Empty the Bench

- Yahoo! Sports – The upcoming CBA negotiations have the potential to get ugly. Real ugly.
- D-League Digest – A look at the D-League All-Stars’ potential of becoming NBA players.
- Sactown Royalty – One advantage of sucking? A higher draft pick, of course.
- Bullets Forever – Six reasons why the Wizards must absolutely trade Antawn Jamison.
- Raptor Blog – To appreciate or not to appreciate Bryan Colangelo, that is the question.
- Hoops Addict – Kris Humphries has found a new home (and playing time) in New Jersey.
- We’re Bucked – One Bucks writer makes a pitch to bring Gilbert Arenas to Milwaukee.
- TrueHoop – Baron Davis is the man on the spot for the Los Angeles Clippers.
- The Sports Hernia – Magic Johnson and Phil Jackson share an awkwardly sexy moment.
- Basketball.org – A review of the hoops/LeBron James documentary More Than a Game.
- Hardwood Paroxysm – Tom Haberstroh takes a close look at NBA shot selection.
- Blazer’s Edge – Should Portland trade for Amare Stoudemire? Here’s one resounding “no.”
- Points in the Paint – Trade-deadline advice for fantasy basketball owners.
- Clipper Blog – Reaction to Mike Dunleavy (finally) relinquishing coaching duties for LAC.
- Blog Maverick – Mark Cuban is not a fan of lazy sales pitches.
- Stacheketball – The man, the myth, the legend: Maybyner Rodney Hilário.
- Full-Court Press – Is Pistons head coach John Kuester already losing the locker room?
- The Dream Shake -Thoughts on the pros and cons of Houston trading with the 76ers.
- Ball Don’t Lie – Our money is on Danilo Gallinari in this year’s three-point shootout.
- Daily Thunder – The evolution of basketball video games, below. Yay nostalgia!

By: Zachariah Blott

A lot of NBA franchises feel that they are one piece away from contending, or at least one piece away from building toward respectability. And although fans want to wheel and deal half their team for Chris Bosh to make it happen (and may even think it’s possible), clubs often need to make subtle, simpler acquisitions that add a new wrinkle to their system or philosophy. Enter the NBA D-League, which we’ve recently featured on ETB in a two-part interview D-League Digest’s Steve Weinman. (In case you missed them, catch up first with Part I, then Part II.)

The NBA Development League pits hundreds of “minor leaguers” against each other for a shot at the big leagues. A lot of these guys have played out a few 10-day contracts in the NBA, but they all want to return and get some stories to tell their grandchildren, like Sundiata Gaines has. Some of them have the skills to do just that.

Here are five D-League players who could make an impact for the right club right now. Now, I don’t claim to be an expert on this league, but I’ve looked at information about numerous players such as size, production, efficiency, how they faired in the NBA if they had previous call-ups, opinions of D-League experts like Weinman, and considerations for transferable skills beyond scoring, which none of these guys will be asked to do at the next level anyway.

- Kurt Looby, C: Teams that need a defensive presence in the middle should sign Kurt Looby. The 6-10, 230-pound center gets after every shoot, swatting away 3.1 per game in only 25 minutes. When opponents do get their shots off cleanly, Looby is there to clean up misses, collecting 7.9 rebounds. He has the size and attitude to be aggressive around the hoop, something several NBA teams could use.

Additionally, he doesn’t demand the ball on offense—which he wouldn’t get in the NBA—but he hits the ones he takes (6.2 career ppg, 56% FG). He’d fit in well with a team like Portland that has lost both of their centers for the year and are currently starting the 37-year-old Juwan Howard, a 6-9 power forward, in the middle. The Trail Blazers have enough scorers, but LaMarcus Aldridge and Howard aren’t exactly prolific defenders or rebounders; they could clearly use some help.

- Dwayne Jones, FC: Jones is absolutely annihilating the D-League with a ridiculous 15.4 rebounds per, including 6.2 offensive. Nobody can hang with this guy’s talent underneath at that level, and he’s also done well in his time up in the league. In 80 career NBA games, Jones has averaged 2.4 rebounds in 7.9 minutes (3.3 min/reb, 17.4 Rebound%), and he’s connected on 33 of his 65 shots, good for 51%.

Jones is 6-11 and 250, so he could definitely handle the pounding in the paint at the next level. A team such as Golden State could use the inside presence of Jones because they’re a terrible rebounding team, and Andris Biedrins has had nagging back problems that are limiting his production. Jones could provide valuable minutes to most teams’ frontcourts, and definitely to the Warriors’.

