NBA Free Agency 2012: Biggest Risk-Takers of NBA Offseason
Every team has to take some risks during the offseason. After all, that's the only way to leapfrog a few rungs on the NBA ladder.
Sometimes the risks pan out; sometimes they don't.
The following teams are the biggest risk-takers of the NBA offseason thus far. While the risks they've taken might pay off, they won't for all of them.
Read on to find out which teams we're talking about here.
Detroit Pistons
1 of 5The Detroit Pistons find themselves featured in this article because of a single draft pick.
With the No. 9 pick of the 2012 NBA draft, the Pistons had David Stern announce the name of a talented young center out of Connecticut: Andre Drummond.
Drummond has all the talent in the world, and his ceiling is as high as any other player in the draft class, but he's about as raw as they come.
But with his athleticism and physical tools, he has the chance to be a stud; the Pistons just have to be patient with him.
Still, for making the top risk-reward pick of the draft, the Pistons make the cut.
Minnesota Timberwolves
2 of 5The Minnesota Timberwolves have a gaping hole at shooting guard. So far, they've elected to plug that hole with the addition of a 2-guard who is liable to break down at any moment.
Brandon Roy was one of the brightest young stars in the league while he was playing with the Portland Trail Blazers, but that was before a degenerative knee condition forced him into premature retirement.
Now, Roy is back with the Wolves, and he's the only solid true shooting guard on the roster. Wesley Johnson hasn't proven he can do anything well yet, while Chase Budinger is more of a small forward.
The contract that Minnesota signed Roy to isn't bad—2 years for $10 million—but it's a risky proposition to depend on an injury prone player as you hope to make a playoff push and calm down an impatient Kevin Love.
Toronto Raptors
3 of 5The Toronto Raptors desperately coveted the services of Steve Nash, enough so that they signed Landry Fields to a massive 3-year, $20 million offer sheet in an attempt to take away one of the pieces that the New York Knicks were going to use to acquire the Canadian point guard.
Well, Nash is now with the Los Angeles Lakers.
In a way, the Raptors' move worked out because it prevented the Knicks from getting the floor general. Then again, I don't think they're too happy about the way things worked out.
The Raptors really don't need an overvalued shooting guard like Fields, so they better hope that the Knicks decide to match.
Atlanta Hawks
4 of 5New general manager Danny Ferry stepped foot in his office and almost immediately started making changes.
First, he shipped Joe Johnson off to the Brooklyn Nets for a package of expiring contracts and cheap players. The intention there was to get rid of Joe's albatross of a contract, even if it meant dealing away the team's top performer.
Shortly after, Ferry traded Marvin Williams to the Utah Jazz for Devin Harris, once more trying to cut salary while bringing in a backup to replace Kirk Hinrich.
The moves were shrewd because they leave just Al Horford and John Jenkins under contract for the 2013-14 season. With that kind of flexibility, the Hawks can pursue max players like Dwight Howard and Chris Paul next offseason.
That said, it's always a risky proposition to go for this strategy. There's no guarantee that any max player comes to Atlanta, and the team could have to rebuild next summer.
Houston Rockets
5 of 5Does anybody actually know what the Houston Rockets are thinking? Is a potential Dwight Howard rental worth all this trouble?
The Rockets have traded away Chase Budinger to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kyle Lowry to the Toronto Raptors and Marcus Camby to the New York Knicks.
Goran Dragic is gone and will be playing with the Phoenix Suns, but the Rockets still haven't found a new replacement to mitigate the loss of their starting and backup point guards.
Most recently, they used their amnesty clause on Luis Scola. That clause is supposed to be used on unproductive but highly paid players, not guys who averaged 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game with a 15.5 PER last season.
The end game is still Howard, but there's not a guarantee he'll sign an extension with Houston even if the organization manages to acquire him.
If they don't, they have effectively wrecked the team for nothing.
