HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

Despite the onslaught of disappointing news, the fact remains that both sides are relatively close to finding an acceptable middle ground and striking a deal. Thus, let’s all agree to be optimists for a few minutes and assume that the lockout will end sooner rather than later.
 
Once the lockout is lifted (and I would be beyond shocked if both the players and owners were stupid enough to throw away a full season, considering they have narrowed the gap so significantly), GM’s will immediately start scrambling to flesh out their rosters. This year’s free agent crop is relatively lackluster – especially when compared to the once-in-a-lifetime group led by LeBron and company last summer.  Nonetheless, there are a few all-stars up for grabs and many valuable role players set to hit the open market as well.
 
However, we can safely assume the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will include a more restrictive salary cap; if not necessarily a “hard cap,” nearly everyone agrees it will be “less soft.” This means that teams will be forced to be far more economical. Shrewd GM’s will be on the lookout for players than can make important contributions, yet not break the bank.   
 
This is especially true for teams with major money committed to players already on their roster. Even if they may have a gaping hole in their lineup, there is only so much these teams will be able to do. For instance, take a look at the Atlantic Division. The three best teams in the Atlantic – the Celtics, Knicks and HEAT – all have few players making a boatload of money yet are also still desperate for a dependable starting center. Despite Boston, New York, and Miami (among many others organizations) badly needing to add size and depth up front, they simply won’t have the financial flexibility to land a big-name big man.
 
Center is always the most difficult position to address. Thus, any young and talented pivots, such as Marc Gasol and DeAndre Jordan, will be especially hot commodities. But both of those bigs are restricted free agents and it’s difficult to imagine the Grizzlies and Clippers, respectively, not matching any relatively reasonable offers they receive. Nene is arguably the best FA on the entire market, and will get paid accordingly (most likely by Denver, who has money to play with). Tyson Chandler is an unrestricted free agent, but is headed for a big payday after a major bounceback season in Dallas last year. Samuel Dalembert will likely get in the neighborhood of $5+ million per season, pricing out a majority of interested parties.
 
Those guys are the cream of the FA center crop. After that “top-tier” of talent, there is a significant drop-off. However, because legitimate centers are so rare in today’s NBA, the players listed below may end up playing significant minutes for an NBA team near you.
 
(I’ll list the player, team they played for last season, salary they were paid last season, and FA status)
Spencer Hawes (Philadelphia 76ers/ $3.0 million/ Restricted {$4.1 million Qualifying Offer}):
The Kings had high hopes for Hawes when they took him 10th overall back in 2007, and although he’s had some moments, he never developed into the stud center they envisioned. Hawes spent last season starting for the Sixers and averaged 7.2 points to go along with 5.7 boards and 0.9 blocks. Given the dearth of legit starting centers, another team might consider signing Hawes to an offer sheet, which would force the Sixers to make a tough decision. 

Greg Oden (Portland Trail Blazers/ $6.8 million/ Restricted {$8.8 million Qualifying Offer}):
My take on Oden from the 2007 NBA “Re-Draft” piece: Ah, what might have been… Or, maybe, what could still be??  Oden was on the NBA radar as early as his freshman year in high school. Projected as a true “can’t miss” prospect, Oden dominated the NCAA (despite a wrist injury) during his lone season at Ohio State and most everyone assumed he’d had a major impact in the NBA right away as well. However, as we all know, injuries robbed him of that opportunity. Oden underwent mircofracture surgery on his right knee in September of 2007, a few short months after the Blazers nabbed him with the #1 overall selection. He would miss the entire 2007-2008 campaign. Oden played on opening night the following season, but left with a foot injury after playing just 13 minutes. After as a solid opening month to the 2009-2010 season (which included 24-point scoring outburst and a separate 20-rebound game), he fractured his left patella tendon, which cost him the rest of that season. Then, the following November, Portland announced Oden needed microfracture surgery on his left knee. Obviously, Oden’s career up until this point has been tragically marred by knee injuries (he’s missed a grand total of 246 games); however, when he has been able to suit up, he’s shown what’s he’s capable of – even if he isn’t close to 100% healthy. Oden has played in exactly 82 games in his NBA career, and during that time he’s averaged 9.4 points (shooting 57.7% from the floor), 7.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in just 22 minutes of action. That equates to 15.3 ppg, 11.9 rpg, and 2.3 bpg per 36 minutes. In addition, he actually leads the entire 2007 draft class in “Win Shares per 48 minutes.” The Blazers elected to make Oden a qualifying offer making him a restricted free agent. It is extremely unlikely another team trumps that offer, which means Portland is clinging to the hope he still has some basketball left in his body. It will be extremely interesting to see if he can ever stay healthy long enough to give us a glimpse of what kind of NBA player he could have been.

