Given the TrailBlazers' likelihood to pursue a center in free agency, I thought I'd offer an overview of upcoming Free Agent Centers. If the answer to the Blazers prayers(a young, 7 ft, mobile, post-dominating, body-banging, shot-blocking, help defender with infectious toughness and intensity) exists in this years FA class, he's listed below.
Player names, contract status and salaries are as listed by Hoopsworld. Ht, Wt and Age courtesy of NBA.com. Depth Potential is my opinion. All are included regardless of their likelihood to be available. My initial take on the Blazers' likely targets is at the top. After that, they are sorted by size and depth chart potential. I've added my comments about each player as to why they are likely/unlikely to be a target. Feel free to agree or disagree or add your own take on any of these players in the comments section. Hopefully, you'll find this useful to compare the players the Blazers have to choose from.
| Name | Ht | Wt | Age | Depth Pot. | Previous Team | 2012-13 Salary | 2013-14 Salary | FA Type/ Contract | Comments | Target |
| Nikola Pekovic | 6'11" | 290 | 27 | 1 | Minnesota Timberwolves | $4,837,200 | $6,046,500 | Restricted | Likely to be matched/Too talented to ignore | 1 |
| Tiago Splitter | 6'11" | 240 | 28 | 1 | San Antonio Spurs | $3,944,000 | $5,876,560 | Restricted | Likely to be matched/Might have to overpay/Great potential | 2 |
| Timofey Mozgov | 7'1" | 250 | 27 | 2 | Denver Nuggets | $3,140,429 | $3,925,536 | Restricted | Great combo of Size, mobility, potential/Unlikely to be matched | 3 |
| Zaza Pachulia | 6'11" | 275 | 29 | 2 | Atlanta Hawks | $5,248,750 | Tough/Good passer/Leader/Lacks Athelticism/Poor shot blocker | 4 | ||
| Johan Petro | 7'0" | 247 | 27 | 2 | Atlanta Hawks | $3,500,000 | Raw O and D/Good size and potential/Former Batum Teammate |
5 | ||
| Robin Lopez | 7'0" | 255 | 25 | 1 | New Orleans Hornets | $4,899,293 | $5,119,761 | Team Option | Unlikely to be declined | |
| Andrew Bynum | 7'0" | 285 | 26 | 1 | Philadelphia 76ers | $16,889,000 | Too risky/Injury history | |||
| Andris Biedrins | 7'0" | 242 | 27 | 1 | Golden State Warriors | $9,000,000 | $9,000,000 | ETO | Unlikely to Opt Out | |
| Chris Kaman | 7'0" | 265 | 31 | 1 | Dallas Mavericks | $8,000,000 | Old/Injury Prone/Prefers a contender/Not a long term fit |
|||
| Dwight Howard | 6'11" | 265 | 28 | 1 | L.A. Lakers | $19,536,360 | Too pricey/Too risky/No chance to sign | |||
| Samuel Dalembert | 6'11" | 250 | 32 | 1 | Milwaukee Bucks | $6,698,565 | Old/Stopgap potential/Journeyman unlikely to stick | |||
| Al Jefferson | 6'10" | 289 | 28 | 1 | Utah Jazz | $15,000,000 | Poor fit/Star Scorer/Reb but poor defender/Too Pricey | |||
| Emeka Okafor | 6'10" | 255 | 31 | 1 | Washington Wizards | $13,490,000 | $14,487,500 | ETO | Highly unlikely to Opt Out | |
| Joel Przybilla | 7'1" | 245 | 34 | 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | $1,352,181 | Fan favorite/Too Old/Injury Prone/Likely to retire | |||
| Ryan Hollins | 7'0" | 240 | 28 | 2 | L.A. Clippers | $1,069,509 | Raw/limited potential/skinny frame | |||
