Free Agent Center List
I assume Nene, Dalembert and that sort are out of our price range at this point and this list hasn't been updated with the latest signings.
The guy I like:
Fesenko got a good write-up on ESPN about his defensive abilities. He can't stay on the court with foul trouble but he doesn't need to. He's still young at 24 and I think I've read some funny interviews with him so he seems likable.
• Enormous center whose size makes him a major defensive presence.
• Hugely foul-prone and mistake-prone offensively. Horrid foul shooter.
• Professionalism needs improvement. Also struggles to finish around rim.
The best-kept secret in the NBA right now is Fesenko's monstrous defensive stats. It's not that one or two metrics point out his defensive value; it's that all of them do, without any pointing to the contrary.
Last season the Jazz were an eye-popping 11.91 points per 100 possessions better on defense with Fesenko on the floor, and this is not a new trend. The season before it was 8.67; in limited minutes his first two seasons he also had a strong differential.
Synergy Stats, meanwhile, rated Fesenko as the second-best defender in the entire league among players who faced at least 150 opponent plays; the season before he was first. And according to 82games.com, opposing centers had a PER of just 10.4 against him; the season before it was 12.9.
Despite his size, Fesenko doesn't block a ton of shots or dominate the boards. He just uglies up the game for opponents with his sheer hugeness, especially since he moves his feet fairly well for his size. And he can still get better -- he wasn't always fully engaged in Utah and needs to step up his commitment.
Now for the bad news. Fesenko has been fairly disastrous offensively. He tends to bring balls back into shot-blockers when finishing at the rim, he's a 39.8 percent career foul shooter, he's clumsy, and he has no shooting range or ball skills.
Additionally, his towering foul rate limits his impact -- Fesenko commits one every 4.94 minutes for his career, making it virtually impossible for him to play extended minutes. Nonetheless, he can be a very effective, low-cost backup center, and if he can make a few more plays offensively he'll have real value.
