NBA Free Agents 2012: Big Men Not Worth the Big Deals They'll Get

Even though there have been reports of a few reasonable contracts lately, NBA teams seem to love throwing away money to players who don't exactly deserve the exorbitant sums. 

This is particularly true when it comes to big men. Given the dearth of quality centers in the NBA, general managers' eyes get big when they see a big man who can contribute to their team's cause. Then the checkbooks come out as the GM is seemingly inebriated by the potential of the center to make an impact. 

It happens all the time. 

Although it's difficult to blame them for simply cashing a check they don't necessarily deserve, these four players are about to be paid way too much. 

Marcus Camby

According to ESPN's Jared Zwerling and Brian Windhorst, Marcus Camby will not be taking the veteran's minimum salary: 

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A source close to Camby would be "shocked" if he signs anywhere for the veteran's minimum of $1.4 million, which is what the Heat only have available after Ray Allen agreed to their mid-level exception of $3.09 million on Friday.

That financial factor is one of the biggest reasons why the Knicks have the edge over the Heat and are the early favorite to land Camby, who is meeting with the team's front office on Sunday in Houston. That's where the 38-year-old played toward the end of last season after being traded from Portland.

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If Camby signs for more than that minimum amount of money, he won't be a bargain at all. 

The big man is 38 years old and clearly on the decline. He's not much more than a great rebounder and above-average defensive presence who should be relegated to coming off the bench in a limited role. 

Jordan Hill

This big man—6'10" and capable of playing either power forward or center—might be managing to parlay one set of great games into a large payday. 

Jordan Hill was inconsistent throughout the regular season, had one great game against the Oklahoma City Thunder before the postseason started and then performed capably against the Denver Nuggets in the seven-game series to open the playoffs. 

That's just about it. He averaged 5.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game during this past season. 

Despite these irrefutable facts, Hill is the subject of articles like this one on Yahoo! Sports that question whether he's a future All-Star or not. 

Although Hill was efficient, he scored in double-figures just nine times and broke the 10-rebound barrier eight times in the regular season and postseason combined last year. There's no telling if that efficiency carries over into a larger role. 

Brook Lopez

Brook Lopez is a terrific offensive player, but something tells me that he's going to get paid like a well-rounded center. 

Until he learns how to rebound, he can't justify earning that type of money. 

The following stats and metrics come via Basketball-Reference.com (keep in mind the small sample size warning for his fourth season): 

	ORB	DRB	TRB	ORB%	DRB%	TRB%
2008-09	2.7	5.4	8.1	10.6	21.2	15.8
2009-10	3.3	5.4	8.6	9.9	17.5	13.5
2010-11	2.4	3.5	6.0	7.8	12.3	10.0
2011-12	1.6	2.0	3.6	6.6	8.8	7.7

This is not a good trend in any of the categories and, as you can tell by the percentage metrics, the only reason for the superficial jumps in rebounds per game during the 2009-10 season was an increase in playing time. 

I'm convinced that Lopez doesn't even know how to rebound. He should be embarrassed by some of those numbers, considering the fact that he's seven feet tall. 

JaVale McGee

JaVale McGee can sometimes be a head case. That is a serious understatement.

Although that's good for YouTube fans in search of McGee's latest antics, it's not good news for the team he's supposed to be contributing for. 

McGree is young and athletic enough that he still has a high ceiling, but he may end up getting paid way too much for sheer potential.

I have yet to see the attitude that must accompany potential for success to be a direct result. 

This young big man has the potential to make his upcoming deal a bargain. 

However, if JaVale continues to be JaVale in the same vein that Manny was just being Manny for the Boston Red Sox near the end of his time there, he's going to make his team regret his contract.