NBA Free Agency 2011: The Ideal Player Each Team Would Love to Land
"That was then, this is now."
So went the title of a popular book for young adults by S.E. Hinton in the early 1970s. I'm sure Hinton didn't mean for this metaphor to be made, but the quote applies perfectly to the free agency pictures set forth in 2010 and 2011.
There is a stark contrast between the star power offered in last year's free agent fiesta, when Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki rumors were flying around, and this year's rather mediocre collection of talent.
The quote will apply again, but in reverse, when 2012 ushers Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Deron Williams into the open market.
So this year, while the talent may be limited, teams are still going to splurge on many a player.
Read on for the ideal but realistic fit for each and every team.
Atlanta Hawks: Kenyon Martin
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Keeping Jamal Crawford is going to have to be a huge priority this offseason for the Atlanta Hawks, but they also need to find a way to add some size to their front court. This addition should preferably be able to both score and play the role of defensive stopper in the paint.
Kenyon Martin, currently with the Denver Nuggets, would be a man who can pitch in to the scoring effort with the occasional double-digit outburst but is a reliable body down low and known for his great defense.
Boston Celtics: Each Player on Their Team
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The Boston Celtics entire team is being blown apart by free agency and the biggest goal of the offseason is making sure that doesn't happen.
Boston's only restricted free agent is Jeff Green, but they have a whopping nine unrestricted free agents.
Ray Allen, Carlos Arroyo, Glen Davis, Nenad Kristic, Troy Murphy, Shaquille O'Neal, Sasha Pavlovic, Von Wafer and Delonte West are all unrestricted free agents and the Celtics need to resign a ton of them in order to keep the team together with Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo.
The only sure bet to return is Ray Allen, who I simply can't picture in any uniform besides the green and white Celtics jersey. It's going to take some work to secure the others.
Charlotte Bobcats: Tyson Chandler
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Now that Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace are gone, the Charlotte Bobcats don't really have any great players left on their roster. Stephen Jackson and D.J. Augustin are both good, but you aren't going to be mistaking them for All-Stars anytime soon.
The biggest void on the Bobcats' roster right now is down in the paint.
Dallas' Tyson Chandler could fill that void. It would be a significant downgrade from his current squad but his 10.1 points and 9.4 rebounds coupled with great defensive play would make him an immediate fan-favorite in the win-starved city of Charlotte.
Chicago Bulls: Jamal Crawford
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As we've seen during the playoffs, the Chicago Bulls are a very good team, but they're kept from being truly great by a lack of a second scoring option.
Derrick Rose has been able to take the scoring load on all by himself time in and time out, but at some point he's going to run out of magic. No player on the squad has demonstrated an ability to step up his play and help out the point guard.
Jamal Crawford was born to put the ball in the basket. He'd be a perfect addition for the Bulls.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Yao Ming
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Ever since LeBron James left the tortured sports city behind for the wonders of South Beach, Cleveland has lacked star power. And when I say the Cavaliers lack star power, I mean that they don't exactly have a single marketable player at all.
Yao Ming on the other hand has one of the best, most consistent fanbases of any player in the NBA. He has absolutely all of China on his side and always will.
Cleveland could use those fans even more than it could use Ming's skills on the court, if he can stay healthy enough to play at all.
Dallas Mavericks: Aaron Brooks
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Aaron Brooks is going to be a restricted free agent for the Phoenix Suns during the summer of 2011, but Dallas is going to need to do everything in its power to lure him over to Mark Cuban's lair.
Jason Kidd is getting up there in age and Jose Juan Barea might not be in Dallas for much longer. It's time to find a replacement.
Brooks was the most improved player in the NBA last season, but after an early-season injury he wore out his welcome in Houston and hasn't received the same opportunity to show off his skills with Steve Nash in the picture.
Denver Nuggets: Carl Landry
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The Denver Nuggets are going to do everything they can to keep J.R. Smith, Nene Hilario and Kenyon Martin, but with the money they have left over, they'll try to pursue a defensively-oriented big man.
