2011 NBA Free Agents: The Top 16 Centers
by Nate Parham on Nov 30, 2011 11:00 AM PST
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PrintToday NBA teams can start talking to free agents although they cannot officially sign anyone until December 9.
In the meantime, that means rumors. Lots of rumors.
To keep up with the frenzy, SB Nation's Tom Ziller has posted a list of the top 79 free agents ending with Sebastian Telfair (and a rather disturbing statistic about the former high school star). To stay updated on the latest free agent news, you can visit SBN's Peachtree Hoops, which has a neat free agency scoreboard.
Of course, as Warriors fans we're most concerned with our beloved franchise's (never-ending) pursuit of a center. For now, we'll set aside matters of cap space and just dream about the list of centers pulled out from Ziller's list as well as their rankings.
Top Tier
1. MARC GASOL
Center, 26 years old, 7'1
Restricted free agent (Memphis can match any signed offer sheet)
2011 stats: 11.7 points, 7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks in 32 minutes per game; 16.8 PER
2. TYSON CHANDLER
Center, 29 years old, 7'1
Unrestricted free agent
2011 stats: 10.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.1 blocks in 28 minutes per game; 18.4 PER
3. NENE
Center, 29 years old, 6'11
Unrestricted free agent
2011 stats: 14.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.0 blocks in 30 minutes per game; 20.4 PER
As Ziller notes, with Tyson Chandler and Marc Gasol perhaps harder to obtain, the biggest frenzy will probably be around Nene. That's not lost on most of us around here and there are six teams (including the Warriors) that have reportedly positioned themselves as the front-runners in the Nene chase.
The idea of the Warriors getting a player who is 1) a center who b) is an efficient scorer AND c) able to play defense (yes, one player can do all those things) almost feels like a fantasy. But the W's are in the mix and that has to be considered the top prize.
Tier 2
14. DEANDRE JORDAN
Center, 23 years old, 6'11
Restricted free agent; L.A. can match any signed offer sheet
2011 stats: 7.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 26 minutes per game; 14.8 PER
16. SAMUEL DALEMBERT
Center, 30 years old, 6'11
Unrestricted free agent
2011 stats: 8.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 24 minutes per game; 14.1 PER
Jordan fits the bill as a center who can defend. Although his offensive game consists of mostly put-backs and dunks, the Warriors might be able to complement that better than most teams: as the roster currently stands, scoring in general is not a problem even if we'd all like to have a better post scoring threat.
But again I agree with Ziller on this: the question is how much a team should pay him. A young player that seems to have upside at what is arguably the most important defensive position in the NBA is going to draw attention, particularly as interested teams try to make offers that L.A. can't match.
Tier 3
27. Spencer Hawes (restricted)
31. Jeff Foster (unrestricted)
32. Kurt Thomas (unrestricted)
34. Alexis Ajinca (unrestricted)
47. Jamaal Magloire (unrestricted)
48. Joel Przybilla (unrestricted)
50. Kwame Brown (unrestricted)
53. Aaron Gray (unrestricted)
55. Jason Collins (unrestricted)
56. Tony Battie (unrestricted)
75. Erick Dampier (unrestricted)
For the full list of free agents, visit SB Nation's 2011 NBA Free Agent list. To keep updated on the free agent scoreboard, head to SBN's Peachtree Hoops. For full NBA free agency coverage, follow SBN's StoryStream.
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Jordan
Nene
Gasol
In that order for me.
"That was very funny about the old man basketball skills. One is lucky to escape injury when playing against those crafty, crusty sumbitches. And it’s just demoralizing when they demonstrate yet again how to use the backboard from range." - Charlie Custer
by SmittytheCutman on Nov 30, 2011 11:04 AM PST reply actions
must be looking at this backwards..
gasol
nene
jordan
makes much more sense.
by bballinpacisler on Nov 30, 2011 1:01 PM PST up reply actions
Gasol would be the best fit...
…but as stated before, it’ be highly unlikely due to the cap. That said, Nene or Jordan would work for me. Leaning more towards Jordan because of the age. But where’s Adonal Foyle on the list?!? The smartest center of all time!
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how much is his contract? and how much does he get this season? ( assume we played a full 82 game season)
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by ayeyoJERM on Nov 30, 2011 6:33 PM PST via iPhone app up reply actions
Gasol's the best player...
Not sure if he’s the best fit.
The Warriors are sorely in need of athleticism in the paint. That’s what really makes Nene so intriguing. He’s easily one of the strongest big men in the league, and coast to coast, possibly the fastest center. He’s not small (6-11, 260) and he doesn’t miss often when he’s under the rim.
Individually, I like Marc Gasol’s prospects as a center much more.
However, a big 3 rotation of Lee, Nene, and Udoh would give us an excellent balance of inside/out scoring, IQ, rebounding, athleticism, and protection.
Nene
Is a good fit. He could be a role model to our younger player. Spec. Udoh… Jordan. I think my 2nd choice. Then Gasol I got more chance of winning the lottery than Memphis not matching the offer
Win Or Lose Warriors For Life.........
mykelala01 is like the bouncer with the red rope for GSOM. You’re good to come in now.
by TheSoundOfHockey on Apr 24, 2011 9:24 PM PDT
by mykelala01 on Nov 30, 2011 11:22 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Uh, this just reminds me how awful centers are in today's nba.
