NBA Free Agents 2012: Biggest Weakness for Top Players Still on Market

Starting on July 11th, all of the free-agent rumors and tentative agreements can be finalized, and all the he-said, she-said can come to an end. The 2012 NBA free-agency period can legitimately commence.  

As we sit on July 10th, the majority of the top free agents have all but signed the dotted line with their intended new organizations. However, if your favorite team has yet to make any serious moves in the past couple weeks, all is not lost.

There remain a select few players who are considered some of the top in the class. Teams will go after these players once the dust settles and the bigger names find their new homes. 

However, there are reasons that these players are still available. Each of them has at least one big weakness. This is something that could potentially turn certain teams away, and it will most definitely affect the caliber of their proposed offers.

Courtney Lee

Top shooting guards like Ray Allen, Jason Terry and Eric Gordon have all but decided their future, leaving the likes of Courtney Lee on the minds of many owners. 

Lee has had an up-and-down career thus far, both in playing time and production. At just 26 years old, he is an attractive backup on a good team.

His main suitor right now appears to be the Boston Celtics, who are fairly established at the 2 with Avery Bradley and Jason Terry. They are looking to fill some of the Ray Allen void, though, and Lee has connected on better than 40 percent of his threes in three of four NBA seasons. 

All in all, he is a great role player who could be valuable on a playoff team. His biggest weakness lies in that type of team's inability to sign him outright. This is Lee's first stint with NBA free agency, and he has set himself up for a nice payday. Unfortunately, without a sign-and-trade, that payday will be coming from a team likely in the bottom of the league. 

Teams like the Celtics and Bulls don't have the space to sign Lee outright, as he demands more than minimum money. 

Brandon Rush

Brandon Rush joins Courtney Lee in the second tier of shooting guards. He is drawing interest from both Portland and Minnesota and could be the consolation prize in the whole Nicolas Batum situation, according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports.

Rush really blossomed in his fourth NBA season, when he put up a career-high 9.8 points per game. He also shot better than 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from distance. Rush played his way into a deserving contract offer that should be around the average for an NBA sixth man.

Rush has been able to minimize his weaknesses and focus on what makes him a solid NBA player. However, in doing so, he has revealed what will hamper him from joining that next level of shooting guard.

For Rush's size (6'6"), one would hope he was a better rebounder. To join that next level, a player either needs one elite skill or multiple very good skills. Rush can score, but not at the level necessary to allow for under four rebounds per game. 

J.J. Hickson

J.J. Hickson is having one of the more intriguing free-agency experiences in recent memory. At first there was the concern over his Bird Rights, but once that was settled (in his favor), things were not over.

The Trail Blazers did not extend a qualifying offer, all but rendering the arbitrator's decision moot. Now he is in talks with multiple teams, but the offers will not be up to par with what he initially expected.

Hickson's career very much mirrors his latest free-agency oddness. After starting and playing very well for Cleveland over the course of two seasons, he was dealt to Sacramento. There, he was waived after 35 subpar games and snatched up by Portland. He then performed very well in the Pacific Northwest.

Hickson's inconsistencies are his biggest weakness. When locked in and enjoying his position, he can emerge as a starting-caliber forward in the NBA. However, when he feels out of place, like in Sacramento, he has the potential to look like a fringe NBA player.

While with the Kings, Hickson posted five points and five boards a night while playing just 18 minutes. In a better situation with the Trail Blazers, he upped his production to 15 points and eight rebounds. He was also getting significantly more playing time, averaging more than 30 minutes a night. 

O.J. Mayo

For the first couple years of his NBA career, O.J. Mayo was thought to be in that first tier of NBA shooting guards. He was a top-line starter until relationships began to fray in Memphis, and he lost his starting gig in 2010. 

Now he is a massive unknown in free agency. Many teams are holding out hope that a change of scenery will bring back the 18-points-per-game scorer that was drafted third overall in 2008.

However, there is always a concern with Mayo that teams will throw big money at a mediocre player. 

Mayo's biggest weakness is his tarnished reputation. His numbers have dropped in his demotion to a reserve role, but they have not bottomed out. Mayo still has the talent and skills that belie a truly good player in this league. 

However, incidents like this and this have followed him around since before college. His reputation is on the rocks right now, and that is a major reason as to why he is the odd man out amongst the most talented free-agent guards this summer.