Three more NBA Development League players highlighted after the break…

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By: Zachariah Blott

Andre Miller (yes, f’ing Andre Miller) scores 52: Last Saturday in Dallas, journeyman PG Andre Miller, who is not a good shooter and not particularly quick, hit everything in sight to drop a career-high 52 points. Here’s a little perspective on that evening: he’s averaging 13 points per, and he preceded this contest with point totals of 2, 7, and 6, and so far he’s followed it up with 8 and 9.

During that fateful January 30 win in Dallas, Miller connected on 22 of 31 shots, his only triple, and 7 of 8 free throws. Sure, Portland was missing Brandon Roy and countless others to every conceivable injury, but Aldridge or Bayless were supposed to go off, not Miller. At the age of 33, Miller became the oldest player to ever set a career-high in scoring that’s over 50 points.

Collison is a quick study: New New Orleans starting PG Darren Collison has apparently channeled Chris Paul’s passing energy, because he’s done alright for himself in his three starts since the superstar’s injury. This past week, Collison collected 18, 14, and 9 assists, all against teams sniffing Western Conference playoff berths. He also started 8 games at the end of November, but he surpassed 9 assists only once during that span.

Two-Minute Warning renamed Tyreke Evans House of Kick Ass: Rookie Tyreke Evans decided the Kings weren’t going to lose to the Spurs by double digits on Wednesday night, so he went all Reggie Miller on SA in the final 1:39. Down 107-94, Evans stole the ball from George Hill and dunked home 2 points, which he rapidly followed up with 10 more points, another steal, and 3 assists. Despite his 17 4th-quarter points, the Kings still lost, but 115-113 doesn’t look so bad when you’re this dependent on a rookie to do everything.

Zachariah Blott cannot recommend Rick Telander’s “Heaven Is A Playground” enough.

Andre Miller Photo Credit: Icon SMI

By: Zachariah Blott

A decade ago, teams across the league were looking high and low for someone to defend Shaquille O’Neal in order to give themselves a chance at a title. Big centers made careers out of getting signed in order to guard O’Neal, creating the trend where teams would do anything to have multiple big stiffs around to hack him.

Now most coaches are concerned about high-scoring perimeter players who can take it to the rack and bomb it from outside (LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, Joe Johnson, Brandon Roy, etc.), so a new trend has emerged. Teams will gladly bench a secondary scoring option if it means being able to start someone with the defensive chops to slow these stars down. In fact, a plethora of playoff contenders are currently employing this strategy.

Here are six clubs, three in each conference, who are starting a defensive-minded wing over a better scoring option. Note that three of them are international players and another (Anthony Parker) honed his game overseas for six seasons.

Western Conference

Denver Nuggets

- Arron Afflalo over J.R. Smith
Smith is third on the Nuggets in scoring at 15 points per. Although his shooting percentages are low this year, he’s still an absolutely fearless bomber who’s had more than his share of late-game heroics during his 6-year career. Coming off the bench each night this season, Smith has 9 games of over 20 points, including a 41-point you-can’t-stop-nothing game on Atlanta right before Christmas.

All of this, but Denver still turns to a third-year guy with only two 20-point outings in his career to start. That’s because the 6-5, 215-pound Afflalo is a heady defender (see also: Ben Howland was his college coach for 3 years) with the upper-body strength to handle the obstacle course of multiple screens and push-offs one must endure when guarding a star scorer. He subscribes to the Shane Battier school of thought that it’s better to stay at home and make your man shoot with a hand in his face than to gamble for steals (which often results in uncontested jumpers for the opposition).

Oklahoma City Thunder

- Thabo Sefolosha over James Harden
Harden was drafted third overall last summer because of one thing: his crafty ability to score a lot of points. He’s averaging 10 points per off the bench and has a trio of 20-point contests. For all of the young SG’s scoring talents, though, the Thunder don’t even blink when starting Sefolosha.

The 6-6 Switzerland product has started every OKC game next to Durant, Westbrook, and Green, averaging a lowly 6 points per. His perimeter D on twos and threes is the reason why he’s in the starting lineup. Sefolosha is athletic and intuitive, always in the right position and at the proper angle to make someone think twice about driving or pulling up for a jumper. His wingspan is immense, so he gets his hands all over the ball, registering 1.3 steals (top-25 in the NBA) and 0.7 blocks from the off-guard position. Not surprisingly, the Thunder’s Defensive Rating rocketed from 20th in the league a year ago to 6th currently.

