Numbers Game: Top NBA value free agents
Bargains are not plentiful on the NBA free agent market, as the scarcity of talent results in big money being thrown at unrestricted free agents year after year.
Players like Joe Johnson and Bobby Simmons signed lucrative deals and have helped their new clubs, but at their hefty price tags -- $70-million and $47-million, respectively -- teams have a right to expect major contributions.
However, that doesn't mean that teams can't find good value in the lower price ranges and that's what we're focusing on here.
The best value NBA free agent signings from last summer:
10. DeSagana Diop, C, Dallas - Drafted eighth overall out of high school in 2001, Diop didn't really progress in four years with the Cavs so the Mavericks, who don't mind stockpiling big men wiht potential, swooped in and signed him to a three-year, $6.48-million deal. While he's still a non-factor offensively (2.3 points per game), Diop is a shotblocking presence (1.8 per game) and has done enough (4.7 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per game) to even start 21 games while the Mavs try to awaken Erick Dampier. "That's what you work for everyday. I didn't want to be a backup all my life," the 24 year-old Diop told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram when he was named to the starting lineup by coach Avery Johnson.
2005-2006 Salary: $2,000,000
9. Maurice Evans, SG, Detroit - Undrafted out of the University of Texas, Evans has been a basketball vagavond, playing for Minnesota, then in Greece and Italy before returning to the NBA with Sacramento last year. Evans did enough in 19 minutes per game with the Kings to land a modest (three years, $4.5-million) free agent contract with the Pistons and he's been a primary backup on the wing all season as part of Detroit's standard rotation and coach Flip Saunders tells the Detroit Free Press, "I have higher expectations for what I want out of him. From his standpoint, that's good. He's got a chance to really do something in this league, so I'm always on him a lot."
2005-2006 Salary: $1,500,000
8. Darius Songaila, PF, Chicago - 28 year-old Lithuanian was drafted by the Celtics, but couldn't get into the League until he was traded to the Kings in 2003. After two solid seasons, Songaila saw greater opportunity to play in Chicago so he signed a one-year deal for $2.2-million, with a player option for $2.4-million next season. Though still battling with Mike Sweetney and Malik Allen for minutes, Songaila is playing a career-high 21.3 minutes per game and scoring a career-best 9.3 points per game. "He's settled into the role of being one of the first players off the bench. He's shot the ball well for us. He's passed it. He's played very good defense. He's just a very good all-around player and is having a very good year for us," Bulls coach Scott Skiles told the Chicago Sun-Times.
2005-2006 Salary: $2,200,000
7. Milt Palacio, PG, Utah - Playing for the sixth team of his seven-year NBA career, Palacio owns one of the most erratic shots in the league, but he provides a hard-nosed style of play that fits well with Jerry Sloan in Utah. Ongoing backcourt problems with the Jazz have pushed Palacio into the starting lineup for a dozen games, and he's responded by scoring a career-best 7.1 points per game. "He's been terrific," Sloan told the Jazz website. "He's been a terrific worker in practice and a good person to his teammates, and I think those things are very important."
2005-2006 Salary: $1,400,000
6. James Jones, SF, Phoenix - Second-round pick by Indiana in 2003 showed potential in his first two seasons, but figured to be buried behind Ron Artest, so he took his game to Phoenix where he's admittedly been inconsistent, but the 25 year-old is playing a prominent role (25.1 minutes per game) in the Suns' wing rotation and scoring a career-high 10.2 points per game. He's signed to a three-year, $7.9-million deal, with a player option for the fourth season.
2005-2006 Salary: $2,400,000
5. Steve Blake, PG, Portland - Seemingly an afterthought in the Trail Blazers' backcourt plans this year, Blake didn't figure to see much time at the point with Sebastian Telfair and Jarrett Jack on the roster. However, injuries created an opening for Blake and he responded alongside University of Maryland teammate Juan Dixon, playing the best basketball of his three-year career. After signing a two-year deal for the bargain rate of $2.08-million, Blake has started 36 games and has respectable averages of 8.1 points and 4.5 assists per game. His shot is inconsistent and he gets beaten defensively, but the bang for the buck is still pretty good.
2005-2006 Salary: $1,000,000
4. Gary Payton, PG, Miami - 37 year-old is well past his prime and has lost several steps from his peak, but he's a useful backup, scoring 8.7 points and delivering 3.4 assists in Miami, his fifth team in the last four seasons. At this stage, Payton is chasing a title, telling reporters when he signed, "Shaq and I are very close and he wanted me to come to the Los Angeles Lakers and he wanted me to come back down here. Pat Riley was a big influence also. He has been trying to get me for a number of years. I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to come and win a championship." Whether the championship is in the cards or not, Payton has been good value for the Heat.
2005-2006 Salary: $1,138,500
3. Eddie House, SG, Phoenix - The gunner signed for a bargain two-year deal at over $1.7-million total, making the Suns his fifth team in the last three years. Though the former Arizona State star is only playing 17.7 minutes per game off the bench, House has put up a career-best 10.3 points per game. As Steve Nash told the Arizona Republic, "When he's aggressive and shooting the ball, it loosens the defense up even when he's not making it."
2005-2006 Salary: $835,810
2. Raja Bell, SG, Phoenix - After an undistinguished start to his career in Philadelphia and Dallas, Bell hit his stride in Utah the last two years and capitalized on it by signing a five-year, $24-million contract in the off-season. He's lived up to it by starting every game and putting up career-best numbers across the board, including 14.8 points per game. Coach Mike D'Antoni gushed about Bell in the Arizona Republic, telling the paper, "He's played as well as anybody in the league. The guy, on both ends of the floor, has been devastating. I knew he was a good player, but I didn't know he was this good."
2005-2006 Salary: $4,250,000
1. Zaza Pachulia, C, Atlanta - The big Georgian showed flashes in his first two NBA seasons, with Orlando and Milwaukee, but got caught in the Bucks' big man crunch after they drafted Andrew Bogut with the first pick in the draft. The center-hungry Hawks signed the then 21 year-old to a four-year, $16-million deal and he's been a very productive starter, scoring 11.4 points and grabbing 8.0 rebounds per game in 30.9 minutes per game. Hawks assistance coach Greg Ballard raved about Pachulia to the team's website: "He's been fantastic. He's relentless when he goes after the ball underneath the basket. He's very physical.” If Pachulia continues his career ascent, he could really cash in when this four-year contract expires.
2005-2006 Salary: $4,000,000
