2012 NBA Free Agents: Undervalued Players Worth a Gamble
A lot of NBA GMs are counting down the days until it's July 11 like it's Christmas. It's the day they can start negotiating with some of the top free agents on the market.
For the teams that don't manage to snag Steve Nash or Deron Williams or Kevin Garnett, however, there is still a plethora of solid options that will be available—and even better, they'll probably be cheaper, too.
Here's a look at the less-hyped free agents who will be available this summer and can still make a big impact in 2012-13.
Ray Allen
His performance in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals notwithstanding, Allen can still play. Is he still the guy who can log a full 40-ish minutes and put up 20-plus points on a nightly basis? No. There's no way he should be logging the third-most time on the Celtics roster at this time of the season; that's not what he's good for anymore.
However, is he a guy who can come off the bench and give you a dangerous presence from beyond the arc? Yes. His role might be a bit diminished, but he's still battling an ankle injury and he's going to be 37 when the 2012-13 season starts, so that's what happens. Allen still gives a team a veteran presence in the locker room and a guy who has managed to shoot 40 percent from beyond the arc in his career. He's certainly worth a short-term deal.
Andre Miller
Like Allen, Miller is getting up there in terms of age at 36, but for contenders without a solid point guard—or for contenders looking for a veteran presence to take some of the pressure off a hyped rookie—Miller is a very solid option. He averaged 9.7 points and 6.7 assists per 14.84 minutes this season for the Nuggets, which isn't so far below his career average that it's alarming.
Miller might be getting older and he may not be able to log minutes like he used to, but he still knows how to command the floor, and he has plenty of playoff experience. He was terrible in the Nuggets' Game 7 loss to the Lakers in this year's postseason, but prior to that, he'd been very solid. He shot .464 from the floor in the final five games of the series and .667 from beyond the arc for 13.4 points in 28.4 minutes.
Vince Carter
Less than $4 million for a veteran three-point shooter is a small price to pay, and that's what a team is looking at to sign Vince Carter next season. He'll be 36 next January, and though he can still start if he needs to, he can be best utilized as a three-point threat off the bench. He got far fewer minutes per game this year than his career average, but he still managed to shoot .411 from the field and .361 from beyond the arc.
Like Allen, Carter is a veteran who's still a presence worth having, whether it's on the bench or in stints in the starting lineup. He's bounced around from New Jersey to Orlando to Phoenix to Dallas in the last four years, and though he certainly will not be able to snag a hefty deal, he's certainly worth a one- or two-year contract.