The 6'9" power forward from the New Orleans Hornets named Carl Landry could be that guy. He's got his Hornets playing quite well right now, well enough in fact to be in a tight series with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Landry averaged 11.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game this year and he can put up similar numbers in the Mile High City for a lot cheaper than the other players that the Nuggets could pull in.
Detroit Pistons: Kenyon Martin
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A hard-working, defensive player like Kenyon Martin is the perfect fit for a traditionally tough-nosed team like the Detroit Pistons.
Just like I said about Martin on the Atlanta Hawk's slide, he's a good rebounder, a fairly decent scorer, and a great defensive player.
He just seems like he would fit in well with the Pistons mentality. Whether he can fit in with the lack of wins though is a different question.
Golden State Warriors: Tyson Chandler
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The Golden State Warriors are an amazingly fun team to watch because they simply know how to score. They run up and down the court at a quick pace, launching three-pointers left and right and essentially refusing to play defense.
I guess that's just what happens when you have Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis and David Lee on your squad. But the problem is, once more, they don't play defense.
Tyson Chandler just finished third in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. Think he could help out at all?
Houston Rockets: Nene Hilario
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In my opinion, Yao Ming is not going to be in Houston anymore. The Rockets simply can't afford to resign him after all of the let-downs that his feet have produced.
Obviously, the Rockets are going to need to find a replacement for the 7'6" oft-injured behemoth.
At the top of their list should be the perenially-underrated center from Denver: Nene Hilario, or as he's more often called, just Nene.
Hilario is averaging 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for the Nuggets. He has an early termination clause in his contract, and if he chooses to use it and spurn the $11.6 million due to him during the 2011-2012 season from the Nuggets, he'd be a great fit here.
Indiana Pacers: Jamal Crawford
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With Darren Collison, Danny Granger, Tyler Hansbrough and Roy Hibbert all firmly entrenched in the Pacers' plans for the future, shooting guard is really the only thing left to work on.
Jamal Crawford, the Hawks prolific scorer off the bench, would be an immediate improvement at the two spot. He can fill it up in bunches and his shake-and-bake moves are fully capable of wowing the crowd.
Granger and Crawford together on the court would be a scary duo.
Los Angeles Clippers: Tayshaun Prince
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The only position left for the Los Angeles Clippers to fill is small forward. I mean, they've got Chris Kaman, Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon and Eric Bledsoe/Mo Williams at the other four spots. You can't complain about that.
The Clippers aren't losing to many players to free agency at all so they won't be able to pull in a big-name free agent. Tayshaun Prince may be one of their best options.
The longtime Detroit Piston averaged 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game this past season. He's still got game despite the fact that he's now 30 years old.
Los Angeles Lakers: Shannon Brown
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The Los Angeles Lakers are almost completely set at every single position and are just biding their time until Dwight Howard is available in 2012.
That means that the main priority this offseason is keeping Shannon Brown in purple and gold. The backup shooting guard is a high-flying, crowd-pleasing, SportsCenter staple and he provides much needed depth at the weakest position on the bench.
Brown is the only guy that the Lakers absolutely need to target during the summer of 2011.
Memphis Grizzlies: Marc Gasol
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The 7'1" center from Spain is going to be a restricted free agent this summer, but Memphis can't really allow him to leave. They're going to have to match every single offer they receive for Marc Gasol, and there will definitely be some coming.
This season, Gasol has put up numbers to the tune of 11.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Keeping him paired with Zach Randolph will help the Grizzlies return to the playoffs in 2012.
Miami Heat: David West
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The Miami Heat obviously have a good bit of talent on their squad. I mean, they have Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh all playing on a nightly basis.
Other than those three, the Heat don't have much. Joel Anthony, Mike Bibby, Erick Dampier, Juwan Howard, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, James Jones, Jamaal Magloire and Mike Miller aren't going to be confused with great players anytime soon.
David West though could. The power forward averaged 18.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game this past year for the New Orleans Hornets. If they can squeeze his salary in under the cap, the Heat could be incredibly good this next season.
