NBA's Free Agency Sweepstakes

In a matter of hours from now, the National Basketball Association, considered as the world's elite professional league in basketball, will be entering the free agency season.  Teams will be in a lookout of possible players that will be keys to improving chances in winning the NBA title in the next season.  A lot of players will be on the market, some are battle-tested veterans, while others have been in the league for a couple of years and had a nice resume to show.

One of the problems that may hinder a team, especially from big market ones (e.g. Lakers, Knicks, Heat, etc.), will be the salary cap.  Some of the mentioned teams are WAY OVER the cap which will limit them from offering maximum contract to some very reliable pieces that are considered last pieces of the puzzle for a championship.  The NBA draft had passed with some of the teams picking freshmen according to their needs (like what the Hornets and Bobcats did) and others were adding some veterans via trades to boost up their lineup (see Wizards, Clippers).

Since its free agent season, below are a list of the top forty players available in the market (the ranks are according to CBS):

2012 NBA Free Agents - Top 40 Players
Rank	Player	Position	Current Team Before Free Agency
1	Deron Williams	PG
2	Eric Gordon	SG
3	Kevin Garnett	PF
4	Tim Duncan	PF
5	Roy Hibbert	C
6	Steve Nash	PG
7	JaVale McGee	C
8	Ryan Anderson	PF
9	Nicolas Batum	SF
10	Jason Terry	SG
11	Brook Lopez	C
12	Ray Allen	SG
13	Jeremy Lin	PG
14	Gerald Wallace	SF
15	Goran Dragic	PG
16	Ersan Ilyasova	PF
17	Jason Kidd	PG
18	O.J. Mayo	SG
19	Brandon Bass	PF
20	Mo Williams	PG
21	Andre Miller	PG
22	Omer Asik	C
23	Kris Humphries	PF
24	Jeff Green	PF
25	George Hill	PG
26	Lou Williams	SG
27	Aaron Brooks	PG
28	Ramon Sessions	PG
29	Nick Young	SG
30	Jamal Crawford	SG
31	J.R. Smith	SG
32	Carl Landry	PF
33	Antawn Jamison	PF
34	Jameer Nelson	PG
35	Chris Kaman	C
36	Marcus Camby	C
37	Michael Beasley	PF
38	Robin Lopez	C
39	Delonte West	SG
40	Grant Hill	SF

With this, who's your pick to go whom?  There are news that Kevin Garnett is contemplating retirement but changed his mind and returning to the Celts for a reported 2 to 3-year deal while Big 3 teammate Ray Allen has been looking into options besides Boston.  The recently crowned NBA champions Miami Heat, with pitches coming from LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, are trying hard to sign the free agent shooter.  Also, the tug-of-war battle for Deron Williams and other rumors (especially the Steve Nash-to a lot of teams) makes the summer (in the US) of 2012 becomes more interesting as the time of free agency signing approaches.

So, just sit back and enjoy... read through the rumor mills and just go in awe, if there will be surprises along the way (which I think there will be)!

Let the games begin...


Cheers!