Rankings as of 3-5-2008


1.) Dwight Howard | Orlando Magix | 6 yrs. $91.06 million
He's figured out how to become a great player. Next year, he'll learn how to be a dominating force for 48 minutes.

2.) Yao Ming | Houston Rockets | 4 yrs. $60.6 million
Yao is figuring out how to lead his teams to wins. The stats are just icing on the cake.

3.) Marcus Camby | Denver Nuggets | 3 yrs. $23.65 million
As of right now, he's only missed 15 games out of the past 137. That's a big reason why he's been one of the best centers of the past two years.

4.) Pau Gasol | Los Angeles Lakers| 4 yrs. $63.6 million
His trade to Los Angeles has turned him back into one of the elite big men in the league.

5.) Andrew Bynum | Los Angeles Lakers | 3 yrs. $8.71 million
Perhaps Mitch Kupchak knew what he was doing. Andrew Bynum will be challenging Dwight Howard and Greg Oden for best big man in the league in 3 years.

6.) Chris Kaman | Los Angeles Clippers | 5 yrs. $52 million
Caveman has bounced back after a very disappointing post-contract year. He's a double-double waiting to happen now.

7.) Tyson Chanlder | New Orleans Hornets | 4 yrs. $45.6 million
If he could figure out a post game and a way to be a reliable scorer then he might be in the top 5 of this list.

8.) Mehmet Okur | Utah Jazz | 3 yrs. $26 million
He started out slowly this year but has returned to All Star form recently.

9.) Andrew Bogut | Milwaukee Bucks | 3 yrs. $19.62 million
Andrew Bogut is quietly becoming one of the most reliable centers in the entire league. But still not good enough to be taken over Chris Paul in the draft.

10.) Shaquille O'Neal | Phoenix Suns| 3 yrs. $60 million
He may not be the dominant big man of the past but he's still commanding double teams every time he touches the ball.

11.) Brad Miller | Sacramento Kings | 3 yrs. $34.13 million
He's had a resurgent year under Reggie Theus and even had a couple of 20-20 games.

12.) Zyndrunas Ilgauskas | Cleveland Cavaliers | 3 yrs. $33.52 million
Big Z may be a little overpaid at this point but he's averaging a career high 9.5 rebounds this season.

13.) Samuel Dalembert | Philadelphia 76ers | 4 yrs. $43.76 million
Tied for a career high in 2.4 blocks per game and has a career high with 9.9 rebounds per game. Now, if only he could stop goaltending so many shots.

14.) Ben Wallace | Cleveland Cavaliers| 3 yrs. $44 million
Hopefully, his move to LeBron's backside will revive his career of being relevant in this league. It was a rough first half of the season.

15.) Kendrick Perkins | Boston Celtics | 4 yrs. $17.92 million
He's had a nice season and progressed very well alongside Kevin Garnett. He'll be a bargain in 2 years.

16.) Nene | Denver Nuggets | 4 yrs. $50.5 million
We hope that his battle with testicular cancer is quick and successful.

17.) Darko Milicic | Memphis Grizzlies | 3 yrs $21 million
He isn't good enough to be the 2nd pick in the draft, but Chad Ford's slurping of him may be a little justified.

18.) Kurt Thomas | San Antonio Spurs | 1 yr. $8.09 million
He's still one of the best defensive big men in the league and a huge pickup for the Spurs.

19.) Andris Biedrins | Golden State Warriors | 1 yr $2.63 million
He's rounding into a decent rebounder and defender but he's a liability on offense in the Warriors' system.

20.) Eddy Curry | New York Knicks | 4 yrs. $40.45 million
He still can't rebound, he still can't defend, and now he can't even get consistent minutes for the Knicks. But he could still be a good scorer inside.

21.) DeSagana Diop | New Jersey Nets | 1 yr. $2.15 million
He will be lost in New Jersey for two months but very visible in free agency.

22.) Joakim Noah | Chicago Bulls | 5 yrs. $14.25 million
He may have been suspended by his teammates and he may look like a tranny but he is a really good rebounder and defender.

23.) Greg Oden |Portland Trailblazers | 5 yrs. $30.61 million
Still hasn't played a second in the NBA but his potential is THAT good.

24.) Joel Pryzbilla | Portland Trailblazers | 4 yrs. $26.34 million
He's a very good defender and one of the best backup centers in the league. He should be starting on one of the 30 teams.

25.) Brendan Haywood | Washington Wizards | 3 yrs $16.5 million
He's finally become consistent in rebounding and offense. He could turn into a top-20 center, yet.

26.) Chris Wilcox | Seattle Supersonics | 2 yrs $13.25 million
Chris Wilcox is a hot commodity on the trade fronts every year and with good reason.

