Top Free Agent Point Guards
All this week, various HOOPSWORLD columnists are going to break down the best players available in free agency (whenever free agency does open up, should a lockout postpone it), and today we’re going to start with the available point guards.
Before we look into the best available floor generals on the market, it should be noted the 2011 free agency class is nowhere near as exciting as the 2010 free agency class. The biggest names on the list are players with Early Termination Options, which means players like David West, Tim Duncan, and Nene aren’t even free agents yet and may not be until 2012.
Beyond that, the list of available point guards is about as slim as pickings get, but we’re going to do our best to sort out the best ones and make a few educated guesses as to which teams may have some interest. And so, without further ado, the top free agent point guards for the summer (or fall?) of 2011.
#1 – Aaron Brooks (Restricted) – It makes sense Aaron Brooks saw a little dip in his scoring numbers after getting traded to Phoenix at the deadline last year. Playing behind a two-time MVP like Steve Nash will do that to a stat line. But despite being one of the smaller starting-quality point guards in the league at just a smidge under 6’0″, Brooks is as speedy as anyone in the league and his skills as a point guard are only improving. His assist numbers skyrocketed in in 2009-2010, and after an initial dip in the first part of 2010-2011 (mostly due to cut playing time in Houston), he improved them as a Phoenix Sun.
He’s one of probably only two players in this group of point guards capable of running a team, and the other (see #2 on this list) isn’t even really a true point guard. There’s no telling how much longer Nash will continue to play, but Phoenix is going to need a point guard for the future. Right now, that point guard is set up to be Aaron Brooks. He is, like it or not, the best pure point guard free agent this summer, which means he’ll get some offers but Phoenix will probably match.
#2 – Rodney Stuckey (Restricted) – We know the Detroit Pistons are in a weird place right now, and that makes the future of combo guard Rodney Stuckey a bit of a muddy one at the moment. Point guard Brandon Knight (who actually is a remarkably similar player to Stuckey) fell to the Pistons in the 2011 draft, and nobody faults them for snatching him up. The problem is with Knight and Ben Gordon both firmly entrenched in the team’s long-term plans, will Stuckey always have a home at the Palace?
Whatever the answer to that question is, it’s worth noting 2011 probably isn’t the summer Stuckey flies away. Detroit has tendered him a Qualifying Offer, thereby making him a restricted free agent and giving themselves the ability to match any offer he may get from another team. Stuckey’s a starting-quality guard for any team in this league and is the best overall player on this list despite the fact he’s not necessarily the best pure point guard. No one lets 15-16 points per game just walk away for nothing. Detroit will match any offer he gets, but likely will just offer him a fair extension on their own. Joe Dumars has no problem paying his guys, and Stuck is one of his guys. Teams hoping to pry him away may have to dream on.
#3 – J.J. Barea (Unrestricted) – Even before showing up huge in the 2011 postseason for the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, Barea was someone teams had to be considering in terms of this offseason’s free agency. He’s undersized, but he’s an absolute firecracker on the court, and the fact Miami had to apply “The Derrick Rose Rules” to him proves how quick and talented this kid really is.
Dallas is already going to have a spend a ton of money this summer to hold onto Tyson Chandler, and depending on how the new CBA looks, they might not even ben given the option of keeping Barea as well. They’d certainly love to, but with Roddy Beaubois coming back healthy at the start of the season, they might not be able to pay him the sort of money another team could.
Barea is unrestricted, which means he can sign with anybody he wants, and teams like Atlanta, Toronto, and (dare I say it?) Miami could have interest in him. In the end, it would be shocking not to see Dallas do everything in their power to keep their rising star on board for the future, but he may find more money elsewhere. The question is, will he care about the money, or is Dallas too great a fit to let go of so easily, especially in this championship honeymoon period?
#4 – Mario Chalmers (Restricted) – Chalmers made himself some money in this year’s NBA Finals, without a doubt. After averaging just 6.4 points and 2.5 assists per game in the regular season, Chalmers jumped to 11.8 points and 3.5 assists (plus 1.7 steals) per game in the Finals. That doesn’t make him any more or less special than he was before that series, but it does mean he turned some heads on a very public stage and sometimes, that translates into dollars and cents.
{AUTHOR_BOX}Miami already has extended him a Qualifying Offer, which means their preference is to bring him back next season. There’s no telling what sort of money teams desperate for point guard depth will throw at him with this dismal batch of free agents on the market, but Miami has the right to match any of it. He’s a young player with a long career as a reserve guard ahead of him, and there’s definitely a market for something like that. Miami can’t afford to lose him, which means they probably won’t, and it would be something of a surprise if he ended up playing anywhere else next season. Why would he want to?
#5 – T.J. Ford (Unrestricted) – Say whatever you want about T.J. Ford, but he handled himself extremely well in a very tough situation with the Pacers. He only played in half of Indy’s games last season and averaged a paltry 5.4 ppg and 3.4 apg in the few minutes he was given, but for a player as battle-tested as Ford, it probably was a good thing he was able to rest his body so thoroughly before signing what could be the last “major” contract of his career.
He’s still only 28 years old and has plenty of game left in him should a team decide to give him an opportunity as a legitimate backup PG. So many of the free agent point guards available this summer are young guys; some team somewhere is going to want to snatch up a relatively inexpensive vet like Ford, who is a solid locker room presence and the consummate professional. He’s not going to end up back in Indiana with Darren Collison, George Hill, and A.J. Price all vying for minutes, but a veteran team like New York or Boston or San Antonio could give him a shot and find the man still has some value. At least they’d know he’s coming in with fresh legs.
The Next Five:
Patrick Mills (UR – Portland could still tender him a Qualifying Offer)
Carlos Arroyo (UR)
Ronnie Price (UR)
Earl Watson (UR)
Jason Williams (UR)
Andre Miller could join this list as well, should the Denver Nuggets elect to waive him by June 29th (his contract for 2011-12 is fully unguaranteed if waived by then).
Like I said, we’re not looking at a particular strong free agency class when it comes to point guards, but there are a few guys available that could have an impact, and other guys not mentioned here like Earl Boykins, Acie Law, and Anthony Carter know how to find their ways to NBA rosters. There just aren’t a lot of game changers available here. Sad, but true
Of course, there weren’t a lot of game-changing point guards on the market last summer either. It’s a hard position to just go out and buy, which is why so many of the best ones are still with the teams that drafted them.
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