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When Ronny Turiaf signed with the Heat for the stretch run last season, he inked a deal that included a minimum-salary player option for 2012/13. At the time of the signing, the option was referred to as an "insurance policy" for Turiaf. Presumably, if he'd suffered a major injury that would hinder his ability to land a new contract this summer, he could have picked up the option and still earned a salary for the year.

Turiaf didn't play particularly well for the Heat late in the regular season and in the playoffs, but he stayed healthy and ultimately declined the option. And this offseason, plenty of free agents have signed deals that appear similar in structure to Turiaf's — two-year contracts with a second-year player option. In many cases, those options seem cheap enough that they're likely to be declined if the player stays healthy and is at least relatively productive this season. But in the event of an injury or a sharp decline in productivity, the option serves as a safety net.

Listed below are this offseason's free agents that signed two-year deals with second-year player options. The value of the 2013/14 option is in parentheses.

• Ray Allen, Heat ($3.23MM)
• Jerryd Bayless, Grizzlies ($3.14MM)
• Aaron Brooks, Kings ($3.4MM)
• Kwame Brown, 76ers ($2.95MM)
• Boris Diaw, Spurs ($4.7MM)
• Aaron Gray, Raptors ($2.69MM)
• Kirk Hinrich, Bulls ($4.06MM)
• Andrei Kirilenko, Timberwolves ($10.22MM)
• Carl Landry, Warriors ($4MM)
• Rashard Lewis, Heat ($1.4MM)
• O.J. Mayo, Mavericks ($4.2MM)
• Jodie Meeks, Lakers ($1.58MM)
• Patrick Mills, Spurs ($1.13MM)
• Brandon Rush, Warriors ($4MM)
• J.R. Smith, Knicks ($2.93MM)
• Marreese Speights, Grizzlies ($4.52MM)
• C.J. Watson ($1.11MM)

Teams will begin training camps at the end of the month, meaning there are only a few weeks left before offseason becomes preseason in the NBA. Traditionally, that's led to more player movement in September than in August, and some significant deals have gone down in Septembers past. That wasn't the case in 2011 because of the lockout, but here are some of the transactions from years past that can give you an idea of what to expect over the next 30 days.

2010

• September 30th: Joakim Noah agrees to a five-year, $60MM extension with the Bulls — Chicago ended an active offseason by locking up their young defensive stalwart at center long-term and keeping him from restricted free agency in 2011. The deal likely saved the Bulls quite a bit, considering Marc Gasol signed for four years and $57.5MM and DeAndre Jordan got four years and $43.04MM as restricted free agents last year.
• September 24th: Andray Blatche signs a five-year, $35.73MM extension with the Wizards — Career highs of 16.8 points and 8.2 rebounds seemed to justify the move in 2010/11, but last year's drastic regression to 8.5 PPG and 5.8 RPG led the Wizards to use the amnesty clause to waive Blatche this summer, less than halfway into the extension. Blatche seems likely to be a part of another September transaction this year, as he's drawing interest from a handful of teams, including the Nets, as we heard today.

2009

• September 22nd: Raymond Felton signs a one-year, $5.5MM qualifying offer from the Bobcats — Felton helped the Bobcats to the only playoff appearance in franchise history that year, but the team's inability to get him to sign long-term allowed him to bolt to the Knicks the following summer for a two-year, $14.56MM deal.
• September 4th: Ramon Sessions signs a four-year, $16.445MM offer sheet from the Timberwolves. The Bucks decline to match — His departure cleared the way for Brandon Jennings in Milwaukee, while the Timberwolves seemed to quickly develop buyer's remorse, shipping Sessions to the Cavs after just one season. The final year of the contract was a player option worth $4.552MM, though Sessions might regret his decision not to opt in and stay with the contending Lakers this summer, as he'll wind up making only slightly more money this season with the woeful Bobcats.

2008

• September 29th: Francisco Garcia signs a five-year, $29.6MM extension with the Kings — Sacramento shackled itself long-term to a player whose scoring, rebounding and assists-per-game averages have declined each season of the extension, which kicked in with the 2009/10 season. He's put up only 7.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG and 1.1 APG in 20.9 MPG over the life of the extension, which still has one more season left on it plus a $6.4MM team option that the Kings will almost certainly not exercise.
• September 22nd: Goran Dragic signs a four year, $7.616MM deal with the Suns — The Suns brought aboard the Slovenian point guard whose rights they had acquired from the Spurs after San Antonio took him 45th overall in the 2008 draft. Dragic quickly established himself as a solid backup to Steve Nash, and when the Suns withdrew their qualifying offer to Aaron Brooks this summer to clear the way for Dragic to return, they more or less acknowledged the mistake they made when they traded Dragic for Brooks in 2011.

