NBA Free Agents 2011: 10 Players That May Not Get a Contract This Summer

With the NBA locked out, basketball fans nationwide will be speculating for months about the 2011 free agency class, figuring out which of the most valuable free agents will get picked up, and what teams will sign them. 

Of course, not every NBA free agent is highly coveted, even if their brand (their name, that is) seems large enough to covet. 

These players could offer something to an NBA team, but most likely, they're asking for too much money or there are other players who can provide the same thing with less of a hassle. 

Here are ten free agents that may not get a contract in this offseason.

Tracy McGrady

Tracy McGrady has been on a hell of a decline since 2008.

Since the 2007-08 campaign, McGrady gets ten less minutes per game, shoots 13 times less, and does a lot less of everything else, even on a per-minute basis.  

T-Mac hasn't been playing the minutes he was used to in Houston, and he's starting the trend of bouncing from team to team, looking for clubs that'll take a chance on him and his shot-jacking nature. 

McGrady won't find himself starting anywhere in the league, and will have to compete to get into a rotation. 

There are plenty of other wing players available in free agency that can do a lot of things better than T-Mac can, and unless McGrady starts begging for the veteran's minimum salary, he won't find a place to call him in 2011-12.

Mike Bibby

When Mike Bibby was acquired via waivers by the Miami Heat, everyone figured Bibby would revive his career and play reasonably well for a stacked team ready to win a title. 

Well it didn't work out that way, and Bibby wrongfully dethroned Mario Chalmers as the Heat's starting point guard. 

I say "wrongfully" because to that point, Bibby didn't show much reason to become a starter. He was a bad defender all season long in Atlanta; what he had going was his shooting ability, and when he became the starter, that faded within a blink of an eye. 

Bibby played terribly in South Beach down the stretch, and there's not much room for improvement, considering he's already 33 years old.  

Michael Redd

Michael Redd has had a hell of a lot of bad luck in the past few years with injury after injury limiting his seasons.

Now that Redd's athleticism is now gone, all he has left is his shooting ability, which was pretty good pre- (and possibly post-) injury.

However, no one knows if he can still shoot that well over a period of 82 games -- he hasn't played in more than 35 games since 2008, and that shooting stroke could very well be gone.

Michael Redd proved to be a star in Milwaukee, but with all the injures, it's doubtful he'll get a contract this offseason. 

Josh Howard

It's pretty bold to say former Dallas Mavericks' star Josh Howard won't get a contract this offseason, considering just two years ago, he was averaging nearly 20 points per game off 45 percent shooting.

However, things took a turn when his image was damaged after admitting to smoking marijuana and street racing. 

Since then, injuries have plagued Howard, and he wasn't able to produce much at all on the Washington Wizards when he was playing, a squad who could use some veteran guidance and more scoring and versatility, including at the wing position. 

It's doubtful that Howard could get healthy and become the player he was in Dallas, and it's even more doubtful that a team will take a chance on him if he's going to ask for anything close to the mid-level exception when free agency comes around. 

Juwan Howard

Juwan Howard has been pretty MIA for the past few years, as he jumps from team to team looking for a ring.

However, he's been relegated to doing absolutely nothing but being a cheerleader and subbing in for trash minutes. Sure, Juwan Howard is cool with living off the veteran's minimum year in and year out, but why pay that much to a benchwarmer?

Howard doesn't provide enough vocal veteran experience to have around, and if he keeps seeking a team, he could find himself forced to retire. 

Josh Powell

Josh Powell is widely considered a hard-working player who does whatever's asked of him. 

Of course, that's not enough in the NBA. 

Josh Powell's last season with the Atlanta Hawks saw in increase in minutes when compared to his time with the Los Angeles Lakers; however, he was no more efficient, or better, really, than he was in LA. He's an under-sized power forward who doesn't shoot all too well and lacks the strength to consistently enter into a professional rotation. 

Von Wafer

Von Wafer has been struggling to find a spot in any NBA rotation since he was drafted in 2005 by the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Wafer has shown flashes of brilliance with the Houston Rockets and looked like he found a home with the Boston Celtics -- he was with the Celtics for 52 games, his second most after Houston held onto him for 63 games two years prior.

However, Wafer didn't get much chances to play, and it's doubtful if the Boston Celtics want to keep him around again.

If not, he could be stuck bouncing from 10-day contracts again.  

Joel Przybilla

Joel Przybilla will most likely not get signed by the Charlotte Bobcats. 

That's because Przybilla is never healthy; and when he is, he's never good enough to play consistently in their rotation, though he'll gather long strings of subbing in during non-trash minutes. 

Portland Trailblazers fans are frustrated at the money used on a player who's normally in street clothes, and that might not change soon -- there's no indication that he's 100 percent healthy.

It's unlikely that a team will take a chance on him, knowing they could be paying a small-ish amount of money on a guy who may never see the floor.  

Kwame Brown

Kwame Brown fits the bill of what the Charlotte Bobcats love: A big man who can play defense but has little offensive know-how. 

Well, Kwame Brown doesn't play defense all that great anymore, and now he can't contribute much to any team. 

Brown never panned out in the NBA, even though he's been in the league (and in rotations) for over a decade. But now that he's reaching 30, there's not much hope for Brown; teams know about his reputation, and no one wants to pay the minimal amount of money to Kwame Brown, even if he does ask for it. 

Sebastian Telfair

Sebastian Telfair saw more minutes than he should have in Minnesota with the Timberwolves last season. 

Telfair isn't the kind of bench point guard you'd like to have on a typical NBA rotation -- he plays too much like a floor general (albeit, not a great one), and doesn't provide the instant offense you want from your backup point, thanks to his poor shooting (at 40 percent). 

He isn't a good enough floor general to start, and that's out of the question anyway.

Not many teams are willing to give Telfair much more than the veteran's minimum for a seven-year player ($1.18M) which could change in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.