Earlier this summer, with 12 months and a full season in the rear-view mirror, we examined the free-agent class of 2007.  (As an aside - that Rashard Lewis signing, which I took heat for bashing, continues to look worse and worse when compared to the other deals agreed upon this month).

Next, we handed out grades for the first wave of free-agent signings this summer of 2008. 

Today we break down the deals most recently agreed upon.  Again, the criteria for grades is based upon each player's previous production, projected future performance, as well as the value/length of the contract. 

*****

James Posey
Signed with New Orleans: Four years, $25 million
The Hornets are serious about making a run at an NBA title next season, so they went after a guy with two rings already on his resume, which accounts for more than the rest of the roster combined.  Still, New Orleans is paying a lot for a 31-year-old who averaged just 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds last season.  (Interestingly, his averages actually dipped to 6.7 pooints and 3.6 boards in the postseason).  Yet, although his numbers will never overwhelm you, Posey is one of the best perimeter on-ball defenders in the entire league, he hits big shots in big games, and he is also a terrific teammate that contributes those indefinable intangibles to the mix.  Posey also brings that championship pedigree to the table, and for a team looking to take that next step, that is an important piece of the puzzle.  The Celtics wanted to keep him, but weren't willing to go to the fourth year.  The Hornets, after trading their first-round pick for cash, were willing to sacrifice a little down the road for an immediate upgrade.
Grade: B-       

Roger Mason
Signed with San Antonio: Two years, $7.8 million
Almost four million per year seems a bit steep for an unheralded backup, but Coach Popovich and GM RC Buford have certainly earned the benefit of the doubt.  One of the keys to the Spurs success has been finding complementary role players that are comfortable coming off the bench to contribute.  Mason can play either guard position and will provid depth behind Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.  Roger actually averaged 17.4 points and 3.4 assists, while shooting 52.6% from the floor and 90.9% from the stripe, in the nine games he started for the Wiz last season.  Moreover, his deal expires in the summer of 2010, which will give the Spurs some extra cash to play with during that magical summer.  It should be noted that San Antonio, arguably the best run franchise in all of sports, will have over $30 million in contracts coming off the books that summer, as Timmy D and Tony P are the only two Spurs signed thru 2011. 
Grade: C+      

Baron Davis
Signed with LA Clippers: Five years, $65 million
There is absolutely no doubting The Baron's ability, as he is capable of taking over a game whenever he steps on the floor.  However, the problem throughout most of his career has been staying on the court.  Last year was the first time he had suited up for more than 67 games in a single season since 2002.  In the six seasons from 2002-2007, B-Diddy missed a total of 212 games, averaging over 35 missed games per year.  In addition, while Baron seems happy to be coming home to LA, he may not be all that pleased playing under the strict and confining offensive sets utilized by Mike Dunleavy, as opposed to the run-and-gun approach employed by Don Nelson in Golden State.  Keep an eye on this Hollywood marriage; we'll see how long the honeymoon lasts.  Nevertheless, the Clippers jumped at the opportunity to lock up one of the league's preeminent showmen as soon as Davis expressed interest.  Baron can help a team in any number of ways. He was the only player in the league last season to average at least 20 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 2 three-pointers per contest.  And $13 million a season is a reasonable price-tag for an upper-echelon talent. 
Grade: B+   
     

James Jones
Signed with Miami: Five years, $23 million 
Last summer, the HEAT made a solid decision when they let Jason Kapono walk after the Raptors threw too much money at him (four years and $24 million).  It appeared Miami realized that it didn't make sense to overpay for a guy that could shoot, but was extremely limited in most other aspects of the game.  However, they turn around and give Jones (an older, less effective version of Kapono) a big contract this summer.  Huh? And while Jones was signed for his shooting ability, he hasn't been particularly accurate.  His career field-goal percentage is hovering right around 40%.  And when you average just 2.6 rebounds and less than one assist per contest, this is problem.  Apparently there is a clause that makes the final three years of the contract conditional - which would allow Miami to still maintain cap space during the summer of 2010.  It if wasn't for this team option, this deal would likely be the leader in the clubhouse for worst signing of the year. 
Grade: D-

Mickael Pietrus
Signed with Orlando: Four years, $21 million
A curious decision by the Magic.  They were already stacked with two-guards and wing players, yet still decided to throw the majority of their mid-level exception at Pietrus.  This is a team that couldn't find a way to get former lottery pick J.J. Redick into games, and has absolutely no depth at PG behind the inconsistent Jameer Nelson.  As a result of the Pietrus signing, the Magic couldn't afford Keyon Dooling and were forced to complete a sign-and-trade sending Dooling to New Jersey.  Moreover, Pietrus is coming off what may be the worst season of his five-year career, playing less than 20 minutes a night for Don Nelson, averaging 7.2 points while shooting just 43% from the field and 67.4% from the free-throw line.  Yes, Pietrus is a good defender, but when you can't score points in Don Nelson's offense that is never a good sign.   
Grade: C-

Daniel "Boobie" Gibson
Re-signed with Cleveland: Five years, $21 million
Solid job by the Cavs, locking Gibson into a long-term deal at a reasonable rate.  Boobie does a good job of stretching the floor when he is knocking down his outside shot, which makes LeBron's life easier.  He is one of the few players on Cleveland's roster that can provide points when the offense bogs down.  Gibson, the second round pick of Texas, exploded onto the scene as a rookie during the Eastern Conference Finals versus Detroit.  He was named the team's starting point guard at the start of the 2007-2008 season, but succumbed to injuries and struggled through the second half of the season and the playoffs.  It will be interesting to see which direction his career heads in at this point.  Whether or not he is a starter next season will depend largely on what the Cavs do with restricted free-agent Delonte West. 
Grade: B-

