NBA Free Agents: Grading Shane Battier to Miami Heat and Early Signings of 2011

NBA free agents can't sign with teams until Friday, but that hasn't stopped the Twitter machine from blowing up with news about who's signing where and for how much.

Before things get too crazy, let's have a look at the deals expected to go through and how they grade out for the teams welcoming new faces.

Shane Battier to the Miami Heat

The Heat emerged from the NBA lockout as 2-to-1 favorites in Las Vegas to win the title, a betting line that the signing of Shane Battier only solidifies. Battier and his teammates haven't been shy about their mutual excitement:

And for good reason. For a mid-level deal of three years and $9.4 million, the Heat will add a player, in Battier, who fills several of their most pressing needs—a glue guy who can play defense, hit the occasional outside shot and provide intangibles to a team that was severely lacking in that department last season.

Furthermore, a veteran of Battier's stature can serve as a rational sounding board between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to keep the team's house in order when tensions inevitably rise again.

Of course, Battier doesn't play the point or the pivot, where the team needs better than whatever Mario Chalmers and Eddy Curry would bring to those respective positions.

Grade: B+ 

Caron Butler to the Los Angeles Clippers

There was more than just smog wafting through the air in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Residents reported seeing a cloud of burning cash coming from the Staples Center, just after the Clippers agreed to a three-year, $24 million deal with Caron Butler.

By all accounts, Caron is a good guy to have in the locker room and can most definitely man the small forward position, at least from an offensive standpoint.

He's also eminently familiar with the area, having spent a year of his career with the Lakers.

Unfortunately, the guy's also 32 and coming off major knee surgery. At best, he's only a slight upgrade over Ryan Gomes and Al-Farouq Aminu.

At worst (and more than likely), he's a drain on the Clips' cap and a roadblock in the path of Aminu's development. A shorter deal for less money would've been forgivable.

Grade: C-

Mike Dunleavy Jr. to the Milwaukee Bucks

Hmmm...an irrelevant player moving from one irrelevant team in the Central Division to another?

Okay, so maybe it's too easy to rip on Mike Dunleavy going to Milwaukee, especially considering his age (31) and his bum knee.

Still, the Bucks needed some versatility on the wing and Dunleavy gives them just that for just $7.5 million over two years. If nothing else, it's an eminently more reasonable deal than what the Clips gave Caron.

Grade: B-

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