Earl Barron

Earl Barron - Barron intended to play this year in China, signing with Qingdao, but was released before the season started. Now 32, the journeyman may still have something left to contribute as a third stringer, but if the Knicks are no longer interested, that's his main suitor gone.

Earl Barron - Barron was a midseason pick-up of the Suns, but he struggled badly. In 12 games, featuring six starts, Barron averaged only 3.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 fouls per game, shooting only 24% from the field and losing the rebounding interest that he demonstrated for the first time last season. Barron has great size and a (normally) highly effective mid-range jumpshot, but he struggles defensively, and he just doesn't rebound enough. His seven game stint with the Knicks in 2009-10 was an impressive yet anomalous fluke.

- Earl Barron * - As with J.R. Giddens above, the Knicks have now renounced Earl Barron. This doesn't necessarily mean anything, though. He wasn't likely to return anyway, and even if he did, it was going to be for the minimum. It still can be.

Earl Barron - Despite their free agency plan, the Knicks never renounced Earl Barron. They did this because they intend to re-sign him for more than the minimum; in 7 games last season, Barron averaged 12/11. Barron is a big old boy - 7 foot, about 250lb - who only really wants to use that size to get off mid-range jumpshots. He has great touch on that shot and is a pretty polished offensive player, but he's not a physical defender, and nor is he normally a good rebounder. Those numbers from last season were the exception, not the rule. Nevertheless, Barron is good enough to be in the NBA.

- Earl Barron

Barron is in the D-League, waiting for an NBA call-up. He almost got one from the Blazers the other day, and will probably be heard from again at some point. For the Iowa Energy, Barron is averaging 15.1 points and 10.3 rebounds in only 32 minutes per game, with particularly good rebounding numbers for a man who's always been a bit average at that.

His rebounding numbers may be helped a bit by the Energy's lack of size, as, despite their team being pretty stacked, their second biggest player is perimeter orientated Cartier Martin. The starting point guard, Curtis Stinson, is second on the team in rebounds with 6.1 a game. Nevertheless, the Energy also have a rebounding differential of +3, so it's not a Biedrins-like situation. Barron is shooting only .434% from the field, and was suspended this week for hitting Jared Reiner in the face, but the NBA can probably overlook that second indiscretion.