Value is in the eye of the beholder. Memphis owner Michael Heisley saw value in signing Allen Iverson to a one-year, $3 million contract much like some people see a 99-cent hamburger as great value. "I remember having a good hamburger at one point; it cost me five dollars at the time. This one is only 99 cents -- value!"
It goes both ways, though. In one hand you have a fist full of diamonds. In the other, a hand full of mud.
Using the data collected by the hard-working guys over at Mock Draft Central, I'm going to identify 10 guys in the top 100 who are being overvalued in mock drafts. It's for your own good.
You know, Billy Knight may have gotten a bad rap. We'll need to reassess his Atlanta legacy at some point. Among other solid draft picks (Josh Smith, Al Horford) and signings (Joe Johnson), the 2008 trade for Mike Bibby -- Knight's final move at the helm of the Hawks -- looks pretty good right now.
Bibby will ink a three-year, $18 million deal with Atlanta, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, leaving the Hawks backcourt in decent shape for the next few seasons.
Not everyone is waiting for 2010 – the mother of all free agent summers – to try to improve their team by throwing big money at the seasoned veterans.
Even in hard economic times, the top players like Carlos Boozer, Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Kidd will leave teams and get their financial reward in other places. The squeeze will be on the lower-level free agents who must settle for minimum or various exceptions.
What hurts this class is that only seven teams really have major room under the salary cap to make something happen, and they usually aren't the NBA's biggest spenders. Unless the free agents stay with their current teams, only Memphis, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Atlanta, Portland, Toronto and Detroit have major room.
Although there has been plenty of dancing and unofficial talks the last few days, the real dealings can't start until 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Here is a breakdown by position of the five most intriguing – and unrestricted – free agents.
The Atlanta Hawks are considered one of the NBA's rising teams, as evidenced by consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in 10 years. The Hawks, however, were easily swept in the Eastern Conference semifinals by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who spent four games exposing Atlanta's numerous flaws and weaknesses. The Hawks are approaching a critical time for their franchise, with Mike Bibby a free agent and third-year forward and former lottery pick Marvin Williams seemingly without a role.
Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins, the team's vice president of basketball, said the Hawks need two key components to challenge, Boston, Orlando and Cleveland for Eastern Conference supremacy.
Cherry Picking recaps the previous day's NBA playoff action.
Progress looks like this. Atlanta, long a laughingstock of the NBA, made the playoffs last season. This year, the Hawks advanced to the second round. Progress, right?
Well, from my seat it doesn't look like a whole lot of progress. More than offering new hope for tomorrow, the struggle against Miami followed by obliteration at the hands of Cleveland has pointed out Atlanta's specific deficiencies. The shortcomings are intrinsic to this roster, the problems part-and-parcel with the strengths. I fail to see how the Hawks can get much better from here.
Facing an 0-3 series deficit, the Hawks knew they had to come out swinging against the Cavaliers on Monday night, and to their credit, they actually did ... for a quarter or so.
Eventually the Cavs caught up, and even though this was by far the most competitive game of the series, the Cavs still cruised to an 84-74 victory, the eighth time in eight playoff games the Cavs won by double digits.
NBA Playoff 4-5 matchups are often the best of the first round. Usually the two teams are within a few wins of each other. They're not a level of David and Goliath, and both teams are usually mortal enough to make it interesting. Such is the case with tonight's matchup of the Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat. As such, we're rocking the live blog action again tonight. Join us after the end of Orlando-Philadelphia for Hawks-Heat. Joe Johnson. Dwyane Wade. Make this happen.
PHOENIX -- The competition was there for Jason Kapono. Or maybe Rashard Lewis. Even veteran Mike Bibby might come out of the field the champion. The one thing that was certain was the second-year man from Miami wasn't taking this title, no way, no how.
Elie Seckbach, the AP-recognized Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
PHOENIX -- One of the main events at All-Star weekend is the Three-Point Shoot-Out. Sharp-shooter Jason Kapono isn't one of the league's most recognizable faces, but his spotlight is this contest, which he's won two years in a row. In this video we talk to him about going for a third title, and you'll be surprised who in Phoenix Jason is worried about. We also hear from Kobe Bryant and Mike Bibby.
All-Star weekend is less than two weeks away, so the press releases are coming fast and furious as to who's going to be participating in all of the events. We told you about H.O.R.S.E. on Tuesday, and today, we bring you the field for the 2009 Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout.
Jason Kapono will defend his title and attempt to win the event for the third straight year, and he'll be facing a group of players that collectively have a total of zero three (and counting) prior appearances in the competition.
Value is in the eye of the beholder. Memphis owner Michael Heisley saw value in signing Allen Iverson to a one-year, $3 million contract much like some people see a 99-cent hamburger as great value. "I remember having a good hamburger at one point; it cost me five dollars at the time. This one is only 99 cents -- value!"
You know, 
Not everyone is waiting for 2010 – the mother of all free agent summers – to try to improve their team by throwing big money at the seasoned veterans.
The Atlanta Hawks are considered one of the NBA's rising teams, as evidenced by consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in 10 years. The Hawks, however, were easily swept in the Eastern Conference semifinals by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who spent four games exposing Atlanta's numerous flaws and weaknesses. The Hawks are approaching a critical time for their franchise, with 
Facing an 0-3 series deficit, the Hawks knew they had to come out swinging against the Cavaliers on Monday night, and to their credit, they actually did ... for a quarter or so. 
NBA Playoff 4-5 matchups are often the best of the first round. Usually the two teams are within a few wins of each other. They're not a level of David and Goliath, and both teams are usually mortal enough to make it interesting. Such is the case with tonight's matchup of the Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat. As such, we're rocking the live blog action again tonight. Join us after the end of Orlando-Philadelphia for Hawks-Heat. 
Elie Seckbach, the 
All-Star weekend is less than two weeks away, so the press releases are coming fast and furious as to who's going to be participating in all of the events. We told you about 
