Brand, Davis have been sound signings

NBA free agency, in all its unpredictable glory, is a high-stakes game of what you get for your money.

Guess right on a player and a relatively modest investment, by the NBA's standards, can turn into a quality starter -- like Morris Peterson was for the New Orleans Hornets this past season.

Guess wrong on a player and a seemingly reasonable investment, by the NBA's standards, of course, goes up in smoke -- like the Speedy Claxton deal has for the Atlanta Hawks.

So what exactly are teams getting for their money on the free-agent market this summer:

Solid investments Philadelphia, Elton Brand

The price: The 76ers snatched the summer's top free agent with a five-year, $82 million deal, outbidding the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State.

What they get: Brand is coming off of an Achilles' injury that cost him all but eight games of the 2007-08 season, yet he's still considered one of the league's premier power forwards. Brand is a career 20 (20.3 points) and 10 (10.2 rebounds) player who also blocks shots (2.1 over his career) in ways that an undersized, 6-8, 254-pound power forward shouldn't. But Brand has outplayed expectations since he's been in the league. The only knock on Brand is that he hasn't led his team to the playoffs consistently; his only postseason trip was a 12-game run after the 2005-06 season.

The price: The Clippers scooped up L.A. native and former UCLA star Davis with a five-year, $65 million deal.

What they get: Davis is arguably the most underappreciated guard in the league. He's put up top numbers consistently but hasn't found his way onto the All-Star team, due mostly to a glut of other superstar guards in the Western Conference. The Clippers get a complete point guard (21.8 points, 7.6 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals). He is the perfect conductor for a team that will shed its throw-it-into-the-post setup for a more high-octane attack. Davis has had injury issues but played all 82 games last season.

Bargains Miami, James Jones

The price: The Miami native signed a five-year deal with the Heat that could be worth more than $23 million over the life of the deal.

What they get: The Heat gets the steal of the offseason so far and one of the best long-range shooters in the league. Jones made 44 percent of his shots from beyond the 3-point line last season. The beauty of this signing is that the Heat barely had to do any work to get a player who could have had his choice of destinations. After five years of playing in Indiana, Phoenix and Portland, Jones longed to return to his Miami roots. He recruited the Heat as much as he was recruited. And much like great point guards and centers, every team in the league is always in the market for a great shooter.

The price: The Mavericks grabbed their former starting center with a five-year, $31 million deal.

What they get: An upgrade from Erick Dampier for a fraction of the price. Diop, a former lottery pick that never found his niche in Cleveland, appeared to have resurrected his career in Dallas three years ago. But he was a part of the package sent to New Jersey last season in the Jason Kidd deal. The Mavericks, wisely, came back to Diop this summer and locked him up with a midlevel offer, an unheard of price for a legitimate 7-footer with potential and the ability to start for a Western Conference playoff team. Diop hasn't piled up eye-popping statistics during his career but at 7-1 and 280 pounds, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle won't care about his numbers so long as Diop plays defense and plays physical.

The headscratcher Milwaukee, Andrew Bogut

The price: The Bucks and Bogut have agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $60 million in guaranteed money and potentially $72 million with incentives.