NBA Free Agents 2011: Constructing the All-Free Agent Team
With the NBA lockout dragging on and no light at the end of the tunnel quite yet, the current NBA free agents are doomed to remain free agents for quite some time.
Now this free agent class is a little weaker than normal and a lot worse than the one that made up last year's summer bonanza, but it's not devoid of useful players by any stretch of the imagination. You just have to know which players to look at.
So, in a way of looking at the premier players in this year's class, I've put together the first All-Free Agent Team.
This team, just like any other NBA team, consists of a starting point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center, as well as seven bench players. I tried to make the bench players one of each position with two wild cards thrown in there.
Just for the hell of it, let's say that Pat Riley is the coach.
How would this team look? Well, read on to find out.
Point Guard: Aaron Brooks
1 of 9Previous Team: Phoenix Suns
Free Agency Status: Restricted
Age: 26
2010-11 Per Game Stats: 10.7 points, 3.9 assists, 1.3 rebounds, 0.1 blocks and 0.6 steals
Aaron Brooks broke out in a big way during the 2009-10 season with the Houston Rockets, starting all 82 games and averaging 19.6 points and 5.3 assists per game. But thanks to injuries and ineffectiveness, his stock dropped drastically during his follow-up campaign.
However, the former Oregon Duck still remains at the top of the point guard rankings among this year's free agent class.
At just 26, Brooks still has the potential to regain his past status and become an elite scoring option from the point guard position.
Shooting Guard: Jason Richardson
2 of 9Previous Team: Orlando Magic
Free Agency Status: Unrestricted
Age: 30
2010-11 Per Game Stats: 15.6 points, 1.8 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 0.2 blocks and 1.2 steals
Jason Richardson may not have the same springs in his legs that he had back in the glory days with the Golden State Warriors, but he can still seem to fly periodically. The 30-year-old shooting guard uses that athleticism to his advantage on a nightly basis and remains a very good scorer.
After all, Richardson had a down year last season and still managed to average almost 16 points per game. With new players constantly shuffling around him thanks to a midseason trade from the Phoenix Suns to the Orlando Magic, it was tough for a scorer like Richardson to ever develop much chemistry with his teammates.
Richardson has the potential to become a very valuable scoring threat on a contender with enough money to pay for his services.
Small Forward: Thaddeus Young
3 of 9Previous Team: Philadelphia 76ers
Free Agency Status: Restricted
Age: 23
2010-11 Per Game Stats: 12.7 points, 1.0 assist, 5.3 rebounds, 0.3 blocks and 1.1 steals
With four years of NBA experience under his belt and just 23 years on this planet, Thaddeus Young is somehow a young veteran who should be a very valuable addition to whichever team signs him. That team will most likely be the Philadelphia 76ers, who would have to be crazy to let this future stud slip out of their grasp.
Young has a unique blend of talents that really allows him to do most things well on the basketball court. A nightly double-double threat, which is somewhat of a rarity for a small forward, Young has a good offensive game both near the basket and on the perimeter.
The former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket earns this starting spot because of both his basketball skill and because of his youthfulness, something that Grant Hill, Tayshaun Prince, Caron Butler and the other small forwards on the market this summer can't lay claim to.
Power Forward: David West
4 of 9Previous Team: New Orleans Hornets
Free Agency Status: Unrestricted
Age: 30
2010-11 Per Game Stats: 18.9 points, 2.3 assists, 7.6 rebounds, 0.9 blocks and 1.0 steals
In this shallow free agent class, David West stands out as one of the few truly elite players.
The former New Orleans Hornet opted out of the final year of his contract for an opportunity to place elsewhere, deciding to test the market despite being in the process of recovering from reconstructive knee surgery.
The 30-year-old should still be able to bounce back from his injury though. When healthy, he remains an elite power forward in this league, a player capable of scoring 20 and grabbing 10 boards on any given night.
Now we'll get a chance to see how much of West's success was created by playing with a point guard as brilliant as Chris Paul is at making his teammates look good.
Center: Nene Hilario
5 of 9Previous Team: Denver Nuggets
Free Agency Status: Unrestricted
Age: 28
2010-11 Per Game Stats: 14.5 points, 2.0 assists, 7.6 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 1.1 steals
Before I begin talking about Nene Hilario, I want to bring up something else first. Everyone, please stop reading and direct your attention to the picture on the left. But make sure you're sitting down first because Andrea Bargnani is actually attempting to play defense.
Now I don't want Bargnani to get upset with me for pointing out that he does occasionally try on that end of the court. So please note as well that it appears as though the Raptors' big man does have his hand on the wrong side of the rim in the picture. There you go Andrea, your reputation is safe.
Back to Nene though.
The longtime Denver Nugget is always one of the more underrated players in the league. He's a proficient, albeit unspectacular, scorer who does almost everything well on the basketball court. You can count on Hilario for consistent production night in and night out on both ends of the court.
He may not be paid like a superstar and he really isn't one, but Nene is one of the most valuable centers you can add to your basketball team. Additionally, he's only 28 years old and has a lot of good years left in the tank.
Bench Guards
6 of 9Point guard: Rodney Stuckey
Practically the definition of a combo-guard, Rodney Stuckey was a very valuable player for the Detroit Pistons last season even though the restricted free agent seems to have worn out his welcome in the city.
For this team, Stuckey will be able to fill in at either guard spot and keep the team from skipping a beat.
Shooting guard: Jamal Crawford
An extremely talented scorer, Jamal Crawford spent last season with the Atlanta Hawks but will likely end up coming off the bench for a true contender next season. The master of the shake-and-bake, Crawford is the perfect player off the bench if you want a guy to come in and provide huge spurts of scoring every now and then.
Bench Forwards
7 of 9Small forward: Caron Butler
Caron Butler may be a better player than Thaddeus Young right now, but because of his age (31) and limited upside, especially coming off an injury, I had to give Young the starting nod here.
Butler got a ring last season with the Dallas Mavericks, but he was unable to contribute to that cause and had to watch his teammates from the bench throughout the playoffs. He remains a great scorer even if he's not the same player that he once was during his heyday with the Washington Wizards.
Small forward: Shane Battier
Shane Battier does everything well on the basketball court. He's a very cerebral player and one of the best glue guys to every lace up their sneakers in the NBA.
Battier may not have as much basketball talent as some of the other free agents on the market like Wilson Chandler, Chris Humphries, Jeff Green and more, but he's a guy that you have to have on your team.
Power forward: Andrei Kirilenko
Another underrated stat-sheet stuffer, Andrei Kirilenko is going to look quite strange in a jersey other than the Utah Jazz one he's been accustomed to wearing for so long. That said, AK47 is no stranger to looking weird thanks to his diverse array of hairstyles.
Kirilenko is no longer the same player he was during his more youthful days, but he's still a valuable member of the team on both ends of the court.
Bench Centers
8 of 9Center: Tyson Chandler
Tyson Chandler's stock rose through the roof after his incredible postseason run that culminated in a dominant series against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. But don't make the mistake of thinking that Chandler is something that he isn't.
Chandler is a great defensive center, one of the best in the game, but he is very limited on the offensive end of the court. This guy would be a great defensive stopper on our fake team's bench.
Center: Marc Gasol
Our second backup center is more of an offensive option.
Marc Gasol enjoyed a fantastic postseason, breaking out in spectacular fashion by averaging 15.0 points and 11.2 rebounds per game during the Memphis Grizzlies' surprising 13-game playoff lives. Now he's going to look to use that success as a springboard to more, possibly even challenging his older brother Pau for Gasol dominance.
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9 of 9Adam Fromal is a syndicated writer and Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
