Sunday, July 14, 2013

Free Agent Gold

     Well, it seems that all the big names in the draft have been signed away to new teams: Josh Smith to the Pistons, Andrew Bynum to the Cavs, Al Jefferson to the Bobcats, Paul Millsap to the Hawks, Andre Iguodala to the Warriors, and of course, the Dwightmare ended with him in Houston. But, there are still quite a few hidden gems in this free agent market. They may not be big names, but they can more than hold their weight and contribute to a team.
     The first is Nate Robinson. Nate Robinson proved himself to be a small, lethal weapon in the playoffs when the Bulls needed anything they could get on offense. I have always been a fan of him, even back in the good ol' days when he was a Knick. He is powerful for a small player, and although he is not a huge contributor in the assist category, he can be a huge asset for a team desperate for some offense.  There are many teams that could use his kind of punch, like Phoenix, Washington, or the Bobcats, but he is looking to win, and he would not get that in any of those places. I think that he would fit best in Minnesota or Detroit. Minnesota shot terribly this past season, and they have already signed Kevin Martin and Chase Budinger, who are both deadeye marksman. If they can manage to keep Pekovic, the addition of Robinson would be huge, especially considering the lack of output by Rubio. The Pistons, on the other side, have added a juggernaut in Smith, and Billups at point, but lost Calderon, who was an offensive general who never really gets enough credit for his high efficiency. Billups will make up for some of that, but their backcourt is really hurting without him.