2012 NBA Free Agents: Latest Buzz Surrounding Summer's Open Market

The 2012 NBA playoffs are in full swing, but most organizations in the NBA have already started their offseason. 

There will be plenty of teams that will be looking to add pieces to their roster, with hopes of being more competitive next season. 

Though this year's free-agent class took a hit when Dwight Howard signed away his right to opt out of his contract with the Orlando Magic, the market is sure to provide many great storylines over the next couple of months. 

Here are a few players who will coveted once the playoffs wrap up. 

Kevin Garnett

How will Kevin Garnett's superb play thus far in the playoffs affect his value on the open market? 

If KG continues to play at his current level throughout the rest of the postseason, then he may entice an offer that the 35-year-old big man doesn't quite deserve. 

That isn't a knock on Garnett, but he will be 36 years old on May 19 and won't be able to play at this level forever. 

He is averaging 20.3 points and 11 rebounds while playing 36-plus minutes a contest for the Boston Celtics in the playoffs thus far.

The Nets, according to the New York Post, are targeting Garnett to shore up their front court. As next year is their first year in Brooklyn, the Nets will be looking to make multiple big moves in free agency. 

I think it is likely that the Nets will offer KG a contract that he won't be able to refuse, and that he will be playing in the Barclays Center next season. 

In KG, the Nets see a power forward with star power, one who will help sell seats in their new building. 

Deron Williams

Deron Williams is one of the best point guards in the NBA and will be coveted by many teams this summer. 

The Nets traded a lot of assets to acquire Williams last season and they need do whatever it takes to re-sign the All-Star point guard. 

Unfortunately for the Nets, Williams may have already made his mind up about going to play for his hometown Dallas Mavericks. 

The Nets view the Mavericks as a threat to sign Williams away from them this summer. According to Andy Vasquez of northjersey.com, Nets head coach Avery Johnson said the following to reporters. 

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“I know [Cuban] got criticized a lot for having all those years where he didn’t win a championship,” Johnson said. “But he’s had some really great success here that rivals any situation, so that’s a threat. And for us, we don’t make any assumptions until we get Deron signed on the dotted line.”

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Williams is reportedly in Russia with the Nets billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov and the team's GM Billy King. 

This is a good sign for the Nets, as they desperately need Williams to re-sign if they hope to succeed next season. It is unlikely that Williams would spend time with their front office if he wasn't at least considering re-signing with the team.

The Nets acquired Williams to make them relevant again, but in order for him to do so, they must re-sign him first. 

It will be very interesting to see if Prokhorov and the rest of the Nets front office can convince Williams that Brooklyn is the city for him. 

Nicolas Batum

Nicolas Batum is going to be highly coveted by many teams this summer, because he is one of the best wing players on the market. 

Batum's agent told Chris Haynes at CSNNW.com the following

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“The first good offer we get, we’re going with that,” Bouna Ndiaye of Comsport Management told CSNNW.com. “We’re not waiting for anything.”

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This will certainly put pressure on any team that wants to sign Batum. Teams will need to make sure they quickly offer the talented wing player an appealing offer, or they will quickly lose him to another team. 

It doesn't appear seem like Batum is going to re-sign with the Portland Trailblazer. His agent also told Haynes at CSNNW.com the following:

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“When Batum becomes a restricted free agent, we’ll look at the other 29 teams before we talk to the Blazers,” Batum’s agent Bouna Ndiaye told CSNNW.com. “The Blazers had their chance.”

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Batum may command $10-11 million on the open market, and there are reports that the San Antonio Spurs are very interested in pursuing Batum. 

I expect to see Batum sign with the Spurs, unless another team decides to offer Batum a deal that is too good to turn down.