NBA Free Agents 2011: None of the Available Players Are Worth a Max Contract

Following last season's free agent frenzy where max contracts were handed out like they were candy on Halloween, I would expect to see something much different this time around.

While December 9 will be a hectic day for teams and free agents, you won't see that many max contracts handed out this season.

As a matter of fact, you shouldn't see any.

If any of the current free agents is offered a max deal, it's a mistake. No one on the current market is worth that type of money.

For my money, the best free agents in this year's crop are (in no particular order): Jamal Crawford, David West, Nene, Jason Richardson, Tyson Chandler and Caron Butler.

No one on this list should even get close to max money.

West may have been the most intriguing guy on the list, but he's coming off major knee surgery. You just don't know how that will affect his game. You can't give max dollars to a guy you aren't sure about.

Butler is coming off another injury as well and was never really a max dollar type of player when healthy.

Richardson and Crawford don't belong in any max-dollar type conversation.

Chandler might get big money and he's coming off a good season and a very good postseason. That may be enough for some teams to seriously overpay Chandler. Yet, giving a guy max money after really only one good season has always proven to be a mistake.

Nene, on the other hand, is the wild card in the situation.

Is he good? Yes. Is he max-dollar good? Not a chance.

Nene is productive, but not a dominant player. Teams like the Rockets or Nets though could throw maximum money at the guy and that would be a big mistake.

There's no better example of how teams get themselves in financial trouble than issuing out max-contracts that shouldn't be given out.

This year isn't the year for max contracts. There just aren't any players worth that type of money on the market.