[h2]Best under-the-radar free agents[/h2]
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By John Hollinger
ESPN.com
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Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty ImagesDespite averaging under four points a game, Marcin Gortat has the talent to be a starting center.
Marcin Gortat played in all 11 of the Magic's games in the Eastern Conferencefinals and NBA Finals in the 2009 playoffs, and didn't score more than four points in any of them. He averaged 3.8 points per game in the regular seasonand has exactly four double-doubles in his two-season career.
So it might be surprising to learn that as free agency opened at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday, the
Houston Rockets were waiting on his doorstep. And they weren't just there to check out his seriouslysouped-up BMW. (He drove slowly past me leaving practice one day during the NBA Finals, and even at 10 mph the thing sounds like a jet engine.)
The Rockets aren't the only ones, either. Pitches from Dallas, New York, Atlanta and Indiana may follow in the coming hours, as teams step up theirpursuit of the restricted free-agent big man.
Why such a furor over a player with such modest accomplishments? Because once one adjusts for the paltry minutes Gortat played behind all-world center
Dwight Howard, it quickly becomes apparent just how effective he was this pastregular season.
Gortat shot 56.7 percent from the floor and averaged a whopping 14.4 rebounds per 40 minutes last season. His rebound rate of 20.3 ranked sixth in theleague -- meaning on more than one out of every five missed shot, he got the board -- and his offensive rebound rate of 14.0 was better than Howard's.Gortat also blocked 2.7 shots per 40 minutes, putting him 12th among centers, and while his foul rate was fairly high (5.6 per 40 minutes), it wasn't offthe charts.
Overall, his 17.04 player efficiency rating was 19th among centers. But with the exception of
Chris Andersen, everyone ahead of him is either on a rookie contract or making more than $9million a year.
It doesn't appear to be a fluke. He had even better numbers in limited minutes the previous season, and his translated numbers from Europe indicate thatat worst he'd be a decent backup center. He's also nimble for his size, making him a good pick-and-roll defender.
Basically, he's a starting NBA center and he's only 24. Given those parameters, a midlevel deal for him suddenly looks like pretty good value.
As a result, Gortat heads my list of under-the-radar free agents for this summer. While names like
Hedo Turkoglu,
BenGordon,
Charlie Villanueva,
Paul Millsap and
DavidLee are likely to dominate the discussion over the next few days, I would argue that spending the midlevel exception or less on players such as these arebetter values than dropping $10 million a season on big-name players, especially the last three on that list. Here's the rest of my 12-man all-undervaluedroster:
Sessions
Ramon Sessions (restricted, Milwaukee)
There are a few reasons why the Bucks didn't give a qualifying offer to Charlie Villanueva, but one is that it's good poker. By sending a signal to themarket that Sessions is the guy they want to keep, the Bucks effectively precluded anyone from making a strong offer to try to wrest him away in free agencyand thus almost certainly lowered his final price.
He's worth it, too. Sessions can't make 3s and needs the ball in his hands to be successful, but he's a deft passer who can also score aroundthe rim. Last season, he averaged 18.8 points and 8.3 assists per 40 minutes, and did it efficiently, as he had the ninth-best turnover ratio among pointguards. He's also an effective rebounder (5.0 boards per 40 minutes) and rated 13th among point guards in PER.
Best of all, he's only 23. Considering all the veteran point guards getting attention this summer despite presenting far greater risk because of theirages (
Jason Kidd,
Andre Miller), it's puzzling to see Sessions virtually ignored.
Williams
Marvin Williams (restricted, Atlanta)
Continuing that age theme: If you're going to dive into the free agent pool, doesn't it make more sense to add 23-year-olds than 36-year-olds? Well,Williams is 23 and is coming off a strong season, one in which he ranked 13th among small forwards in PER at 16.04 while becoming the Hawks' main defensivestopper on the wings.
At 6-9, he has the length to harass opposing small forwards, and he added the 3-pointer to his arsenal last season, hitting 35.5 percent. His tendency tofade into the background can be vexing, but on the right team that's not necessarily a bad thing. And as his offensive game continues to blossom, he couldbe the quiet gem in this year's free-agent class. Not that he'll come cheaply -- Atlanta is likely to match any sane offer -- but his restricted statusmay allow the Hawks to get a great deal on a key building block.
Wafer
Von Wafer (unrestricted, Rockets)
Another 23-year-old who still has plenty of upside to explore, Wafer is a knockdown shooter who can also put it on the floor and use his athleticism to scoreat the trim.
While his defense is a work in progress and his passing only a rumor, he averaged 19.9 points per 40 minutes for Houston last season while shooting 39.0percent on 3s. He's also an unrestricted free agent and the Rockets are facing luxury tax issues, meaning he might be had for the right price. As a sourceof bench scoring, you could do plenty worse, especially since he has enough upside to eventually start.
Warrick
Hakim Warrick (restricted, Memphis)
Power forward is the league's easiest position to fill right now, but the lack of attention for Warrick is shocking given how productive he's been forthe Grizzlies the past two seasons.