27.) Nazr Mohammed | Charlotte Bobcats | 4 yrs $23.1 million
Averaging 10 points and nearly 7.5 rebounds per game since being traded to Charlotte.

28.) Mark Blount | Miami Heat | 3 yrs. $22.05 million
Alonzo Mourning blew out his knee. Shaq got dealt to Phoenix. Time to step up, Mark.

29.) Mikki Moore | Sacramento Kings | 3 yrs $18 million
He's not quite as good as his contract would imply but he's not as bad as how I described him after

30.) Sean Williams | New Jersey Nets | 4 yrs $7.1 million
He's managed to not get arrested so far and he was pretty effective running with Jason Kidd. We'll see if Devin Harris raises or drops his value.

31.) Francisco Elson | Seattle Supersonics | 1 yr $3 million
He was pretty good playing alongside Tim Duncan. Will it be the same playing alongside Nick Collison?

32.) Erick Dampier | Dallas Mavericks | 4 yrs. $41.33 million
He has to step up in Dallas as the main big man because he's the only one left on the team after Diop was dealt.

33.) Fabricio Oberto | San Antonio Spurs | 3 yrs $10.5 million
Fabricio will see his minutes cut in crunch time because of Kurt Thomas but he's a great compliment to Tim Duncan on the court.

34.) Andray Blatche | Washington Wizards | 5 yrs. $15 million
Blatche has become more of a basketball player and less of a prostitute customer.

35.) Zaza Pachulia | Atlanta Hawks | 2 yrs $8 million
Zaza Pachulia has regressed this season because of Al Horford's presence but he should bounce back in his next contract.

36.) Nenad Krstic | New Jersey Nets | 2 yrs. $4.65 million
Much slower to recover from his knee injury than expected but should become a good offensive center soon.

37.) Hilton Armstrong | New Orleans Hornets | 3 yrs $6.7 million
Has been extremely disappointing this year but his potential still keeps him in the top 40.

38.) Rasho Nesterovic | Toronto Raptors | 2 yrs $16.24 million
Despite Stephen A. Smith's hatred for his skin color, Rasho is still a serviceable big man that provides decent offense and rebounding.

39.) Jeff Foster | Indiana Pacers | 2 yrs $11.87 million
He's inept on offense but still one of the best rebounders in the game today. Kind of like the white Reggie Evans.

40.) Kwame Brown | Memphis Grizzlies | 1 yr $9.07 million
He's still young enough to not be done for his career but he simply doesn't have the fire or basketball IQ to become an All Star.

41.) Ike Diogu | Indiana Pacers | 2 yrs $5.2 million
The torn calf muscle really hurt his progression this year but he should be able to capitalize on Jermaine O'Neal's absence much better than he is.

42.) Alonzo Mourning | Miami Heat | 1 yr. $2.73 million
I'm not sold on Alonzo Mourning being retired yet. I think he has too much passion and fight in him to be 100% retired for right now.

43.) Spencer Hawes | Sacramento Kings | 4 yrs $9.5 million
Spencer actually has shown signs of being a very serviceable big man in this league. However, if the Kings are going to keep him, they need to trade off Brad Miller to ensure Hawes development.

44.) Steven Hunter | Denver Nuggets | 3 yrs $10.3 million
Hunter has battled injuries this year that have caused him to miss a lot of time but if he can block shots and give Camby some rest, he'll be much more valuable.

45.) Brian Skinner | Phoenix Suns | 1 yr. $1.1 million
Now has the daunting task of banging with Shaq in practice. Is this what his chin hair signed up for?

46.) Paul Davis | Los Angeles Clippers | 1 yr $687k
Paul Davis showed a lot of the skills that he had at Michigan State. Let's hope he can bounce back from his knee injury.

47.) Theo Ratliff | Detroit Pistons | 1 yr $11.66 million
His expiring contract is no longer valuable, but he will try and be a factor in Detroit's title hopes.

48.) Jamaal Magloire | Dallas Mavericks |
The former All Star has taken his rotting corpse to be a backup for Erick Dampier. Feel the excitement, Mavericks' fans!

49.) Primoz Brezec | Toronto Raptors | 1 yr. $2.75 million
His career in the NBA is about done with his announcement that he will either finish his career in Toronto or go back to Europe.

50.) Shelden Williams | Sacramento Kings | 3 yrs $10.87 million
The key question with Shelden is can he become the next generation's Ben Wallace? Petrie usually finds the gems so it's very possible.

51.) Adonal Foyle | Orlando Magic| 2 yrs $2.48 million
Adonal is a really nice guy that used to block a lot of shots. Used to....

52.) Chris Mihm | Los Angeles Lakers | 2 yrs.
Has more screws in his ankles and feet than productive minutes this year.

53.) David Harrison | Indiana Pacers | 1 yr $1.33 million
When this guy isn't busy getting suspended for positive drug tests, he's busy opening Jermaine O'Neal's fan mail.

