This is the first in a five part series in which I analyze the 2011 Free Agent market by position.  As a source I used ESPN's list of 2011 NBA Free Agents and for statistics I used Basketball-Reference.  This list of Free Agents only includes players that were on a teams roster at the end of last season.  Also, please keep in mind that while I will use John Hollinger's PER (Player Efficiency Rating), this is not a be-all, end-all stat.  There are several deficiencies, particularly that it is not a reliable measure for a player's defensive acumen, so keep that in mind.

The Kings will head into 2011 Free Agency with more available cap room than any team in the league, regardless of what will happen with the new CBA.  As it stands right now, the team has nine players on guaranteed contracts, two rookies on unguaranteed contracts, and one Restricted Free Agent it is likely to retain.  

One of the places the Kings probably will be looking to add some depth to is at point guard, especially now that Beno Udrih is gone and Pooh Jeter is a free agent.  Jimmer Fredette and Isaiah Thomas are both rookies and both were primarily scorers in college, so adding a veteran playmaker would be helpful.

Unfortunately, this year's point guard crop isn't all that great.

Statistics used are career averages to give a larger sample size.  Players with  ® next to their name are Restricted Free Agents.

I recently wrote that adding Aaron Brooks to this roster in Free Agency wouldn't make sense.  But after taking a look at this group of guys… Brooks might just be the best available guy if you can get him for cheap.  He is a restricted Free Agent, but he didn't endear himself in Phoenix last year.  I'm still against signing him for the reasons I wrote about previously, but I can see the logic in going after him if you do feel that you need more depth at the point.

Rodney Stuckey is probably the best player on this list.  He's essentially a poor man's Tyreke Evans, and since we have the real Tyreke Evans, I don't see why we'd want to spend quite a bit of money (he'll get it too, due to his youth and Restricted status) to get a worse version who won't play all that much.  Mario Chalmers is another Restricted Free Agent who could be valuable, as he's a good defender, decent shooter, and knows how to defer to his superiors, but unless someone throws way too much money at him, the Heat are likely to match.  They don't have any depth at the Point Guard as it is, so keeping what they do have is a priority.

J.J. Barea is another guy who is sure to pique some people's interest, but I'm not sold on him by any means.  He had a huge playoffs in the national spotlight and is likely to get a nice pay day out of it.  But lest we forget, in two of those playoff series he was going against Mario Chalmers and Derek Fisher.  He's a killer in the pick and roll, but how much of that had to do with having the best shooting big man in history as your partner?  Barea will have plenty of suitors over this summer, but I'm not sure the Kings should be one of them.

If we're looking at best distributors, T.J. Ford's name pops out on the list as he has the highest career Assist Rate, but that's mostly because of gaudy numbers from Ford's first four years in the league, before injuries robbed him of his quickness.  Since then Ford has been on the decline in a big way.

Next up we have veterans like Anthony Carter, Earl Watson, Carlos Arroyo.  Arroyo you can eliminate right off the bat because he's going ring hunting on a minimum contract.  Also he's just not that good.  Carter is a good distributor, but amazingly turnover prone, and Watson isn't far behind on the turnovers either, although he's better overall.

Earl Boykins is probably the best veteran that we could bring in.  Yes, he's only 5'5, but he's extremely tough, respected by his peers, and a good floor leader.  He's really good at taking care of the ball too, with the lowest Turnover Rate of anyone on this list.

We could also always bring back Pooh Jeter for one more year as injury insurance.  He's a better distributor than quite a few of the guys on the list, and he already has chemistry with guys on the team.  I don't really see anyone on this list that screams "Sign me!", so sticking with what you know might be best.

No.

(Tomorrow, we take a look at the available Shooting Guards)