That's partly because he's a lousy defender, but Warrick can flat-out score. He averaged 19 points per 40 minutes for the Griz the past two season,and did it fairly efficiently, with modest turnover rates and true shooting marks in the mid-50s. That's very hard to do on a bad offensive team, and itmakes him a strong sixth man candidate for a better club.
Memphis made a qualifying offer, but given its expected pursuit of Lee and draft-day addition of Hasheem Thabeet and their history of parsimony, Warrick canprobably be had for a decent price.
Gooden
Drew Gooden (unrestricted, Spurs)
Yes, he's a little flighty and doesn't always run the plays correctly, and that can make him maddening for a coach. On the other hand, he produces.Gooden has averaged a double-double on a per-40 minutes basis for five straight seasons, and last season was the fourth in the past five in which his PER waswell above the league average.
And this may be hard to believe for a guy who has been around the block so much, but he's still only 27. He'll likely come cheap given how far downthe power forward hierarchy he is this summer (Villanueva, Millsap, Lee,
AndersonVarejao,
Brandon Bass,
Lamar Odom and
RasheedWallace clearly outrank him), but you'd be hard-pressed to find a more effective reserve big man on the market.
Moon
Jamario Moon (restricted, Miami)
It's not clear if the Heat are willing to cut into their cap space by re-signing Moon, and if not, it's a good opportunity for another team to get aquality defender on the cheap.
Moon can be frustrating offensively because of his tendency to take quick 3s, but he's not chopped liver out there (35.5 percent) and he doesn'tturn the ball over. Additionally, he's one of the best rebounding 3-guards in the league and is long enough to play the 4 in small-ball arrangements.
Though he's 29, Moon has been in the NBA for only two seasons, so he may still have some improvement left in him. Teams looking to split their midlevelexception among multiple players and needing a quality wing should have their eye out for him.
Nesterovic
Rasho Nesterovic (unrestricted, Pacers)
Probably the unsexiest free-agent pickup out there, Nesterovic can't jump, looks like he's aiming a rocket launcher when he shoots and has an almostcomic ability to avoid drawing fouls. But instead of winning the news conference, he lets you win games.
The 33-year-old 7-footer shot better than 51 percent from the field the past three seasons while using his solid frame to ward off opposing post threats.He's a good passer who can space the floor and his floor-bound game is likely to lose little to age. While he's not worth anywhere near the $8.4million he made a season ago, he's going to provide somebody with a nice backup center this coming season.
Carney
Rodney Carney (unrestricted, Timberwolves)
A rotation player who can likely be had at a bargain price since the Wolves didn't pick up the final year of his contract, making him an unrestricted freeagent. Carney offers two things nearly every team is looking for: an athletic wing who can defend and a decent 3-point shooter. He made 35 percent fromdistance last season while taking more than half his shots from out there.
Carney doesn't have great offensive instincts, so unless he's throwing down a highlight-reel jam he's pretty much a catch-and-shoot guy. Buthe's a solid role player and, at 25, still has a chance to get better.
Frye
Channing Frye (unrestricted, Portland)
Portland opted to turn him loose in a bid for cap space, and Frye has two big items in his favor: He can shoot and he can play center.
He's not a good defensive player and probably needs to be less ambitious with the shooting, but his numbers have been much better when he's playedthe center position (his first and third seasons) rather than power forward (his second and fourth seasons). As a floor-spacing backup 5 who can also playextended minutes at the 4, Frye seems like a good bargain pickup, especially since he's well-liked in the locker room and is only 26.
Diogu
Ike Diogu (unrestricted, Kings)
If you're looking at guys who will be available for the minimum or not much more, Diogu is a good place to start. Let's start with the negatives: Hispractice habits and conditioning have been questionable at best, and he's not a good defender.
But look at the production. Diogu has been in the league four seasons for four different teams, and put up big numbers at every stop. His PER has been abovethe league average all four seasons, he has averaged more than 22 points per 40 minutes the past two, and he's done it with reasonably efficiency -- adifficult feat when the minutes come in sporadic seven-minute chunks.
As a scoring big man off the bench he can be devastatingly effective, and I'm surprised he hasn't got the chance to do it more regularly. For a teamlooking to fill that role, he'll be available for pennies.
Othyus Jeffers
My favorite D-League alum that nobody's heard of, Jeffers was third in the NBDL in PER last season behind
James White and
Courtney Sims. The latter two got call-ups but he didn't, even though Jeffers has a lotof promise. Unlike a lot of D-Leaguers, he's still pretty young -- he doesn't turn 24 til August -- and he's a savage defensive player.
He has some issues that will hurt him in the pros -- he's undersized at 6-3 (his listed height of 6-5 is a joke) and he can't shoot 3s -- but histenacity should allow him to stick as a defending role player once he gets the chance. If I'm looking at a minimum contract, I'd much rather take ashot on him than on a proven failure.