| Kevin Seraphin | 6'9" | 275 | 23 | 2 | Washington Wizards | $1,797,600 | $2,761,114 | Team Option | Too small/Batum teammate-same agent | |
| DeJuan Blair | 6'7" | 270 | 23 | 2 | San Antonio Spurs | $1,054,000 | Talented/Too small/Risky knees/No upgrade over Hickson | |||
| Greg Stiemsma | 6'11" | 260 | 27 | 2 | Minnesota Timberwolves | $2,575,000 | $2,690,875 | Team Option | Unlikely to be declined | |
| Kwame Brown | 6'11" | 290 | 31 | 2 | Philadelphia 76ers | $2,819,044 | $2,945,901 | Player Option | Not enough Talent/Potential | |
| Jermaine O' Neal | 6'11" | 255 | 34 | 2 | Phoenix Suns | $1,352,181 | Too Old/Injury Prone | |||
| Ekpe Udoh | 6'10" | 245 | 25 | 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | $3,524,880 | $4,469,548 | Team Option | Too small/No upgrade over Hickson/Not a True C | |
| Nazr Mohammed | 6'10" | 250 | 35 | 2 | Chicago Bulls | $1,352,181 | Too Old/Too small/No upgrade over Hickson | |||
| Hasheem Thabeet | 7'3" | 263 | 26 | 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | $1,200,000 | $1,200,000 | Non guaranteed | Been there done that/Not enough Talent | |
| Hamed Haddadi | 7'2" | 265 | 27 | 3 | Phoenix Suns | $1,300,000 | $1,397,500 | Non guaranteed | Great size/Slow/Poor fit/Not enough Talent | |
| DeSagana Diop | 7'0" | 280 | 31 | 3 | Charlotte Bobcats | $7,372,200 | Too Old/Not enough Talent | |||
| Robert Sacre | 7'0" | 260 | 23 | 3 | L.A. Lakers | $473,604 | $988,872 | Restricted | Not enough Talent/potential | |
| Aaron Gray | 7'0" | 270 | 28 | 3 | Toronto Raptors | $2,575,000 | $2,690,875 | Player Option | Not enough Talent/potential | |
| Jason Collins | 7'0" | 255 | 34 | 3 | Boston Celtics | $1,352,181 | Too Old/Not enough Talent | |||
| Josh Harrellson | 6'9" | 275 | 24 | 3 | Houston Rockets | $726,195 | $1,084,293 | Restricted | Too small/Not enough Talent | |
| Cole Aldrich | 6'11" | 240 | 24 | 3 | Sacramento Kings | $2,445,480 | Role player/hustle guy/good D presence/lacks potential | |||
| Dexter Pittman | 6'11" | 285 | 25 | 3 | Memphis Grizzlies | $854,389 | $1,116,099 | Restricted | Much improved/Lost weight/Good Post Potential/Unproven | |
| Gustavo Ayon | 6'10" | 250 | 27 | 3 | Milwaukee Bucks | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | Team Option | Too small/Not enough Talent | |
| Daniel Orton | 6'10" | 255 | 22 | 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | $854,389 | $916,099 | Non guaranteed | Getting less minutes than Thabeet-enough said | |
| Greg Smith | 6'10" | 250 | 22 | 3 | Houston Rockets | $762,195 | $884,293 | Non guaranteed | D-leaguer with potenital but too small | |
| Bernard James | 6'10" | 240 | 28 | 3 | Dallas Mavericks | $473,604 | $788,872 | Non guaranteed | Too small/Practive player potential | |
| Ronny Turiaf | 6'10" | 250 | 30 | 3 | L.A. Clippers | $1,146,337 | Journeyman Role player/Too small/Prefers contender |
Poll
Which Free Agent Center would you prefer the Blazers to pursue?
Nikola Pekovic (58 votes)
Tiago Splitter (33 votes)
Timofey Mozgov (63 votes)
Zaza Pachulia (11 votes)
Johan Petro (2 votes)
Other (Explain in comments) (32 votes)
199 total votes
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