Ronny Turiaf
Signed with Golden State: Four-years, $17 million
Turiaf plays the game the right way, and has shown improvement in each of his three NBA seasons.  However, he is limited offensively and boasts career averages of just 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds.  Chris Mullin and the Warriors are hoping he can continue to improve.  Not much upside with Turiaf, but little downside, as his high energy, hustle, and defense should be consistent.  
Grade: C

A few quick thoughts on the remaining deals: 

Josh Childress
Signed with Greek club Olympiakos: Three years, $21 million (after taxes)
As a HOOPSWORLD headline proclaimed earlier this week, 'The (Hoops) World is Flat.'  And it doesn't take a best-selling author like Thomas Friedman to realize that this radical move by Childress will have a far-reaching impact on the future of the sport, especially regarding the bargaining power of restricted free-agents.  This is only the scratching of the surface; globalization will continue to expand at a exponential rate.  As the American markets continue to flounder, the Euro, compared with the US dollar, grows stronger every day.  We see players put a premium on cash and sign with the NBA team that is offering the most money all the time.  Why not follow that money trail all the way across globe? 

Chris Paul (Hornets) and Deron Williams (Jazz) extensions
4 years, $68 million for CP3 and 4 years, $70 million for Williams
No-brainer for the respective organizations in these situations. Paul is one of the best young players to come into the league in quite some time and should have won MVP last season.  D-Williams is not far behind CP3 in terms of talent and production.  New Orleans and Utah would have loved to lock these guys up forever, but thanks to LeBron James changing the game, both Paul and Williams opted to sign "The LBJ Special:" a four-year extension with an player-option for that fourth season. 

Matt Barnes
Signed by Suns: One year, league minimum ($797,000)
Shrewd signing by the stingy Suns.  Barnes, while inconsistent, is an athletic, gritty forward that can mix it up underneath the boards and also knockdown shots from distance.  He'll give the Suns some depth at the forward spot, and will try to do his best poor-man's Matrix impression next season.        

Tyron Lue
Signed with Milwaukee: One year, $2.5 million
Another head-scratcher here.  During the first few weeks of July, Lue had been linked with the HEAT and the Celtics, two teams in need of point guard depth.  Instead, he inks a deal with the PG-rich Bucks?  Milwaukee has Mo Williams locked into a lucrative, long-term contract.  They also made the mistake of giving Charlie Bell, who can play the point, a hefty five-year contract.  And they have Ramon Sessions, who played brilliantly towards the end of his rookie season last year.  Why the Bucks would feel the need to add another PG to the mix is anyone's best guess.  Apparently, Lue wanted to sign with Boston but chose Milwaukee after they offered twice as much cash as the C's.  Might the Bucks seriously consider trading Mo Williams now that they have serviceable point guards behind him?      

Kurt Thomas
Resigned by San Antonio: Two years, $8 million
Thomas is the type of scrappy, tough, defensive-minded veteran that is consistently undervalued by those teams looking to make a big splash.  In other words – another smart signing by the Spurs (no surprise there…)

Patrick O'Bryant
Signed by Boston: Two years, $3 million
O'Bryant is very quickly working his way up the "Biggest Draft Bust of the Decade" list.  He'll have a chance to turn it around in Boston, where the C's will need all the depth they find along the frontline.  Still, there is a reason the Warriors flat-dropped him after two short seasons.  

Jarvis Hayes
Signed by New Jersey: Two years, $4 million
He can shoot; but can't do much else.  This will be his third team in three seasons.  Hayes has seen his scoring average drop in each of the last four consecutive seasons.  The second year of this deal is only partially guaranteed, which makes it slightly more palatable.  The Nets will need him to eat up some of the minutes left behind by the vacating Bostjan Nachbar.       

Eduardo Najera
Signed by New Jersey: Four years, $12 million
Not a difference-maker, but content to serve his role as a guy that will bring defense, energy, toughness, and "intangibles" off the bench.  Eddie finds a way to help his team when he is on the floor

Keyon Dooling
Acquired by New Jersey via a sign-and-trade: three years, $10 million (third year partially guaranteed)
Nets GM Rod Thorn is one of the best in the business.  He has revamped the Nets roster on the fly, adding young, enticing pieces such as Devin Harris, Yi Jianlian, Brook Lopez, and Chris Douglas-Roberts in the matter of a few months.  Then he picks up Dooling, and quickly deals the disappointing Marcus Williams to the Clippers for a future first-rounder, all the while keeping an eye on creating cap-space in 2010.  Having a top GM is so incredibly important in developing a winning organization.      

Sebastian Telfair
Re-signs with Minnesota – Terms Undisclosed
Telfair was way over-hyped coming out of high-school, and spending a lottery pick on 5-11 kid that couldn't shoot never made much sense, but Telfair has developed into a decent NBA PG who takes care of the basketball and can set up an offense.  With Marko Jaric dealt to Memphis, Telfair and the oft-injured Randy Foye are the only two point guards left on the roster.  Foye, who the T-Wolves traded Brandon Roy for, will be expected to fulfill some of his promised potential this season.  Telfair should see 20+ minutes a game off the bench. 

Eddie House and Tony Allen
Re-signed by Boston: House got two-years, $5.6 million, Allen for two years and $5 million.
Something about "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."  Allen could see a bump-up in minutes and responsibility with Posey landing in New Orleans.