The impression a player makes in the season before free agency is often of utmost importance, but NBA teams nonetheless handed out a total of $84.5MM this summer to seven NBA veterans who didn't play a single game in the league last year. That's less than the $119.192MM going to Brook Lopez and Eric Gordon, who combined to play in 14 games in 2011/12, but in their limited court time they at least showed glimpses of their star potential. Some players required teams to go back to 2010/11, or even farther, to see what they could do against NBA competition. 

• Jeff Green, Celtics (four years, $36MM): Concerns about his health may have prompted a six-week delay in the official announcement of the signing, but the Celtics clearly have little doubt about Green's recovery from heart surgery and his ability to deliver on the promise that made him the fifth overall pick in 2007. It appeared the opposite was true when his aortic aneurysm was discovered in December, and the C's not only voided their one-year, $9MM pact with Green, but withdrew their qualifying offer to him as well, making him an unrestricted free agent. Remarkably, the Celtics wound up giving Green a contract that's four times as long at the same annual salary he would have made on the initial deal.  
• Andrei Kirilenko, Timberwolves (two years, $20MM): The 10-year NBA veteran played in 2011/12, but he did so against European competition for CSKA Moscow. His numbers of 12.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per game weren't eye-popping, but he won Euroleague MVP and Best Defender honors, and that was enough to convince Wolves GM David Kahn to bring him back stateside. After the two sides finalized the deal, Kirilenko averaged 17.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG to help lead Russia to the Olympic bronze medal. 
• Brandon Roy, Timberwolves (two years, $10.4MM):  It looked like chronic knee problems had cut short the career of the three-time All-Star when he retired last year, and the Blazers seemed convinced that was the case when they used the amnesty clause to waive him and remove the remaining $68.699MM of his contract from their books. Roy then began to drop hints about a comeback, and wound up making it happen with the Wolves. It's unclear just how his knees will handle the rigors of an 82-game season, but simply by returning to the court, he'll cost the Blazers $17MM they would have gotten on an insurance payout if he had been "permanently disabled."
• Aaron Brooks, Kings (two years, $6.6MM): One of a handful of players to sign in China during the lockout, Brooks never reached an agreement to return to the NBA with the Suns, who held exclusive negotiating rights with him through June. Phoenix extended a $2.97MM qualifying offer to Brooks for 2012/13, but pulled the offer when Goran Dragic came on board. Brooks fared somewhat better in unrestricted free agency, drawing a two-year, $6.6MM contract from the Kings. Brooks served mostly as a backup in 2010/11, but started all 82 games in 2009/10, averaging 19.6 PPG and 5.3 APG with a 16.0 PER, significantly better numbers than in any other season of his four-year NBA career.
• P.J. Tucker, Suns (two years, $1.646MM): No free agent signing from this summer has been out of the league longer than Tucker, who was drafted 35th overall in 2006 by the Raptors and disappeared after just 17 games in 2006/07. He signed a two-year minimum-salary deal that's partially guaranteed for this season, but it's worth less than half of what he could have made overseas.
• James White, Knicks (one year, $854K): White is another 2006 second-round draftee who inked a minimum-salary contract this summer. He played six games with the Spurs in 2006/07 and another four with the Rockets in 2008/09, but has otherwise been relegated to D-League and international ball.

If you haven't done so yet, be sure to check out Hoops Rumors' 2012 Free Agent Tracker. Using our tracker, you can quickly browse the offseason's contract agreements, sorting by team, position, contract length, total salary, and a handful of other variables.

For instance, if you want to see all the Celtics' summer signings, you can sort by team and find all of Boston's free agent additions listed here. If you're curious to see how many players signed five-year contracts, you can sort by contract length and bring up that list right here.

A few additional notes on the tracker:

• Not all of the agreements listed in the tracker are 100% finalized yet. E'Twaun Moore's two-year agreement with the Magic, for example, is in our database, even though the team has yet to formally announce the move. As signings become official, we'll continue to update and modify the data as needed.
• Contract amounts aren't necessarily fully guaranteed, and are based on what's been reported to date.
• Restricted free agents that have agreed to offer sheets won't be listed as "signed" until their current teams decide whether to match the offers. For instance, if Alonzo Gee were to sign an offer sheet with a rival team, he wouldn't be listed as "signed" until we heard whether or not the Cavs had matched the offer.

Our Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar under "Hoops Rumors Features" and will be updated throughout the offseason, so be sure to check back for the latest info. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.

After spending the week looking at the top rebounders, three-point shooters, and distributors still available in free agency, we wrap up today with a simple focus: Examining which unsigned players are the best at putting the ball in the net.