Four more contenders turning to defense-oriented starters after the break…

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By Brian Spencer

Last week we hit you with Part I of our two-part interview with D-League Digest brainchild Steve Weinman, who had just returned from this year’s D-League Showcase in Boise, Idaho, with a fresh perspective on the state of the NBA’s “minor-league system.” This time around, Weinman talks attendance, potential for growth, and the possibility of the NBADL one day attracting premier overseas talent.

Empty the Bench: You spoke with a number of NBA team presidents during the Showcase. Who stood out as the most enthused about the D-League’s potential and what did you talk about?

Steve Weinman: While all the people I spoke to were (predictably) quite positive about the D-League, Daryl Morey likely set the record for most uses of “great” and “fantastic” in a 3-minute span to describe the Rockets’ relationship with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, with whom the team shares a hybrid affiliation (the Rockets don’t own the team, but do oversee the basketball operations).

The most intriguing point that came out of my discussion with Morey was his confirmation of something I discussed with Vipers Head of Basketball Operations Alex Del Barrio: the idea that Joey Dorsey wasn’t in the D-League to expand his game so much as he was to focus on becoming more consistent at what he already does.

I think a lot of time there’s a tendency to think of the D-League as a place for players to expand their skillsets, and certainly that’s a big part of it for a lot of players. (I know I’m guilty of thinking of it this way.) But some guys simply need to be more focused on doing what they do best. Dorsey is who he is: a banger who hammers the glass, plays defense, and will be capable of getting his share of points off second chances. As Morey said, “We’re never looking for him to shoot a mid-range shot or have any post moves. That’s not something we see in his role at the NBA level.”

ETB: Is the NBA not overly concerned with attendance? And if they are, shouldn’t there be more teams in bigger markets, as well as more marketing dollars behind the league? If you asked 50 NBA fans off the street to name three D-League teams, I’m guessing most of them couldn’t even name one.

Weinman: I’m sure the NBA would love to see D-League attendance increase, and I wouldn’t doubt that eventually, putting more money toward marketing the league will be a part of that. But while I’m sure I sound like a broken record on this, I think part of it is time. Remember, 9 years isn’t a long time for a sports league to exist.

The league totally overhauled itself after spending its first years based largely on the Southeastern seaboard, and several of the league’s teams have only been in their current location for a very short time. As the number of call-ups increases and the number of productive former D-Leaguers at the NBA level increase—dand likely as single-team affiliations increase—the D-League will gain prominence, and I think that will be big in helping attendance grow.

As for the issue of big markets, I would be cautious of getting too wrapped up in that. This country has supported minor league baseball in a lot of areas that didn’t exactly come next on the list after New York City, LA, Boston and Chicago. For a pertinent D-League example, the folks up in Portland, Maine, are selling out every night and absolutely killing it in merchandise sales.

More than just finding big markets, I think it’s important to find locations close enough to a parent team to have a strong connection to a NBA fan base, but far enough away to make going to D-League games not only more affordable but a significantly more convenient alternative to having to travel all the way to NBA team’s city.

More from D-League Digest’s Steve Weinman after the break…

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By: Zachariah Blott

Sunday’s brilliant 90-89 contest between the Celtics and Lakers featured two of the most dominant big men of the previous decade: Kevin Garnett and Pau Gasol. And much like their quiet and efficient performances in the Laker victory (11-11 and 10-9), the careers of this pair are beginning to show a lot of similarities.

Starting with their entrances into the league and continuing into the recent titles they each helped deliver to their new clubs, KG and Gasol have trekked similar paths in the NBA. There is no question that Garnett is the bigger star and always will be, but there is also no question that the peaks and dips of their careers have more than a passing resemblance to each other.

Here are 25 common facts and themes shared by Kevin Garnett and Pau Gasol:

The Basic Back-of-a-Basketball Card Stuff

1. Their last names both start with G.

2. Their first initials use the same hand shape in American Sign Language.

3. Both are 7-feet tall. (Garnett has notoriously understated his height forever – I once read that he’s the first 6-13 player.)

