NBA Free Agents 2011: Marc Gasol and 3 Underrated Big Men Your Team Needs

The day that basketball fans everywhere have been waiting for finally happened on Saturday: The NBA is back and will not be going away for at least six years. But the time for celebrating is over, and teams have to fill out their rosters with free agency starting on December 9. 

The market is thin in elite talent, but the secondary players and role players are plentiful and can be had for the right price. 

As always, big men—power forwards and centers—will be in high demand, and some quality players are available at those positions. I would not recommend paying them big money, but they can be valuable assets for championship teams. 

Here are three big men that deserve a lot of attention as the free-agent frenzy gets ready to kick off. 

Marc Gasol, Center

The “other” Gasol, Marc has proven himself to be one of the more underrated players in the NBA.

Gasol averaged nearly 12 points per game and shot almost 53% from the field, and in a league starved for quality centers, he might be the best of the bunch.

Teams should not give him a huge deal expecting him to be the next Dwight Howard or anything like that, but he can be a great role player for a championship-caliber team. Someone is going to overpay for his services, though he could justify that with more seasons like the one he had in 2010-11.

Nene, Power Forward

Last name or no last name, Nene will be one of the most coveted big men on the market this offseason.

In addition to being 6'11", which matters to a lot of teams, Nene has shown what he is capable of when he is healthy. He has played in at least 75 games in every year since 2008, and his production has been consistent during that time.

Nene averages around 14 points, eight rebounds and a shooting percentage right around 60%. Like with Gasol, you can’t build your front line around him, but if you need another scorer he is the right player for you.

Tyson Chandler, Center

Doing this short list, I realize how many quality big men are out on the market this offseason, and why teams would be foolish to mortgage their future trying to trade for a player who might not be able to add more wins to their 2011-12 total.

Chandler is another underrated center who should command decent money, but nothing compared to what the elite big men in the league will make. He averages double-digit points and around nine rebounds per game.

No one will ever accuse Chandler of being a dominant scorer, but he has a strong presence on the inside and can be a disruptive defensive player.