Hidden gem 2011 free agents?

[chube]

Are there any in your mind that might fit in Indy? By this I mean nobody that will make the "breaking news" ticker on ESPN, but might be a good target for the Pacers.

Based on this year, I'm liking Sonny Weems' game. He was a standout at Arkansas and never figured out why he dropped to the second round a couple years ago unless it was injury or something. He'll be a UFA in 2011 and is only making over $800k, so maybe could be signed in the Solomon Jones range or a little more (about $1.5 million a year) and actually produce!

Yes, I know we're talking about another wing player, but here's my thinking. He'll come fairly cheap (by NBA standards) so sign him to a 3 or 4-year deal or so. Next year, he'll be worked into the wing rotation with Danny/George/Rush/Posey but once Toronto gets healthy, he'll be doing that anyway with Barbosa, Kleiza, DeRozan and others. He's shown this year that he can produce in limited minutes which, no offense, Rush and George haven't done much of yet this season. Then, after 2011-2012, Posey comes off the books and at age 35 or so, he likely won't be worth keeping around if he would even want to. Then, the next year, we're looking at a wing rotation of Danny/George/Rush/Weems. Young athletic with the ability to score with still the defensive presence of Rush, and Danny says he's trying to really work on his D according to a Pacers.com column.

Weems can play either the 2 or the 3, so he'd be a cheaper version of Dunleavy. I haven't watched tons of Raptors games all the way through this year, but he looks like a high-flyer who can ignite the team with energy and driving into the lane.

And if he's anything like the other upper-echelon players of the recent past (Bosh, McGrady, Carter), he'll be easily coaxed out of Toronto.

Thoughts?

[Boneman2]

JOB has stated that Posey is basically his big that can stretch the floor, so take him out of the equation.

That leaves Rush, George, DJones, or Stephenson to compete for minutes next to Granger.

I think you'd have to move somebody to consider Weems. It wouldn't be a bad idea to look at him though, if he could be had for the price you say. His percentages aren't bad, plus he'd fit in with the youth movement.

Bottomline... Toronto will pay to keep him. I think his salary could approach 3-4 mill per, based of his current production. His market is in the DJones range right now, if he continues to improve it will cost even more.

We already gave Rush another year and still have three other possibilities locked up for 2-3 more seasons, this is after we lose Mike. I don't think we'll sign a wing.

[chube]

Ah yeah, I forgot about DJ and Lance. I think of Lance more as a point guard even though he can play the 2 and DJ, I guess because he's barely played (for whatever reason) and has been at the center of trade speculation, I didn't count him either.

How long is Lance's contract? I think DJ's is locked through next year with a player option after that which he might opt out of.