4. Both are 225-ish.

5. Both are usually listed as PFs, but they can easily fill another position (Garnett, SF; Gasol, C).

6. Garnett played soccer in high school and follows the English Premier League. Gasol … well, he’s from Spain, so I’m just guessing there’s a similarity here.

Early Career, Original NBA Team

7. Garnett played for Mauldin HS in South Carolina (winning a state title) before transferring to powerhouse Farragut Career Academy in Chicago. Gasol signed with Cornella as a teenager before playing for Barcelona’s junior team (winning the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship).

8. Gasol was the MVP of the Spanish National Cup championship game in 2001. Garnett was the MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game in 1995.

9. Gasol was the first international player with no college experience to get drafted in the top 5 (#3 in 2001). Garnett was the first high-school player to get drafted in the top 5 in 20 years (#5 in 1995).

10. Gasol’s Memphis Grizzlies were 23-59 before he showed up, and 23-59 in his first season. Garnett’s Minnesota Timberwolves were 21-61 before he showed up, and 26-56 in his first season.

15 more similarities between Gasol and Garnett after the jump…

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By Brian Spencer

If C+C Music Factory were to redo “Things That Make You Go Hmmmm” for the purposes of this piece, they might title it “Players That Make You Go Arrrrrrgh.” Ahem. These guys routinely toy with your fandom, tantalizing with their potential and commanding adulation after a monster performance, only to promptly punch you in the gut with strings of maddeningly poor showings. They can do it all, and sometimes they do, but unfortunately they often don’t do anything.

Andray Blatche, FC, Washington Wizards

If Blatche ever gets his head screwed on straight and gets serious about fully exploiting his freakish natural talents, the sky’s the limit. I really believe he has All-Star-ish talent, but at the same time won’t pretend that he’ll ever make it that far. It kills me to see players like Blatche, brimming with upside and capable of doing things on a basketball court few can, let it all go to waste because of a lack of a focus. Because of that label that’s dogged so many guys over the years: headcase. That’s Blatche in a nutshell.

Like Villanueva, below, the 6-11 Blatche enjoys spells of semi-dominance that leave you thinking that maybe, just maybe, he’s finally straightened his shit out and is ready for a breakthrough. He handles the ball surprisingly well and is a remarkably gifted passer, can be an above-average shot-blocker and rebounder, and at times scores in bunches like it’s a trifling afterthought. God knows the Wizards can use that side of Blatche’s split personality, but unfortunately they’re usually stuck with the other one: a run-of-the-mill big man who tunes the game out and hurts his team more than helps it.

Now in his fifth season, but still only 23 years old, Blatche has 2 years and $5.5 million left on his contract after this year. It’ll be interesting to see where he’s at by the time that’s up: will he be averaging 15 points, 10 boards, and 2.5 blocks as a reliable starter for the Wiz? Could be. Will he have burned his bridges in Washington, been traded, and burned another bridge somewhere else? Not that unlikely. Your guess as to which scenario ultimately plays out is as good as mine.

Charlie Villanueva, F, Detroit Pistons

When he’s on, Charlie V can be one of the most explosive scorers in the league. He’s that rare 6-11 big man who’s just as comfortable dazzling with fluid turnarounds and baby hooks in the post as he is popping outside and draining high-difficulty threes. Therein lies part of the problem: he’s often far too content to drift around the perimeter and launch bombs bricks. Through 44 games Villanueva has attempted a career-high 3.9 three-point attempts per, and is hitting them at a near-career low 31%.

Like most of the guys on this list, a lack of consistency has bedeviled Villanueva since he was drafted seventh overall by the Toronto Raptors in 2005. One night he’ll go for 24 and 15 with ease, the next he’ll struggle his way to 9 and 8; this actually happened last season, when he was with the Bucks, on March 3 and 4. Villanueva endures long, listless stretches of little production that can sometimes last for a half, for an entire game, or even for a week or two. You just never know which player is going to show up: the remarkable offensive threat or the indifferent, ineffective, passive pattycake.

Al Thornton, F, Los Angeles Clippers

Disappointing to see Thornton, the 14th overall pick in the 2007 draft, regress this season. The one positive I see unfolding in the enigmatic forward’s third season is better restraint on three-point shots: he’s gone from averaging about 1.5 attempts per in his first two seasons to just 0.3 this year, which has helped inch his field-goal percentage up to a respectable 48%. That might be the only worthwhile takeaway so far though; Rasual Butler is a fine player, but Thornton should not be struggling to battle him off for a spot in the starting lineup.

