DeJuan Blair

Following four years with the San Antonio Spurs and one with the Dallas Mavericks, DeJuan Blair joined the Wizards via sign-and-trade on a three-year, $6 million contract. The 25-year-old center started 166 games during his time with the Spurs, but he started just 13 of 78 games for the Mavericks last season, playing 16 minutes per contest. Blair posted a strong 17.3 PER (player efficiency rating) for the Mavs, averaging 6.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks. He shot 53 percent from the floor and 64 percent from the line, with both numbers closely matching his percentages from previous seasons. A known commodity at this stage in his career, Blair is listed at 6-7, 270 pounds, with his style of play about what you'd expect from a bulky yet undersized center. What he lacks in rim-protecting ability, Blair largely makes up for with his strong work on the boards, and he's never been afraid to take a foul. He will likely have a hard time topping last season's 16 minutes per game, as he joins a frontcourt rotation that includes Marcin Gortat, Nene Hilario, Kris Humphries, Drew Gooden and Kevin Seraphin. Blair also has some long-term concerns with his knees, which essentially don't have any ACLs, though it hasn't been a problem through his first five seasons.

After falling out of favor with the Spurs, Blair came to Dallas on a one-year deal. He's undersized for a center but could spell Dirk Nowitzki at times at the power forward spot. He takes advantage of his offensive opportunities, shooting 53 percent from the field for his career. Blair has a knack for rebounding and could be in line for a bounce back season.

An under-sized but very strong scorer and rebounder, Blair was a key part of Gregg Popovich's rotation for much of the 2011-12 season, but lost playing time to Boris Diaw and Kawhi Leonard towards the end of the year and was a non-factor in the playoffs. He could be on the trading block this season.

Ignoring concerns about Blair’s knees proved to be another savvy draft-day decision by the Spurs. Despite lacking both ACLs, Blair has been the picture of health in his two NBA seasons, appearing in 163 of 164 games since joining the Spurs. The 22-year-old power forward spent most of his sophomore campaign in the Spurs’ starting lineup, averaging 8.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 65 starts. While he had an increased role last season, his playing time was locked in at fewer than 22 minutes per game. As a result, Blair once again posted per-36 minute production (14.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals), which gives a glimpse at his potential if he’s ever able to log heavy minutes. With Antonio McDyess expected to retire, and Tim Duncan starting to show his age, there’s a good chance Blair’s opportunity for a larger role comes soon. He’ll never be much of a contributor in blocks, and his free-throw percentage (65.7) needs improvement, but Blair is a walking double-double when given the playing time. Don’t be shy about throwing a late-round dart his way if you need help at center.

Despite being highly productive in college, Blair fell to the seventh pick in the second round of the 2009 draft, as teams were concerned by the fact he has no ACLs. Big mistake. Blair's per 36-minute production as a rookie looked like this: 15.6 ppg, 12.8 rpg, 1.2 spg and 1.0 bpg. He also managed to stay healthy, playing in all 82 games. Blair is a double-double waiting to happen, but he needs to get more of an opportunity. It's safe to expect last year's playing time (18:11 mpg) to increase in 2010-11, but Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess remain in the frontcourt, and big man Tiago Splitter is also going to join San Antonio this year, so it's a crowded situation. It might be another year or two before Blair truly breaks out, but if injuries strike, he'd be an immediate waiver wire grab. Blair was held out of Summer League play with a calf injury, but it was considered minor and won't affect his status for the regular season.

Blair's lack of height (6-7) and balky knees dropped him into the second round of this year's draft, where he became a tremendous value pick for San Antonio. The height issue won't do him any favors in the shot-blocking department, but he has enough girth to battle inside and should be a valuable reserve for the Spurs in his rookie season.