Free Agency 2011: Top 10 point guards

Mario Chalmers' deep shooting and defense make him a useful free agent. (Howard Smith/US Presswire)

It’s a good thing all but a handful of the league’s 30 teams are set at point guard for now, because the free agency crop at this position is bare. Here’s our top 10 list, with a caveat that we are not including guys on nonguaranteed contracts next season, as decisions about those deals are still coming. A few such players — A.J. Price, Ish Smith, Sundiata Gaines — might have been candidates for one of the bottom slots here, but we’re excluding them for now.

*Note: Aaron Brooks and Patty Mills have since signed deals in the Chinese Basketball Association with no opt-out clauses. Unless the players are waived, they will not be eligible to return to the NBA until after the Chinese season ends in March. The NBA’s free-agent signing period is tentatively scheduled to begin on Dec. 9. Also, T.J. Ford agreed to a deal with Croatia’s KK Zagreb, but his contract included an out to return to the NBA once the lockout ended, according to ESPN.com.

1. Rodney Stuckey (restricted)

Stuckey clearly belongs at the top of this list, even with all the questions about his shooting range, shaky finishing at the rim, flare-ups with former Pistons coach John Kuester (who didn’t have one or two of those!) and whether he really belongs on this list of free-agent wing players. Those are all legitimate criticisms, and Stuckey, already 25, may never develop a consistent, long-range jumper. But he improved across the board last season, cracking the top 50 in Player Efficiency Rating over some flashier names (Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowry), finally finishing at the rim at a near-acceptable rate and piling up more foul shots and assists.

He can score in a variety of ways inside of 20 feet and is capable of defending both guard positions. The Pistons have tendered Stuckey a $3.87 million qualifying offer, meaning he is a restricted free agent and Detroit can match any competing offer for him. Of teams that figure to have a lot of cap space, only the Raptors and Clippers have pressing present or future needs at point guard, so Detroit may be in a strong negotiating position with Stuckey. Expect him to stay put.

2. Aaron Brooks (restricted)*

Brooks broke out in 2009-10, when he averaged nearly 20 points per game and won the league’s Most Improved Player award with Houston, but he was a bit overrated even then. He relied on a bundle of perimeter shots for his points, which made some sense, because he struggled badly to finish at the rim and didn’t earn as many free-throw attempts as a top perimeter scorer should. He has never quite dished the ball like a quality starting point guard, and he has mostly been a liability on defense. Houston traded him in February to Phoenix, where Brooks averaged 18.9 minutes a game as Steve Nash’s backup.

But there is obvious talent here, and there is clearly a place in the league for a guard who can break down almost anyone off the dribble, get into the lane and make proper decisions. If Brooks can find the right balance in his game, he’s an asset as either a so-so starter or super-duper backup.

3. Mario Chalmers (restricted)

He’s turnover prone, he gambles on defense, he is barely shooting 40 percent over three seasons and his role has changed dramatically a dozen times during his short NBA career with Miami. He is probably not as good, right now, as the guy who ranks just below him on this list. But Chalmers is a useful two-way player, a defender who plays a bit bigger on that end than he really is at 6-foot-1, and one who can guard any point man in the league. Enough of his gambles turn into steals that the risk/reward equation sort of works, and he is a decent three-point shooter unafraid of big shots.

4. J.J. Barea

Barea is perhaps the leading candidate to be overpaid among the entire free-agent class, since he’s fresh off decimating the Lakers in the conference semifinals and playing well as a surprise starter in the last four games of the Finals for Dallas. Barea was one of the best pick-and-roll players in the league last season, and his penetration was crucial for a Mavericks team that had no other guard capable of getting into the lane consistently. The undersized Barea can hit both three-pointers and inside floaters, though he tends to take some crazy shots when a pass would be the better play.

He’s lower than Chalmers here for two reasons:

• We don’t quite know how effective he’s going to be without Dirk Nowitzki as his pick-and-roll partner. Barea will still be solid; he’s quick and smart, and he’ll find another power forward with range to partner with if he leaves Dallas. But his synergy with Dirk was unique.

• His height creates defensive issues that will never go away. You can’t really play him starter-level minutes, and he was not a part of the Mavs’ go-to, crunch-time lineups. He works hard on defense, but opponents attack him, and his own team has to contort itself a bit on that end to cover for him.

Still, he’s a helpful player who changes the game when he’s in there.

5. Carlos Arroyo

Yup, we’re already here. At this point, we’re looking for backup types who can play 12 minutes per game and hold down the fort without screwing up things. Arroyo can do that, even if he can be a bit turnover prone. He can manage an offense, make the right pass and hit open jumpers. He thrived from the perimeter in Miami last season, nailing nearly half of his long two-pointers — an outstanding mark — and a ridiculous 46 percent of his three-point attempts. He won’t get such wide-open looks on most teams, and he’s not a good enough three-point shooter to launch them in high volumes. Nevertheless, it was puzzling that Miami waived him last season instead of one of its bench-bound big men.

6. Mike Bibby

Bibby, 33, can’t guard anyone, he’s not a dynamic pick-and-roll creator and his perimeter shot — his only real asset now — vanished in the postseason for the Heat. But the larger sample size suggests that Bibby can still hit threes at an elite level, and that’s enough to put him in this spot. He might not be darting in and out of the lane like Barea, but Bibby makes good decisions, steadies an offense and sets some nasty off-the-ball screens.

7. Earl Watson

The 32-year-old barely shoots and he can cough the ball up in bunches, but Watson, who spent last season in Utah, is a smart passer who works hard on defense. He’s feisty on both ends, he can push the ball in transition when your offense needs it and he hit long two-point jumpers at an above-average rate last season for the second straight year. You could do worse at the backup point guard spot.

8. T.J. Ford*

Ford can drive you crazy with those off-the-dribble, 17-footers and some shaky decisions on pick-and-roll plays, but he’s a decent option for something like the league’s minimum salary. He is three years removed from posting an elite assist rate, but those passing gifts are still in there somewhere, and could help in the proper context. Ford, 28, handled his benching in Indiana last season like a pro, and he performed well when called upon in the postseason.

Also: He’s actually a pretty decent mid-range shooter when he’s taking the right kind of shots. He might ride the bench again next season, but he could also emerge as a nice surprise.

9. Patty Mills (restricted)*

He’s yet to turn 23, and he hit a league-average percentage of his three-point shots (35.3, with a lot of attempts). That’s enough to merit a spot here, despite the obvious issues: his shaky defense, the fact that the Trail Blazers performed miserably with him on the floor and his place on the very edge of Portland’s rotation.

10. Pick ‘em. 

You may as well pick a name out of a hat for this last spot, as long as we’re excluding guys like Price and Gaines. Do you want an aging veteran who might be washed up? Try Anthony Carter! An experienced guy in his mid-20s who has flashed some skills but never really panned out? Take a flier on Sebastian Telfair!

If you want to go the unproven route, you have several choices — Pooh Jeter (the speed!), Jeremy Lin (Harvard!), Sherron Collins (the Kansas pedigree!), Ben Uzoh, Mustafa Shakur (now headed to Europe, it appears) and many, many others. Who among this group might emerge as a useful backup? It’s anyone’s guess.