With the arrival of Blake Griffin and the return of a healthy Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby, we knew Thornton wouldn’t play anything close to the 38 minutes per he logged last season, but even with Griffin shelved until next year Thornton has been unable to take advantage of the opportunity for more looks. After averaging 16.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and nearly 1 steal and block per last year, the 6-8 swingman has been extremely average so far, and those flashes of elite talent are happening with less frequency.

In other words, he’s a perfect fit for the Clippers.

More of the NBA’s hardest players to figure out after the break…

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By Brian Spencer

As you may have heard, reserves for the 2010 NBA All-Star were announced yesterday. David Lee and Josh Smith were notable snubs in the East, while in the West it’s guys like Mr. Big Shot Billups and Monta Ellis that got the shaft.

Perhaps the bigger story leading up to Thursday’s announcement, however, was how wrong it is for Allen Iverson to be starting, even participating, in the game after being voted in by the fans. (At least Tracy McGrady didn’t make it, though we suspect a few of his votes conveniently disappeared to help avoid total embarassment.) Yes, Iverson doesn’t belong there, and the fan vote is problematic. We’ve known that for awhile now.

The fans did get one thing right, however: they didn’t vote in the Cavaliers’ $20 million sideshow attraction, Shaquille O’Neal. Yay fans! And thank god.

With Dwight Howard now, apparently and safely, assuming the mantle of the East’s shoo-in starter at center for as long as he’s in the conference, I suppose the possibility of O’Neal getting wrongfully voted in was a slim one. But, hey, the man’s been to a few All-Star games too many already, and if Iverson can still get voted in, and McGrady can “almost” get voted in (love them Houston Yaos!), there’s no reason to think the long arm of the fan ballot couldn’t have added one more sour note to the All-Star showcase.

In the end, Howard outpaced O’Neal by just over 1.5 million votes; not even close, so again, yay fans! On the other hand, boo fans! There were still over 856k ballots cast for the petulant over-the-hill big man, good for second overall behind Howard and nearly 600k more than Al Horford, who was named to his first all-star game as a reserve.

In case you haven’t been closely following the Cavaliers (nearly impossible if you have cable TV since it feels like 90% of their games are on either TNT, ESPN, NBA TV, and soon ABC), O’Neal has thus far been a colossal disappointment in his first and sure-to-be only season in Cleveland. Some will say the Cavs are “saving him” for the playoffs, and that might be true to some degree, but O’Neal set high expectations for himself and the ever-nervous (and oftentimes defensive) Cavalier fanbase upon his arrival. (“I’m here to win a ring for the king.”)

Shaquille O’Neal Photo Credit: Icon SMI

Yes, The Big Flop’s performance deserves scrutiny, and his mostly ineffectual contributions have had little impact on the Cavaliers’ dominant 36-11 record. Again, I’m not naïve as to the ultimate goal of having him (and his expiring $20 million contract) on the roster, and readily acknowledge that he’ll ultimately be judged as a Cavalier success or failure based on his postseason performances.

But, well… at 37 years old, do we really think he can still magically flip the switch in April? His per-game minutes are the lowest of his career (again, somewhat intentionally), but there’s no getting around the fact that when he has been on the court, he’s been very, very average: O’Neal’s pers of 11.3 points, 54.9% FG, 1.7 offensive boards, 6.6 total boards, and 1.1 blocks are all easily career lows. He’s your fifth-highest paid player in the NBA this season, folks.

Nobody expects the fans to overlook his stats—how can they when O’Neal is just so goddamned funny?—and to instead vote for the more deserving candidates like, well, literally every other center on the ballot (except for maybe Brad Miller… maybe). And fans, again, we do appreciate your stronger love for Howard, really. The next step for the NBA, assuming O’Neal doesn’t do the right thing and hang it up after this season, is to remove him from the ballot altogether next year.

He just doesn’t belong there anymore.

By: Zachariah Blott

Duncan does well, even by Duncan standards: After dropping 5 of their previous 6 games, the Spurs decided to beat the hell out of the 29-15 Hawks on Wednesday night, 105-90. It wasn’t even that close; SA sat on a 66-44 halftime lead. And oh yeah, Tim Duncan set a career-high with 27 rebounds. 27 rebounds! Dwight Howard hasn’t had that many since high school, I guess, since even he’s never done that in the league. Averaging 10.8 boards per, Duncan is on his way to a 53rd consecutive season in double digits.

