When we ranked the summer's key big man signings recently, we noted that centers and power forwards have dominated the free-agent headlines this offseason. The flip side of that is that point guards -- the dominant position in today's NBA -- have lagged in this year's marketplace.
This is entirely a matter of timing. A number of really good bigs happened to play on expiring deals last season, while the top point guards were safely locked up. Even so, the point guards have somewhat rallied. Since the numbers in the previous piece were compiled, the collective projected WARP of free-agent point guards who switched teams has more than tripled, from 8.8 to 27.6. It was a late-blooming market, but we have indeed seen some shuffling at the league's most important position.
Before we rank the deals that landed point guards on new teams, let's again underscore the criteria. We're not ranking the players by projected WARP, RPM or any other metric, although the order you see here correlates strongly with those measures. We used those figures but strongly considered on-court fit and the value of the contract signed. That makes the final order a bit subjective, but it's a good way to evaluate the respective impacts these point guards will have on their new squads.
1. Mo Williams
Contract: Two years, $4.3 million
New team: Cleveland Cavaliers
Old team: Charlotte Hornets
Cleveland could have used Williams' creative ability in the Finals but is happy enough to have him now. Williams signed a two-year, $4.3 million deal to upgrade Cleveland's bench, which was no easy task given the Cavaliers' lack of financial flexibility. When Williams last played alongside LeBron James for the Cavaliers, he started for two years and was the club's second-leading scorer. He turns 33 in December and won't be asked to fill such a large role this time around, but Williams was a major acquisition from an impact standpoint -- or at least he will be if he proves to be the piece that helps Cleveland win two more games, and a title, next season.
Williams can still get his shot, as he proved last season when he posted a career-high usage rate while playing for two non-playoff squads in Charlotte and Minnesota. Williams' streaky shooting is prodigious -- he erupted for 52 points in a game last season -- and he's just the kind of player who can win a key game or two by getting hot from the field. And since Cleveland has three top offensive options in James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, Williams won't be required to be hot every night. He's more of a luxury. On top of all that, Williams showed that he still has some solid playmaking ability, and that may be needed as a hedge against any lingering effects from Irving's postseason injury woes.
2. Deron Williams
Contract: Two years, $10 million
New team: Dallas Mavericks
Old team: Brooklyn Nets
Williams just turned 32 last month. His age and chronic ankle problems have made him often look even older than that the past couple of seasons in Brooklyn. Thus, the Nets will be paying Williams about $27 million to not play for them anymore. What's lost in the shuffle here is that while Williams' prime is behind him, he still managed to finish with 4.3 WARP in 68 games on a largely dysfunctional offensive team. Now he goes to a team in the Mavericks and a coach in Rick Carlisle who excel in capitalizing on the kind of pick-and-roll skills that made Williams a star before the injuries mounted. But what you really love in terms of fit is that Williams' health is now in the hands of Dallas' vaunted training staff. The Mavericks have long gotten elite value from players beyond the traditional ages of peak performance.
3. Greivis Vasquez (via trade)
Contract: Two years, $13 million (one year remaining)
New team: Milwaukee Bucks
Old team: Toronto Raptors
Not a free agent, Vasquez was traded to Milwaukee, but we'll include him here, as he was one of the top point guards to change teams this summer. The Bucks have accumulated a terrific collection of young talent and will likely not feature a starter as old as 26 all through next season. However, one slight concern about Milwaukee's offseason is that in dealing Jared Dudley, Ersan Ilyasova and Zaza Pachulia, the Bucks perhaps lose the three most prevalent veteran voices from last season's locker room. Vasquez can help fill the leadership void and field pesky questions from the media. He can also shoot from the outside and make plays with the ball in his hands while backing up both guard positions. The Bucks rely heavily on bench play, and Vasquez should emerge as the leader of Milwaukee's second unit.
4. Rajon Rondo
Contract: One year, $9.5 million
New team: Sacramento Kings
Old team: Dallas Mavericks
Given that I mentioned Rondo as a good fit for Sacramento about 30 times over the last few months, I can't very well lambaste the Kings for actually signing him. That they didn't have to go beyond one season to do so is even better, as now the Kings are protected against the kind of issues that brought about Rondo's quick end in Dallas. But beyond all that, if Rondo's athleticism rebounds to something close to what it was before his knee injury, he brings a crucial playmaking element to Sacramento. And while traditional, pass-first point guards aren't exactly in vogue in the NBA, no team needed a quality passer more than Sacramento. Sure, it's a combustible mix the Kings have put together, but from a pure talent standpoint, Vlade Divac has given George Karl something with which to work. We can quibble about the process and wring our hands over the future, but the Kings' roster as is will be interesting to watch -- for better or worse.
5. Jeremy Lin
Contract: Two years, $4.3 million
New team: Charlotte Hornets
Old team: Los Angeles Lakers
Lin was an excellent value pickup as Charlotte's new backup for Kemba Walker. Lin adds a little more size and playmaking to the mix, and his drive-and-kick game will play well with the collection of stand-still shooters the Hornets have gathered this summer. His catch-and-shoot game isn't great, but it's improved enough that Steve Clifford can pair him with Walker from time to time. And given the tendency for the Charlotte offense to bog down when Walker has one of his high-volume, cold-shooting nights, Lin brings a measure of the instant offense the Hornets lost when Mo Williams departed as a free agent.
6. C.J. Watson
Contract: Three years, $15 million
New team: Orlando Magic
Old team: Indiana Pacers
Watson was a low-key pickup for the Magic, a description that follows him every time he changes teams. Given his age (32), the three years Watson reportedly got from the Magic is a lot, but perhaps Orlando is at a juncture when the extra year had to be thrown in to close the deal. Watson put up 3.4 WARP for Indiana last season and shot 40 percent from 3-point range, making him a nice complement as the reserve to Elfrid Payton. He guards both backcourt positions capably, and because the other rotation guards on the Orlando roster are big, he can play alongside any of them.
The rest: 7. Steve Blake | Detroit Pistons (via trade); 8. Cory Joseph | Toronto Raptors; 9. Ray McCallum | San Antonio Spurs (via trade); 10. Shane Larkin | Brooklyn Nets; 11. Ronnie Price | Phoenix Suns.
Blake's shooting fits with Stan Van Gundy's offensive MO, and his versatility fits with the Pistons' collection of young guards. He provides insurance against a slow recovery by Brandon Jennings and veteran leadership on a team struggling to establish a new identity. Joseph replaces Vasquez in the Toronto rotation, assuming he can fend off rookie Delon Wright. Joseph can defend, but it remains to be seen how his offensive efficiency will translate beyond the protective womb of San Antonio basketball. Larkin could find himself getting a lot of minutes on a Nets roster that no longer features a starting point guard. Even if Larkin didn't have such a choice opportunity for court time, he had to be relishing his divorce from the triangle offense, to which he was especially poorly suited.
Headed overseas: Alexey Shved, Nick Calathes.
It is kind of astounding that both of these quality point guards were unable to attract suitable offers from NBA clubs. Calathes might not be the defensive star his RPM suggested last season, but he was a plus on that end and has the size and range of skills to fit on any roster. As for Shved, a little over a week ago, the Knicks had two unsigned free agents of their own who were really good from a WARP standpoint (Shved and Cole Aldrich) and two more who decidedly were not (Lou Amundson and Lance Thomas). Guess which pair will actually return to New York next season?