NBA Free Agents 2011: Biggest Enigmas in Free Agency

The 2011 free agency class doesn't contain the firepower of the superstar-laden group of 2010 nor the veteran laden class in 2012, but it does contain a great deal of role players that could either help your team get over the top or could assist in surrounding your star players with reliable talent.

There aren't too many All-Stars to choose from with Jamal Crawford, David West and Nene Hilario leading the way, but there are solid players and that could mean a lot to teams like the Orlando Magic and New Orleans Hornets who are attempting to keep their star players in town. It also means a lot to teams like the Miami Heat and New York Knicks, who are looking to surround their superstars with role players that can help put them over the top.

With so little time to pick the right free agents since the NBA season now starts less than a month from now, general managers are going to be scrambling when looking for the right player as many players are set to be overpaid due to the overall lack of superstars to spend money on. With money being thrown around, it could mean questionable players being signed to questionable deals.

These enigmas are the question marks of the free agency class this year and teams will need to be careful when contemplating signing them or allowing them to walk to a different team. Role players are going to be highly coveted this year in preparation for the bonanza that is the 2012 free agency class, so organizations are going to have make sure to second guess themselves when contemplating signing these five particular players.

Rodney Stuckey

The Detroit Pistons are looking to take their franchise in a new direction and Rodney Stuckey may not be a part of it after the team drafted point guard Brandon Knight in the first round of the most recent draft. Stuckey has been running the point for the Pistons over the past three seasons, but was benched a few times during the regular season last year despite averaging 16 points and six assists per.

The Pistons will most likely make Knight their starter, which means curtains for Stuckey's short tenure in Detroit. Finding work elsewhere is going to be a problem for him as well due to the concern of how a team should play him since he's a combo guard that can play at the one or two. He's not completely comfortable at either position and it's going to hurt his free agent stock when teams take a look at him.

Stuckey is a tremendous talent with great athleticism, but his shooting percentage has always been low, he's never been a solid offensive facilitator, and his dilemma at whether he can run the point or play at shooting guard could leave more questions than answers for a team looking to sign a guard such as Stuckey.

Greg Oden

Since being drafted first in the 2008 draft, Greg Oden has played in a grand total of 82 games which basically translates to one full season in four years. In the short amount of time he did play, Oden did display a great deal of defensive and shot blocking prowess, but was greatly limited on offense as every hook shot that he attempted looked more awkward than the last. He was averaging 11 points per in his second season, but saw the majority of those points come by way of tip-in or high percentage shots.

Not to mention, he's coming off of yet another injury that kept him out the entire 2010-'11 season and would still have him sidelined today if the season started according to plan. Signing Oden is a gargantuan risk for anyone that even attempts to look at him as he is still unproven and is coming off of a series of injuries that could possibly end his career if he does end up re-injuring a key part of him with his knees being the most notable.

All those risks and the Trail Blazers still gave him a qualifying offer that equates to $9 million. You would automatically assume that to be too much, but trust me when I say that there will be teams out there that will offer just as much to get the soon to be 24-year-old Oden on their side.

Josh Howard

A few years ago, Josh Howard would be at the top of everyone's list when it came to finding the right free agent. That's all changed now after two consecutive injury-plagued seasons in which Howard has played in a combined 53 games. Couple that with the fact that he hasn't played in more than 53 games in a season over the past three seasons and you have one of the riskiest signings on the market.

For the first five years of his career, Howard played a huge role on the Dallas Mavericks and would average as much as 20 points and seven boards per before being traded to the Washington Wizards mid-way through the 2009-'10 season. Howard would only play in four games that year before getting hurt and would sit out the rest of the year.

The 2010-'11 season was an absolute train wreck for Howard as he only played in 18 games while averaging eight points per on an abysmal 36 percent shooting from the field. He might have fully recovered from his injuries, but teams are going to be taking a huge risk if they attempt to sign a 31-year-old that hasn't been fully healthy in three years.

Andrei Kirilenko

Now dealing with a broken nose that will keep out a month after a run in with an opponent's elbow, Andrei Kirilenko has given just another reason as to why he's one of the riskiest signings of this years free agency class. Since being given a lucrative deal that recently paid him $18 million last year, Kirilenko has played underwhelming basketball for the Utah Jazz as the team may be looking to move in a different direction.

With Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors looking to crack the rotation, Kirilenko could be on the outside looking in and for good reason. Since averaging 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three blocks per in 2006, AK-47 hasn't averaged more than 12 points or five boards per and has failed to average more than two blocks per since 2007.

He might be expecting a lucrative deal as well considering that he's made nearly $90 million over the past six years with the Jazz, so teams will need to be hesitant when thinking about signing the multi-dimensional forward. Kirilenko is still a stellar defender that would be an asset on anyone's team, but money should be tight when seriously contemplating on signing the soon to be 31-year-old.

J.J. Barea

I only see bad things happening in the future to the team that signs Dallas Mavericks point guard Jose Juan Barea. I'm not at all trying to say that Barea is a bad player in any way shape or form, it's just that I expect a number of teams to drastically attempt to overpay for the undersized guard after observing his dominance throughout the 2011 postseason.  

Barea was stellar in the post season averaging nine points and three assists per, but organizations are going to have to remember that he was still a back-up, averaged only ten points and four assists per last year, and the fact that most people didn't know who he was until he started beating up on the Los Angeles Lakers.  

The Mavericks may not even want Barea to be their starting point guard following the eventual retirement of Jason Kidd considering that they're sticking with Rodrigues Beaubois. Barea is good for a spark off the bench and can hit the three and drive, but do expect organizations to give the Puerto Rican a starter's salary.