NBA Free Agents 2012: Players That Will Be Overrated and Overpaid This Offseason

Players that struggle with self-esteem issues are cured in free agency.

Despite it backfiring nine out of 10 times, every summer multiple NBA teams severely overpay players on the open market. Here’s a trio of players that are solid, sure, but they will be paid like they’re stars.

3. Nick Young

Nick Young is one of the most explosive second-unit scorers in the league. But the reason he belongs on the second unit instead of in the starting lineup is because he’s inconsistent, erratic and doesn’t play defense.

A team that saw Young spark the Los Angeles Clippers to multiple first-round victories over the Memphis Grizzlies will believe that they’ll be able to harness his full potential. But in the end, all they’ll get is a quality bench player.

2. Ryan Anderson

Ryan Anderson won the Most Improved Player award after averaging 16.1 points and 7.7 boards a game this season. He’s the best three-point shooting power forward in the league and shot 39.9 percent from downtown last year.

In the playoffs without Dwight Howard, though, his numbers plummeted to 9.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. The team that pays Anderson like a potential All-Star will be sorely disappointed, because all they’ll get it a one-trick pony.

1. Brook Lopez

Brook Lopez is one of the most talented scoring big men in the league, and he’s only 24 years old. He averaged 20.4 points per game before his foot injury and will demand around a max contract, but he isn’t worth it.

Lopez is worthless when he isn’t putting the ball in the basket. Despite being a seven-footer, he averaged an embarrassing 5.9 rebounds a game—5.9!—in his last full season. According to John Hollinger of ESPN, Lopez ranked 65th out of 67 centers in defensive rebound rate and 53rd in assist rate. 

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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