Chris Kaman

Chris Kaman may not be the best player still available in free agency, but he may very well be the most valuable. Kaman is a legitimate starting NBA center and has the tools and size to back it up. 

Kaman is a talented low-post scorer who can use his 7'0", 265-pound body to bang down low and grab rebounds. Despite begin treated shakily in New Orleans, Kaman still put up solid numbers, scoring 13 points and grabbing eight rebounds per game.

While Kaman has been mentioned in talks with virtually every team in the NBA this summer, there is an inherent risk in offering him a longer-term contract. 

Kaman's biggest weakness is that he is on the decline of his career right now. After just turning 30 a couple months ago, Kaman is as big an injury risk as ever. The center has missed significant time in five of nine professional seasons and has seen his production drop considerably since his All-Star season in 2009. 

While he is still a quality big man, a long-term deal is very risky.

JaVale McGee

Athletic seven-footers who can score, rebound and block shots are hard to come by in the NBA. So why is it that JaVale McGee still finds himself without a home this summer?

While he is a restricted free agent with a $3.4 million qualifying offer, the Denver Nuggets are tight on cap space. Teams looking into signing him to a longer deal are forced to consider his inconsistencies and the fact that young players sometimes just don't pan out. 

McGee has shown flashes of dominance in his first few seasons, but they have been muddled with an underdeveloped offensive game. While the upside with McGee is enormous, teams may wait to see if they can get a better read on him after one more year with the Nuggets.

D.J. Augustin

D.J. Augustin exemplifies the second tier of point guards in the NBA. While not on the level of some of the league's elite, he has the ability to be a starter on some teams and a dynamite backup on others. 

While players like Andre Miller and Raymond Felton have been fielding calls left and right, Augustin's camp has been silent. Despite being offered $4.4 million by Charlotte, Augustin figured to have many more suitors by now. 

The issue with Augustin is that his all-around skills are not up to par with what is necessary for earning a long-term deal. He struggles shooting the basketball, but his distribution skills are not great enough to offset that like they are with PGs like Rajon Rondo.

If things do not change, Augustin will need to accept the qualifying offer and follow up with a good season, because there will be no restricted free-agent offer next summer.

Raymond Felton

Raymond Felton has sort of slipped through the cracks the past couple seasons. He was never able to right himself after being dealt out of New York in the Carmelo Anthony trade. It was a shame to see as well, because he was in the midst of a career year for the Knicks, averaging 17 points and nine assists per game.

Since leaving New York, things have gone the wrong way for Felton. In better times, he tops of the list of second-tier point guards. However, those seasons have been interspersed with years in which Felton plays like a lesser guard.

His inconsistencies have proven to be his weakness since his time in Charlotte. Teams are worried that seven years into his career, they still have no handle on how he will perform on any given night.  

Lou Williams

It is hard to blame Lou Williams for terminating the final year of his deal in Philadelphia. The contract would have earned him north of $5 million next season.

After leading the 76ers in scoring last year and helping them all the way to the second round of the playoffs, he assumed he could make more money in free agency. He's likely also hoping for the security of a multi-year deal that may not be available after next season.

However, the definite offers have not been there for Williams just yet. While there have been no hard rumors lately surrounding the 25-year-old guard, he may be the most talented scorer still on the market. 

He does carry a harsh weakness, though. When not scoring, Williams can do little else on the court. He is limited as a defender and distributor. It may be that his low shooting percentage (40 percent) and lack of other NBA skills has teams thinking twice about calling.

Elton Brand

I believe Elton Brand can still be a valuable piece on an NBA team. He has missed just 13 games the past three seasons and can still put up solid numbers. With the recent amnestying of his contract, teams are still getting their bearings on what to offer the 33-year-old power forward.

Brand averaged 11 points and seven rebounds per game last season to go along with 1.6 blocks. That line is nowhere near worth the $18 million that he was scheduled to earn. Utilizing the amnesty clause was a great move by Philadelphia. 

There are obvious weaknesses facing Brand. He is aging and may have just submitted the worst statistical season of his career. He was playing with a young, run-and-gun team, though.

In the right situation, Brand can help a team. It is a major weakness, though, that he cannot contribute at a high level if the circumstances don't fit his game.