54.) Dikember Mutombo | Houston Rockets | 1 yr. $1.21 million
Yao is injured for yet another significant time period. Time to turn back the Dikembe clock.

55.) Dan Gadzuric | Milwaukee Bucks | 4 yrs $26 million
It's shocking to see that Dan has 3 more years on his contract after this season. Bill Simmons for Bucks' GM.

56.) Melvin Ely | New Orleans Hornets | 1 yr. $894k
He's a dead ringer for Oprah Winfrey. That's all you need to know.

57.) Scot Pollard | Boston Celtics | 1 yr. $1.21 million
No longer relevant in Boston with P.J. Brown aboard.

58.) Robert Swift | Seattle Supersonics | 1 yr $2.6 million
Shut down once again for his bad knee. It's looking like this will never happen for him.

59.) Patrick O'Bryant | Golden State Warriors | 3 yrs $7.6 million
Can't wait to get away from Oakland and Don Nelson. He's looking like the next Jamaal Magloire only without the successful stage in his career.

60.) D.J. Mbenga | Los Angeles Lakers| 2 yrs $3.77 million
He's quickly becoming a valuable backup center. Should provide nice minutes in the playoffs for the Lakers.

61.) Aaron Gray | Chicago Bulls | 2 yrs. $1.13 million
This guy has become more Bill Wennington than Bill Murray.

62.) Raef LaFrentz | Portland Trailblazers | 2 yrs $24.53 million
Next year's "Theo Ratliff Expiring Contract" commodity.

63.) Etan Thomas | Washington Wizards | 3 yrs $20.58 million
His heart surgery luckily hasn't ended his NBA career. Should be ready to return next season.

64.) Lorenzen Wright | Sacramento Kings | 1 yr $3.24 million
He's entered Samaki Walker territory and will probably end his career at the end of a bench.

65.) Tony Battie | Orlando Magic | 3 yrs $17.23 million
Out for the year with a bad shoulder but should provide a solid backup plan for Dwight Howard next season.

66.) Jake Voskuhl | Milwaukee Bucks| 1 yr. $3 million
He's like a dead man's version Scot Pollard. But he should stick around for another 8 years as a solid backup.

67.) Kosta Perovic | Golden State Warriors |
He's going to take a few years until he turns into Oakland's version of Nenad Krstic but he should be a pretty productive player in Oakland's system.

68.) Jarron Collins | Utah Jazz | 2 yrs $4.42 million
He's rated ahead of his twin brother because he gets paid 1/3 of what Jason does. Decent backup that doesn't move too well.

69.) Chris Richard | Minnesota Timberwolves | 2 yrs.
A bruiser that could end up being a decent backup big man. But he's undersized at 6'9". Would probably be a better defensive lineman.

70.) Jason Collins | Memphis Grizzlies | 2 yrs $12.3 million
By the numbers, the most overpaid, under-producing stiff in the league. I'd like him better for the veterans minimum.

71.) Saer Sene | Seattle Supersonics | 3 yrs $10.09 million
This guy is an absolutely TERRIBLE offensive player, but he's turning into a pretty good weakside shotblocker. He may turn out to be a full-time starter if the Sonics don't care about winning.

72.) Kyrylo Fesenko | Utah Jazz |
He's shown a lot of promise for a big man that is so young. However, he's still about 3 or 4 years away from being trustworthy as a nightly contributor for this Jazz team.

73.) Earl Barron | Miami Heat |
Shaq's gone. Zo's "retired." And Mark Blount is the starter. If Earl can't earn some key minutes, he'll have his answer of whether he belongs are not.

74.) Solomon Jones | Atlanta Hawks | 2 yrs $1.52 million
He's shown to be a very capable backup and will develop into a solid defender/rebounder off the bench.

75.) Johan Petro | Seattle Supersonics | 2 yrs $3 million
This guy has the WORST hands of any player to ever play any sport. But he's agile, tall and can get in the way of a lot of people on the court (most of the time, it's the other team).

76.) Cheik Samb | Detroit Pistons | 2 yrs. $1.21 million
He's the new Johan Petro. If this guy can walk and chew gum without falling over, I'll be impressed.

77.) Randolph Morris | New York Knicks | 1 yr $810k
Too soon to say about this guy but he is the first player to play in the NCAA Tournament and an NBA game in the same week.

78.) Ian Mahinmi | San Antonio Spurs |
He's another foreign big man that the Spurs have stashed away overseas for a couple of years and are now trying to integrate into their system. But he might be the worst of the guys they've done this with.

79.) Michael Doleac | Minnesota Timberwolves | 1 yr $3.12 million
Nobody can knock down a 15 foot, wide open jumper like this guy at the center position. But he's relegated to garbage time for the rest of this season.