Milwaukee Bucks: Jason Richardson
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The Milwaukee Bucks might play great defense, but they have a lot of trouble scoring sometimes.
Jason Richardson is a pure scorer and could easily help to change that. On a team like the Orlando Magic where he's not even the primary option on offense, the shooting guard has still managed to score 15.6 points per game.
With Brandon Jennings feeding him the ball, Andrew Bogut kicking it back out and an increased number of opportunities, that number will only go up and up and up on the Bucks. Incidentally, their number of wins might go up too.
Minnesota Timberwolves: C.J. Miles
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There really aren't that many great options that would fit in with the Minnesota Timberwolves current roster.
With Kevin Love and Michael Beasley firmly in place, the Timberwolves could use an all-around glue guy. The Utah Jazz's C.J. Miles would be the perfect fit.
Miles, when he can stay healthy at least, is an all-around player that genuinely seems to love the game and play with his heart on his sleeve as often as possible.
New Jersey Nets: Marc Gasol
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The New Jersey Nets need to sign a talented big man that can help them win games now before Deron Williams leaves and the 2012 free agent class is in full bloom.
Even though he's a restricted free agent with the Memphis Grizzlies, Marc Gasol is the most talented center available in 2011 and Mikhail Prokhorov will spare no expense in wooing him to the Brooklyn-bound franchise.
Gasol isn't quite at the same level as Pau, but he's getting there.
New Orleans Hornets: J.R. Smith
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Right now, the best thing that the New Orleans Hornets can do is keep Chris Paul happy. Doing so is vital for this team's future and maybe even for the future of basketball in New Orleans.
One player that could be brought in to enhance the scoring options in New Orleans is current-Nugget J.R. Smith.
Smith is a very good all-around player that can score when necessary, rebound when he needs to, dish the ball to open teammates when the opportunity arises and increase a team's tattoo count at any time.
New York Knicks: Matt Barnes
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Much like the New York Knicks did during the free agent bonanza during the summer of 2010, they will have to resist spending the big bucks on any of the less appealing "stars" of this free agent class and bide their time until the floodgates of 2012 open.
Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Deron Williams, among others, will all be available next year, but this year, no such superstars will be easily had.
Realizing this, the Knicks are going to have to go into money-saving mode and add just a player or two that will spice things up for the tortured fans in the city that never sleeps.
Matt Barnes, currently a bench player for the Los Angeles Lakers, is a high-energy guy that could do just that.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Tyson Chandler
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The Oklahoma City Thunder, led by general manager/genius Sam Presti, have put together a team the right way. They've built a great core in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant and surrounded those key players with all the right guys, mostly brought into the unit through the draft and development.
There are rare exceptions to this, like Kendrick Perkins, who the Thunder essentially stole from Danny Ainge's Boston Celtics.
My point in telling you all this is that the Thunder don't really need to add anyone significant to their team. They've got the stars, the role players and the backups, all of whom fit together quite cohesively.
But, if you insist on picking a free agent target, the Maverick's Tyson Chandler would be the best fit.
Orlando Magic: Tyson Chandler
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Right now, it is up to Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson to replace Dwight Howard whenever the massive center gets into foul trouble, feels fatigued or is generally ineffective.
It's worked to some extent, but Bass and Anderson are both much better suited to play power forward than center. As a result, the Magic are in dire need of a backup center.
Tyson Chandler is a great fit in this role as he can come in and be the defensive stopper just like Howard is when on the floor.
And yes, this is the fourth team that I've said should target Tyson Chandler. You know the free agent class isn't too stellar when this is the case.
Philadelphia 76ers: Nene Hilario
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As an athletic big man fully capable of providing dominant defense at times and consistent scoring and rebounding at others, Nene would be a perfect fit into Doug Collins' system.
The Philadelphia 76ers already have Elton Brand roaming the paint, but adding in Nene would make for quite the dynamic duo down low.
Remember though that Nene has the early termination option and he may not end up using it.
