossly overpaid for what they bring to the table.

If you're Milwaukee, with offensive weapons all over the place, the emphasis should be to try to get some defense in the middle. Bogut is a decent player and he isn't a scrub. But at the price they re-signed him for, they maybe could've gotten 2 guys who can play defense for them either on thr inside or out on the perimeter.

What's the use of having a legit center that can provide offense, when he might see the ball even less now?

When you talk about the 3 most overpaid positions in professional sports, the list probably goes:

1) MLB middle relief pitcher

2) NBA center

3) NFL wide receiver

[mrhonline]

Bogut's market value is easily in the $60M range. The chances of someone offering more than that next year are pretty good.

Besides, this stunt alone is worth millions:

[Diesel]

But there again, you got to realize the value of a true Center for your team.

When everything is working right, Bogut is a guy that they can count on for points down low. That will help Redd and Jefferson greatly. It will open up the floor. Milwaukee decided to pay for that instead of going to war for it next year. 12 Million is not so bad for a true Center who can score and rebound.

[Guest]

Oh wow, I didn't realize that PPG was the only factor in basketball. You are right! Let's only look at PPG, throw a team together with 20 PPG players and just call them the Knicks. We will go straight to the Championship.

Bogut performs well in all areas of the game except for foul shooting. Its not like you could go outside and find a 7 foot center with the same skillset, there are probably only a handful of players in the league with the same skillset as Bogut.

[MemphisX]

How is Diop a bargain but Bogut a head scratcher?

[Peoriabird]

Quote:

---

Bogut performs well in all areas of the game except for foul shooting. Its not like you could go outside and find a 7 foot center with the same skillset, there are probably only a handful of players in the league with the same skillset as Bogut.

I think what he is saying is that Bogut is a mismatch for a scoring team that is weak defensively over all. A better center for them would be a Mutombo type center that could protect the paint a little better. Bogut is a good center but he doesn't score enough to make up for his defensive deficiencies!

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Bogut performs well in all areas of the game except for foul shooting. Its not like you could go outside and find a 7 foot center with the same skillset, there are probably only a handful of players in the league with the same skillset as Bogut.

I think what he is saying is that Bogut is a mismatch for a scoring team that is weak defensively over all. A better center for them would be a Mutombo type center that could protect the paint a little better. Bogut is a good center but he doesn't score enough to make up for his defensive deficiencies!

Exactly.

Plus, with all of those gunners on the team, he's not going to touch the ball enough to really be a force scoring the ball anyway. That team was absolutely horrible defensively last year. And they've done nothing to address that.

Unless they get rid of Mo Williams, and get a pass-first PG there who could get Redd, RJ, and Bogut the ball, that team is going nowhere fast. They're still going to be the same bad defensive team.

And when Bogut is making all that money, but scoring 13 ppg and grabbing 10 boards, and they still aren't making the playoffs, he'll get the blame.

[drzachary]

Quote:

---

Bogut's market value is easily in the $60M range. The chances of someone offering more than that next year are pretty good.

Besides, this stunt alone is worth millions:

Agreed!! That maneuver, when it happened, instantly transformed me from a Bogut hater to a fan.