You guys don’t need another softie. You need a center that is a bruiser. Nene would be good.
he’s short and not much of a defender. Better than whatever we’ve had starting for a while, but still. Also he’s a ball stopper in the post. I think he’d be a decent fit though as he can be somebody who gets the opposing centers in foul trouble.
I still think that he’s much better suited at PF. I would love to trade/waive Lee and have Nene+ whoever in the front court. Even Biedrins, as long as he’s healthy.
From what I have read Nene is actually a good defender
http://www.3hoopsfans.com/ there is a link with some info you just have to sort through it. Although I don’t know how he would do defensively paired with Lee. The Warriors would definitely be better defensively with Nene rather than without.
by brutusbrutus on Nov 30, 2011 12:26 PM PST up reply actions
thanks for the link
I thought Nene sucked at D too!
the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of getting Nene.
Sure he and David Lee aren’t a dream pairing, but I think we’d have a nice frontcourt rotation with Udoh and (hopefully) Tyler…if Beans manages to come back from the dark side, I’d feel pretty safe betting that this team makes the playoffs
"There’s no such thing as off the charts, just get a bigger piece of paper. If you can’t figure that out you shouldn’t be charting anything" - Skep
by Duby Dub Dubs on Nov 30, 2011 12:43 PM PST up reply actions
that came out a bit wrong
He’s a good man defender, because he’s huge but we have no defense in the backcourt so we need a good help defender.
Uuudddoooohhh (say it in the announcer voice)
unless we are seriously talking about rebuilding our roster, I think we are still going to be stuck trying to outgun the opposition. Nene helps with that, a lot.
I don’t really think we need Jordan flying around looking for blocks (a la Turiaf/Randolph).
Plus, I’m thinking about our full rotation. We would see Udoh paired with both Lee and Nene as the situation calls for
"There’s no such thing as off the charts, just get a bigger piece of paper. If you can’t figure that out you shouldn’t be charting anything" - Skep
by Duby Dub Dubs on Nov 30, 2011 1:18 PM PST up reply actions
I think Chandler. Is most productive
When pair to a good PG. It did not workout on Bobcats. But he won championship in Dallas. So if Curry can be like ChrIs Paul. On his 3rd year Chandler can be a great fit
Win Or Lose Warriors For Life.........
mykelala01 is like the bouncer with the red rope for GSOM. You’re good to come in now.
by TheSoundOfHockey on Apr 24, 2011 9:24 PM PDT
If Curry can be like Chris Paul
and Ellis can be like Kobe
and etc…
we’ll be a championship team.
Why everyone so high on Nene
I dont consider him a true center, hes a very solid PF who i would take over david lee but at center, i dont think he be worth the money. He’s already 29 who’s rebounding # is average for his size and position. I do like his low post game but I rather have Deandre Jordan who’s improving each year and is only 23. Yea he doesnt have much offensive game but for our style of play, he fits in perfectly. All we need him to do is block shots, grab boards and run the floor. The only question is how much do we pay him to make Clips think twice about matching.
by reppinwarriors on Nov 30, 2011 11:51 AM PST reply actions
and also, would Jordan leave the Clipps?
they got a nice young core, relatively cheap.
If they let Caveman go, I see no reason why the Clipps can’t hang on to Jordan
"There’s no such thing as off the charts, just get a bigger piece of paper. If you can’t figure that out you shouldn’t be charting anything" - Skep
by Duby Dub Dubs on Nov 30, 2011 12:45 PM PST up reply actions
Ok let's be honest here
We’re not getting any of the top centers. The best center we might be able to get is Jeff Foster. If we get Nene or Gasol we will have to kill our cap. Moreso for Gasol because he is a restricted free agent, meaning we will have to make a ridiculously large offer that Memphis cannot match.
BTW we are not using amnesty on either Lee or Beans.
If you're watching a blowout, you can pass the time by counting the double teapots.
Samurai Champloo > Macross
kill the cap, who cares
The ownsership group wants to win now and they want to establish this franchise as a destination for future talent. I hope they do what is right for the team, ignore and cap, and pay the luxury tax for a few years as an investment.
by warriorsvictim on Nov 30, 2011 12:25 PM PST up reply actions
The funny thing is
We cannot win now with this group of players, even if we signed Nene. We would still have nobody who plays good defense and at most we can sneak into the eighth seed. That won’t make us a “destination.”
If you're watching a blowout, you can pass the time by counting the double teapots.
Samurai Champloo > Macross
by doubleteapot on Nov 30, 2011 12:29 PM PST up reply actions
I LOL'd at Dampier
I remember how some people thought he would put the Heat over the top… turns out he sucked and was out of shape.
If you're watching a blowout, you can pass the time by counting the double teapots.
Samurai Champloo > Macross
by doubleteapot on Nov 30, 2011 12:24 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
funny how we could have told them that 5 years ago
but what do we know
by warriorsvictim on Nov 30, 2011 12:25 PM PST up reply actions
I didn't put him on because Ziller listed him as a PF and that's much the way I normally see him
…given that he’s 6’6"…
Easy to forget that he is listed as a center on the Rockets’ roster…
http://www.nba.com/home/playerfile/chuck_hayes/
Now, if only someone could understand Chuck Hayes… ;)
Twitter: @NateP_SBN.
he plays center though
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I'm really hoping for the warriors to pull in DeAndre Jordan into us
He’s young and has plenty of upside as a defensive center.
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