80.) Ryan Hollins | Charlotte Bobcats | 1 yr $687k
Good shotblocker but very clumsy with the basketball. Loves to run the break and finish with big dunks.

81.) Aaron Williams | Los Angeles Clippers | 1 yr $1.75 million
Used to be a high flyer but now he's just a guy with some of the biggest arms I've ever seen.

82.) Michael Ruffin | Milwaukee Bucks|
Doesn't do much anymore. He missed a lot of time with injuries this year.

83.) Dwayne Jones | Cleveland Cavaliers |
Very clumsy center that will be a great summer league player for the next 4 years.

84.) James Augustine | Orlando Magic | 1 yr $687k
He looks like the next generation's version of Aaron Williams.

85.) Jerome James | New York Knicks | 3 yrs $18.6 million
The worst signing and/or transaction that Isiah Thomas has ever made. That's saying a lot.

86.) Calvin Booth | Philadelphia 76ers |
He's like the new Mutombo only without the basketball success. Basically, he's old.

87.) Sean Marks | Phoenix Suns | 1 yr
Suns signed him so Piatkowski would have someone to hang out with.

88.) Joel Anthony | Miami Heat | Un-signed
Joel Anthony may end up bouncing around the NBA and NBDL for 10 years, but would be better off trying to get a contract overseas.

89.) Marc Gasol | Memphis Grizzlies | Un-signed
Traded for his brother. Top 5 center in Spain according to Grizz GM, Chris Wallace. Sounds like a future All Star.

90.) Esteban Batists | Free Agent |
Surprised that he didn't make an NBA team this past pre-season. Should have a great career overseas until he gets back on a NBA team.

91.) Dale Davis | Free Agent |
I get the feeling that Dale Davis calls Joe Dumars every day to remind him that he hasn't retired yet.

92.) Mile Ilic | New Jersey Nets | 1 yr $864k
Tons of potential from this guy but with the depth New Jersey has at center now, he will probably go back to Europe.

93.) Pops Mensah-Bonsu | Free Agent |
He will be on a NBA roster in the 2008-2009 season. Ridiculous that he wasn't picked up already.

94.) Marc Jackson | Free Agent |
Had his run in the NBA and will now enter the Isaac Austin, nobody wants to touch his attitude kind of territory.

95.) Lawrence Roberts | Free Agent |
Looks like he doesn't have the work ethic or desire to make teams and crack the regular rotation.

96.) Zejlko Rebraca | Free Agent |
He needs to go to Europe to secure one more big contract in his career.

97.) Jackie Butler | Free Agent |
Might get another look now and be re-signed with the Yao Ming injury in Houston.

98.) Pat Burke | Free Agent |
He's trying to bring back the slow, clumsy white center from the 80's but nobody is letting him.

99.) Pape Sow | Free Agent |
He's today's Mahmadou N'Diaye.

100.) Kelvin Cato | Free Agent |
Used to be a solid rebounder and a decent presence down low. Now he'll bounce around the league for the rest of his career as the 11th man on a roster at best.

101.) Michael Olowokandi | Free Agent |
This generation's version of Pervis Ellison only less successful.

102.) Jake Tsakalidis | Free Agent |
Very slow and not very good. Still spinning from Chris Webber putting the ball around him years ago.

103.) Ha Seung-Ja | Free Agent |
He's 7'3" and that's the only nice thing I can say about his game. Can't teach size.

104.) Vitaly Potapenko | Free Agent |
Simply doesn't want to get into shape to make a NBA roster.

105.) Kevin Willis | Free Agent |
Even Dikembe Mutombo thinks this guy is old. Still in better shape than 90% of the league's big men.

106.) Andreas Glyniadakis | Seattle Supersonics | Un-signed
Property of the Sonics but they have enough disappointing centers already. His career will be solely in Europe.

107.) Martynas Andriuskevicius | Free Agent |
He had his skull fractured by a teammate's punch in the D-League. Evander Holyfield thinks he needs to hang it up.

108.) Luke Schenscher | Free Agent |
I'm shocked this guy isn't the world's tallest skateboarder every time I see him.

109.) Loren Woods | Free Agent |
Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Keith Closs' long lost twin.

110.) Jamal Sampson | Free Agent |
His dad was a pretty good player.

111.) Jared Reiner | Free Agent |
I've got to be honest with you; I don't really know who this guy is.

112.) James Lang | Free Agent |
But I do know that Jared Reiner is better than this guy.

113.) Stanko Barac | Miami Heat | Un-signed
He may never make it in the NBA but he'll be good in Europe.

114.) Milovan Rakovic | Orlando Magic | Un-signed
It's like European Vacation, only for the rest of his life.

115.) Frederic Weis | Free Agent |
Whenever you get jumped over and dunked on in the Olympics, you're the worst center in the world.