Chuck Hayes (Houston Rockets/ $2.3 million/ Unrestricted):
Quick trivia question: Dwight Howard earned the most first-place votes (114) in the 2011 NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting, but who earned the second most first-place votes (2)?  If you guessed Chuck Hayes, pat yourself on the back.  If you are his agent, pass that bit of info along to NBA GMs this summer and hope your client can cash in with a nice payday… Measuring just six feet, six inches tall, Hayes certainly isn’t your prototypical center, but the former Kentucky Wildcat has proven he can handle himself in the paint.    

Troy Murphy (Boston Celtics/ $0.9 million/ Unrestricted):
Although more of a power forward than a true center, Murphy has played some “5” in his career. After agreeing to a buyout with the Warriors last March, Murphy was intently pursued by a number of teams looking to bolster their bench for the playoff push. Troy eventually chose the Celtics and both sides had high hopes. However, Murphy wasn’t able to even crack the rotation in Boston, averaging just 2.6 points and 10 minutes per contest. Does the Notre Dame product have a bounceback season in him? It should be noted that as recently as the 2009-2010 season he was one putting up monster numbers. He was one of just eight players to average a double-double that season – the other seven were: Dwight Howard, David Lee, Zach Randolph, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Tim Duncan, and Gerald Wallace).

Kwame Brown (Charlotte Bobcats/ $1.3 million/ Unrestricted):
Brown will forever be tagged as a major “bust” because he never lived up to expectations heaped upon him after getting selected as the #1 overall pick by Michael Jordan and the Wizards back in 2001. Still, Brown proved last season that he still belongs in the league – averaging nearly 8 points and 7 boards for the Bobcats in arguably his best all-around season since 2003. He’ll never be a superstar, as his small hands and lack of an offensive repertoire have rendered him below-average offensively; but Kwame is strong enough and quick enough to hold his own on defense. He could be starting for any number of NBA teams at the start of next season (whenever that is).

Jeff Foster (Indiana Pacers/ $6.7 million/ Unrestricted):
The epitome of a crafty veteran, Foster knows all the tricks.  He still gets boards while also getting under opponents’ skin.  Foster has played his entire career in Indiana, will he move on to a new destination? In my opinion, Foster can still be a valuable contributor on a good team. Ask those who play against him, and they’ll concur. He’s 34, but still brings plenty of energetic intensity to the game. Last season, his rebound rate was excellent; he averaged a career-high 13.4 rebounds per 36 minutes. He’ll be a solid addition for a team looking to bring some size and defense off the bench.

Joel Przybilla (Charlotte Bobcats/ $7.4 million/ Unrestricted):
He’s not a scorer (he’s never averaged more than 6.4 ppg in his career, and that was six years ago), but he can rebound and defend, when healthy. However, his health is a continuous question mark. In addition, he turns 32 this month and his production has regressed in recent years. It will be interesting to see how motivated he is to continue playing. Might be a decent fit in New York; the Knicks have plenty of offensive weapons, but desperately need a big body to board and protect the rim. As recently as the 2009-2010 season, Przybilla averaged 8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.

Chris Wilcox (Detroit Pistons/ $3.0 million/ Unrestricted):
Wilcox played better than expected last season for the Pistons. He finished the 2010-2011 campaign averaging 7.4 ppg and4.8 rpg, while shooting a very impressive 58.1% from the floor. He’s not a good defender (averaging 0.4 blocks per game for his career), and not a great rebounder, but he’s proven he’s a relatively efficient scorer.

Nenad Krstic (Boston Celtics/ $5.7 million/ Unrestricted):
Krstic put up some respectable numbers for the Thunder and later the Celtics last season, but has reportedly signed a two-year deal worth $6 million Euros (about $8.76 million USD) with CSKA Moscow.

Kyrylo Fesenko (Utah Jazz/ $1.1 million/ Unrestricted):
He is young, and 7’1″ and he can walk and chew gum at the same time.  Ergo, Fesenko will get plenty of attention from NBA teams if he’s interested in coming back to the States after recovering from a torn knee ligament.