Teams still in need of a scorer aren't going to find the next Kevin Durant on the free agent market at this point, but there are still a handful of players that are capable of coming off the bench and scoring baskets in bunches.

Listed below are the top 10 remaining free agents by points per 36 minutes. Their PP36 rate for 2011/12 is listed in parentheses. To qualify, they must have averaged at least 10 minutes per game and appeared in at least 20 contests in 2011/12.

• Michael Redd (19.5)
• Leandro Barbosa (18.4)
• Jannero Pargo (15.1)
• Terrence Williams (13.9)
• Manny Harris (13.7)
• Ivan Johnson (13.7) (restricted)
• Josh Howard (13.5)
• Sundiata Gaines (13.2)
• Derrick Brown (13.1)
• Alonzo Gee (13.1) (restricted)

Honorable mention:

• Donte Greene (13.2) would have made this list, but a fractured ankle figures to keep him out of action for at least the early part of the season, so he likely won't sign until 2013.
• In late-season stints with the Cavs and Grizzlies, Lester Hudson averaged an impressive 18.8 points per 36 minutes, but only played 16 games, not quite enough to qualify for our list.
• D.J. White (12.9) and Andray Blatche (12.7) were among the other players that just missed the cut.

Over the course of this week, we've been looking at unsigned free agents that specialize in particular areas on the court. We examined the top remaining rebounders on Monday, and looked at the best available outside shooters on Tuesday. Today, we'll focus on the best distributors still on the market, rounding up the free agents that produced the most assists per 36 minutes in 2011/12. These guys aren't exactly Deron Williams, but they can find teammates for open shots, and should be available on the cheap.

Listed below are the top 10 remaining free agents by assists per 36 minutes. Their AP36 rate for 2011/12 is listed in parentheses. To qualify, they must have averaged at least 10 minutes per game and appeared in at least 20 contests in 2011/12.

• Jonny Flynn (8.3)
• Walker Russell Jr. (5.8)
• Sundiata Gaines (5.7)
• Jannero Pargo (5.2)
• Mike Bibby (5.2)
• Tracy McGrady (4.7)
• Terrence Williams (4.3)
• Derek Fisher (4.1)
• Dominic McGuire (3.5)
• Marquis Daniels (3.5)

Honorable mention:

• Anthony Carter averaged 5.9 assists per 36 minutes, but played less than 10 MPG for the Raptors in 2011/12.
• Baron Davis' 4.7 AP36 would have tied him with McGrady, but his torn MCL and ACL make his 2012/13 return uncertain.
• Gaines and Pargo provide a nice combination of passing and three-point shooting, ranking among the top five on both lists. Fisher also cracks the top 10 on each list.
• Matt Barnes' 3.2 AP36 wasn't quite enough to make the top 10 here, but it's worth mentioning, since the jack-of-all-trades was among the top 10 available rebounders and three-point shooters.

The term "rookie scale" is something of a misnomer, since a player can still be on his rookie scale contract during his fourth year in the league. They're the standard, fixed contracts teams give to first-round picks, and they're generally team-friendly, with team options included in the third and fourth years. Since 30 new first-round picks enter the league every year, save for a couple who sign overseas, there are quite a few players on rookie scale deals. Every team has at least one, except the Lakers. The Wizards have the most, with six, and that doesn't include Bradley Beal, their first-round pick from June. For more on how rookie scale contracts work, check out our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry.

We've listed all the veterans on rookie scale contracts here, by team, along with the last season of the deal in parentheses. The list doesn't include Blake Griffin and Serge Ibaka, who are still on rookie contracts for 2012/13, but who have signed extensions that will kick in the following season.

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As I outlined yesterday when I examined the top rebounders still available on the free agent market, a player that specializes in a specific aspect of the game can be appealing to teams that just need to fill one or two holes heading into camp. If a club feels like its roster is set, but wouldn't mind adding a three-point specialist, there are options still available on the cheap.

So after looking at the top remaining rebounders yesterday, let's shift gears today and examine the best unsigned outside shooters. Listed below are the free agents with the best 2011/12 three-point percentages. At least 50 three-point attempts are required to qualify for this list, to avoid small samples. Here are the top 10, with their 11/12 3PT% in parentheses:

• Troy Murphy (41.8)
• Jannero Pargo (38.4)
• Leandro Barbosa (38.2)
• Sundiata Gaines (34.1)
• Mickael Pietrus (33.5)
• Matt Barnes (33.3)
• Derek Fisher (32.1)
• Alonzo Gee (32.1) (restricted)
• Bill Walker (31.9)
• Michael Redd (31.8)

Honorable mention:

• A few players with solid percentages just barely missed our 50-attempt cutoff: Maurice Evans and E'Twaun Moore each shot 37.8% on 45 attempts, while Terrence Williams posted a 34.8% mark on 46 tries. Tracy McGrady, meanwhile, took just 33 threes, but made 15 of them, for a blistering 45.5%.
• A handful of players with good career averages had poor years in 2011/12. Among them: Jason Kapono (career 43.4%) and Ryan Gomes (career 35.0%).
• Matt Barnes was the only player to appear on both this list and our list of top rebounders.