Phoenix Suns: Nene Hilario
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The Phoenix Suns have been rendered defenseless at many points throughout this season, particularly when facing teams with dominant men in the front court.
You've heard quite a bit about Nene in this slideshow already, probably enough to realize that he could help remedy this problem.
Once more, the early termination option still applies, but if he chooses not to return to Denver for one more season, Nene could see Phoenix as a strong choice.
Portland Trailblazers: Greg Oden
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Greg Oden may seem like a colossal bust thanks to his balky knees and the greatness of Kevin Durant, but when healthy, the former Buckeye is anything but deserving of the bust title.
Oden may have worn out his welcome with some of Portland's fans, but resigning him would be very helpful to the Trailblazers.
He's a restricted free agent in 2011 and some teams are absolutely going to take a flyer on the immensely talented but often injured center. Portland is going to have to match those offers.
Just imagine him on the court with LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy and the rest of the improving Trailblazers. Now imagine him with two healthy knees and playing like he did back in the day at Ohio State.
I know it's difficult, but try. Then you'll understand.
Sacramento Kings: Samuel Dalembert
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One of the more underrated players in the NBA, Samuel Dalembert is a remarkably consistent center for the Sacramento Kings.
Dalembert averaged 8.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game over the course of this past regular season for the rather inept, albeit talented, Kings. But he's more than just an offensive player. The center also added in 1.5 blocks per contest and was a force to be reckoned with on the defensive side of the floor.
Without many other viable options at the five spot, retaining Dalembert in Sacramento is the number one priority this offseason.
San Antonio Spurs: Glen Davis
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Tim Duncan has a chance to go play somewhere else, but come on, do you really think that the surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer is going to play anywhere other than San Antonio?
The answer is yes, but only if you count road games that he plays in while wearing a Spurs' jersey.
Duncan is getting up there in the years though, as are many other players on San Antonio's squad. Adding Glen Davis could give the Spurs another productive option in the front court and save Duncan from a bit of wear and tear.
Toronto Raptors: Yao Ming
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For those of you that either skipped the Cleveland Cavaliers slide or forgot about it already, let me remind you of what it said:
"Ever since LeBron James left the tortured sports city behind for the wonders of South Beach, Cleveland has lacked star power. And when I say the Cavaliers lack star power, I mean that they don't exactly have a single marketable player at all.
Yao Ming on the other hand has one of the best, most consistent fanbases of any player in the NBA. He has absolutely all of China on his side and always will.
Cleveland could use those fans even more than it could use Ming's skills on the court, if he can stay healthy enough to play at all."
Now, replace LeBron James with Chris Bosh and Cleveland with Toronto.
The quotation still applies.
Utah Jazz: Andrei Kirilenko
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With Deron Williams now in New Jersey, the Utah Jazz are firmly in rebuilding mode.
But for this Jerry Sloan-less team, the primary method for the rebuilding is going to have to be through the draft.
As for free agency, the primary concern is going to be keeping C.J. Miles and Andrei Kirilenko, both of whom have the potential to leave for greener pastures.
In my opinion, keeping AK47, who has always been on the Jazz, is a much bigger priority. Although he is by no means a star, he is a very solid player who seems like he's able to do everything on the court. This past season, Kirilenko averaged 11.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.3 steals per game while shooting a high percentage and not turning the ball over to often.
He's a very useful player.
Washington Wizards: Kurt Thomas
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The Washington Wizards right now are a very young team just oozing with potential. John Wall, Nick Young, JaVale McGee and the other members of the Eastern Conference cellar-dwellers all have the ability to be great. They just need some guidance.
No player fits better with this squad than the career role player known as Kurt Thomas. Now playing with the Chicago Bulls, although only receiving limited minutes, the center is now 38 years old and would be a great mentor for the young players on this team.
Let's be honest here. Washington isn't going to attract and stars or any very good players for that matter through free agency.
Thomas isn't a star by any stretch, but he could easily help turn a few players into true stars.