Eddy Curry ($11.3 million/ Unrestricted):
Question: Just how desperate are NBA GM’s to find a decent center? Answer: An NBA team will undoubtedly roll the dice and sign Eddy Curry once the lockout ends.

Erick Dampier (Miami HEAT/ $1.1 million/ Unrestricted):
Miami leaned on Dampier quite a bit last season, which probably says more about the HEAT’s lack of center depth than Dampier’s ability at this stage of his career…

Kurt Thomas (Chicago Bulls/ $1.4 million/ Unrestricted):
With Shaq retiring, Thomas (now 39 years of age) is officially the league’s oldest player. However, Kurt has still managed to find ways to contribute. He chipped in and played over 22 minutes a night in the 52 games he played for Chicago last year.

Jason Collins (Atlanta Hawks/ $1.2 million/ Unrestricted):
Collins likely earned himself a couple of contract offers due to his decent defensive effort against Dwight Howard in the Hawks’ first-round defeat of Orlando last April.  

Aaron Gray (New Orleans Hornets/ $0.9 million/ Unrestricted):
Hard to get super excited about Gray (career averages of 3.6 points and 3.5 boards), but hey, he shops in the really big and really tall section, so he’ll likely find his way onto an NBA roster.

Shelden Williams (New York Knicks/ $0.9 million/ Unrestricted):
Williams surpassingly earned a spot in the Nuggets starting rotation early on last season and played relatively well for Denver, before being shipped to New York as part of the Carmelo Anthony trade. The Knicks were forced to play him at center for brief stretches.

Hilton Armstrong (Atlanta Hawks/ $0.9 million/ Unrestricted):
A former lottery pick out of UCONN, Armstrong has always possessed the size and athletic ability to compete in the NBA, but has never been able to earn consistent minutes.

Dan Gadzuric (New Jersey Nets/ $7.2 million/ Unrestricted):
Gadzuric signed a six-year, $36 million contract back in July of 2005 – a prime example of teams vastly overpaying a mediocre talent, which is one of the reasons were are dealing with this lockout. Obviously Gadzuric won’t see a fraction of that money in his next contract, but he’ll get a bite or two on the open market. He’s played in a total of just 74 games over the last two seasons combined, averaging 2.8 ppg.

Hamed Haddadi (Memphis Grizzlies/ $1.8 million/ Restricted {$2.0 million Qualifying Offer}):
The Iranian big man is just 25 years old and has shown some glimpses of promise in the limited minutes he’s played over his three years in Memphis. Somebody may make a Haddadi a decent offer (potentially assuming the Grizz won’t match as they focus their funds on resigning Marc Gasol).

Alexis Ajinca (Toronto Raptors/ $1.5 million/ Unrestricted):
Ajinca, who never should have been a first-round draft pick in the first place, was clearly not NBA-ready during his first couple of years in the league. However, he did show some signs of life late last season playing for the Raptors, when he averaged 4.8 ppg and 2.5 playing 11 minutes a night over 24 games.

Jamaal Magloire (Miami HEAT/ $1.4 million/ Unrestricted):
You want to win a bet next time you’re at the bar? Ask your buddies the following trivia question (give them 50 guesses apiece, they’ll still never get it): Who was the leading scorer for the East All-Stars in the 2004 NBA All-Star game? The answer is Jamaal Magloire. Seriously (http://www.basketball-reference.com/allstar/NBA_2004.html). That said, Magloire is now clearly on his last legs and saw only sporadic minutes for Miami last year.

Etan Thomas (Atlanta Hawks/ $1.2 million/ Unrestricted):
A brilliant man and terrific voice of reason regarding the NBA, but as player… um, let’s just sat he’s probably a better writer than center at this stage of his career. 

Tony Battie (Philadelphia 76ers/ $1.4 million/ Unrestricted):
Battie’s NBA career is winding to a close; he’s played in just 53 games since 2009.

Theo Ratliff (L.A. Lakers/ $1.4 million/ Unrestricted):
Once known as “The Rattler,” it might be more apt to refer to him as a non-poisonous Gartner snake nowadays. Theo scored a grand total of 2 points over 10 games playing for the Lakers last season.

Francisco Elson (Utah Jazz/ $1.1 million/ Unrestricted):
The cagey vet saw spot minutes off the bench in Utah lat season.