With September fast approaching, most GMs and team executives will tell you they're happy heading into camp with their current rosters at this point. But that doesn't mean there isn't still one particular area of need that a GM wouldn't mind addressing. A team could be targeting a backup point guard, a three-point shooter, a wing defender, or another kind of specialist.

With that in mind, let's consider teams still in need of a rebounder. Elite rebounders like Marcus Camby, Ersan Ilyasova, and Kris Humphries are no longer available, but there are still a handful of players that could grab boards on the cheap.

Listed below are the top 10 remaining free agents by rebounds per 36 minutes. Their RP36 rate for 2011/12 is listed in parentheses. To qualify, they must have averaged at least 10 minutes per game and appeared in at least 20 contests in 2011/12.

• Chris Andersen (11.0)
• Jamaal Magloire (10.9)
• Louis Amundson (10.6)
• Shelden Williams (9.9)
• Ben Wallace (9.9)
• Josh Harrellson (9.6)
• Ivan Johnson (8.7) (restricted)
• Andray Blatche (8.6)
• Matt Barnes (8.6)
• Tony Battie (8.2)

Honorable mention:

• Dominic McGuire (7.9) barely failed to crack the top 10, but played more games and minutes than many players listed above.
• James Singleton's 11.1 rebounds per 36 minutes would have put him atop this list, but he only played in 12 games for the Wizards.
• Other available options of note: Darko Milicic (7.4), Troy Murphy (7.2), Josh Childress (7.0), Kenyon Martin (6.9), and D.J. White (6.9).

For a good chunk of this summer's free agents, a newly-signed contract not only provided long-term security but also means a huge bump in annual salary. Take Roy Hibbert, for instance — after earning a salary of about $2.59MM in 2011/12, Hibbert will make close to $13.67MM in 2012/13, an increase of over $11MM.

Not every free agent made out nearly as well as Hibbert did though. For a handful of players, this offseason's free agency meant taking a significant pay cut in salary. Some players had no choice in the matter, while others were willing to accept a discount if it meant landing in the right situation. Here are the players whose annual salary will decrease the most from 2011/12 to 2012/13:

Antawn Jamison
11/12: $15,076,715 (Cavaliers)
12/13: $1,352,181 (Lakers)
Difference: $13,724,534

Tim Duncan
11/12: $21,164,619 (Spurs)
12/13: $9,638,554 (Spurs)
Difference: $11,526,065

Kevin Garnett
11/12: $21,247,044 (Celtics)
12/13: $11,550,000 (Celtics)
Difference: $9,697,044

Jason Kidd
11/12: $10,121,000 (Mavericks)
12/13: $3,090,000 (Knicks)
Difference: $7,031,000

Ray Allen
11/12: $10,000,000 (Celtics)
12/13: $3,090,000 (Heat)
Difference: $6,910,000

Marcus Camby
11/12: $11,227,250 (Rockets)
12/13: $4,590,338 (Knicks)
Difference: $6,636,912

Chris Kaman
11/12: $14,030,000 (Hornets)
12/13: $8,000,000 (Mavericks)
Difference: $6,030,000

Additional notes:

• Rashard Lewis' drop from $21,136,631 in 2011/12 to $1,352,181 in 2012/13 would be the largest decrease by far, if not for the buyout he received from the Hornets. Without seeing the specific wording in Lewis' contract(s), we can't know for sure what his exact 2012/13 salary will be, but even if he receives his reported $13,699,551 buyout in full this year, his overall annual salary still took a $6MM+ hit.
• Mehmet Okur and Leandro Barbosa are two more likely candidates to take significant pay cuts. They made $10.89MM and $7.6MM respectively a year ago, and remain unsigned so far this offseason.
• It should probably come as no surprise that every player listed above landed with a contending team. If productive veteran players are going to play for less money, most prefer to do it for contenders in major markets.
• Honorable mentions to Jason Terry, Kirk Hinrich, Carl Landry, Grant Hill, Raymond Felton, Kwame Brown, Hasheem Thabeet, Ronnie Brewer, and Martell Webster, who will all take pay cuts of $3.5MM+, by my calculations.
• Amnestied players are not included here, since they continue to receive pay checks based on their old contracts.