NBA Free Agents 2011: Marc Gasol and the Most Overvalued Free Agents
As football fans have already seen, the end of the NBA lockout will lead to a high-intensity free-agency period as teams look to complete an entire offseason of work in a couple of weeks. Some free agents, like this trio, will be the beneficiaries of overspending from optimistic teams looking to make a splash:
Marc Gasol
Big men with shooting touch are hard to come by, but Gasol doesn’t have the proven production to go with his skill set. At his best, he’s a fine rebounder (9.3 boards a game in 2009-10), but he’s coming off a season in which he scored just 11.7 points a night.
Obviously, Gasol’s marquee value is helped substantially by big brother Pau’s track record, but Pau was an effective NBA scorer from the get-go. Marc could still develop into an All Star-caliber center, but he’s not there yet, and he’s probably about to get paid like he is.
Tracy McGrady
Why anyone is still talking about the 32-year-old McGrady like he’s a difference-maker is beyond me. He was certainly a spectacular scorer in his prime, but since his injury woes began in 2005-06, his scoring average has plummeted from 24.4 points a game to 8.0 last year as a part-time starter.
McGrady’s struggles in 2010-11 are even more telling because he was playing for a Detroit team devoid of top-tier scorers (sorry, Rodney Stuckey). He hasn’t been effective at anything other than scoring in many years, and if he couldn’t make a statement as a scorer for the Pistons, it’s laughable to believe that he’ll do so elsewhere.
Anthony Parker
Anthony Parker is a very capable role player who’s been masquerading as a starter for some awful Raptors and Cavaliers teams. He’s a highly skilled (and, at 6’6”, versatile) defender, but he’s also a shooting guard who just doesn’t shoot.
Even while becoming a legitimate three-point threat who’s shot as well as 44.1 percent from long range, Parker has never scored more than 12.5 points a game in the NBA. He’d be a wonderful addition to many contenders, but he has no place in a discussion of potential difference-makers at the shooting guard spot.