Jeffries hosts a block party, the rarest type of party in NYC: Knicks forward Jared Jeffries rejected 3 shots by the Timberwolves on Tuesday, helping to propel New York to a huge 132-105 victory, just two days after an embarrassing 50-point loss. Why am I mentioning 3 blocks, something Dwight Howard gets during lineup introductions? What’s notable is that Jeffries leads the Knicks with 1.1 blocks per, the first NY player to play more than 25 games in a season and not have a 0 before the blocks decimal since 2004-05, the longest streak of any team. You know, the Knicks, the team with the crazy high payroll that usually overpays for guys with unimportant stats like blocks. Keep it up Jeffries; we’re rooting for you!

Tim Duncan Photo Credit: Icon SMI

Here’s one for the Rebels fans: Third-year Heat center Joel Anthony blocked 7 shots from January 22 to 25: 2 against Cleveland, 1 against Sacramento, and 4 at Washington. The thing is, Anthony doesn’t start. In fact, he only averages 15 minutes per game, but he’s still returning 1.4 shots per game back to their senders, good enough to rank in the top-20 in the NBA. The undrafted big man out of UNLV has had at least 1.3 blocks per each year in the league, and he only plays 15-20 minutes a night. This is why he leads everyone in the NBA with a 7.4% Block Percentage (percentage of opponents’ 2-pt attempts blocked when on the floor).

Ongoing Wall-to-Nets crisis: I discussed my reservations with first-overall-draft-pick-to-be John Wall back in early-December, but the Kentucky PG continues to underimpress when the Wildcats aren’t blowing teams out. Those #1 Cats got their first L on Tuesday, 68-62 at South Carolina, and Wall had 2 assists and 4 turnovers. This marks the 9th of 9 games that Wall’s A-TO rate was ho-hum-to-terrible when UK won by 10 points or less (including this loss).

During those “close” games, Wall had a 5-3 rate against Georgia, and that’s the only time it was better than 1:1. Overall for those 9 contests, Wall has 40 assists and 49 turnovers. Sure he’s had games of 11-2, 14-1, and 16-1, but none of the defenders on Rider, UNC-Asheville, or Hartford (average margin of victory: 36) who tried to stick Kentucky’s ridiculously loaded roster will ever even make the NBDL. At this point in his young career, Wall’s the Avatar of basketball: looks amazing, shallow substance.

Zachariah Blott cannot recommend Rick Telander’s “Heaven Is A Playground” enough.

By Brian Spencer

Good contracts are getting harder and harder to come by in today’s NBA, but they’re still out there. And I’m not talking about rookie deals, which are mostly done on scale and often provide great value for those teams lucky enough to hit on their pick. For the purposes of this piece, which serves as the sister companion to last week’s “Top Eight Cases of Buyer’s Remorse“, I’ve omitted all rookie deals and contracts that expire in the next season or two, and exclusively focused on eight of the top bang-for-your-buck contracts in the NBA.

Rajon Rondo, PG, Boston Celtics

There was a time last summer when Danny Ainge and Celtics brass toyed with the notion that Rajon Rondo, their 23-year-old point guard who’d just triple-doubled three times during the playoffs (and nearly did it another five or six times), was an expendable asset. A trade chip. Lucky for them, teams like the Detroit Pistons didn’t bite on the reported overtures coming from Boston, and Rondo stayed put. I’d now argue that once this season is up, and once that championship clock keeps ticking ever faster on the KG-Allen-Pierce era, Rondo will be the most valuable long-term asset the Celtics have.

And they’ll have him locked up at the right price.

After the book closes on this 2009-10 season, Rondo stands to make $55 million over the next five seasons, a span which, if it follows his career trajectory so far, should see him challenge for perennial All-Star status and blossom into one of the NBA’s elite players at the point. Actually, he’s sort of already there having elevated his game to new heights in this his fourth season out of Kentucky. His per-game averages in points (14.1), field-goals (53%), assists (9.6), and steals (2.5) are all career bests; take him out of the lineup, and you’re going to see the Celtics flounder more than, perhaps, they’ve floundered sans KG. He’s that valuable, and that he’ll make an average of just $11 million during his youthful prime is a steal for the Celtics.

Paul Millsap, F, Utah Jazz

A lot was made of the Portland Trail Blazers’ “toxic” contract offer to Millsap last summer during his restricted free agency. The Jazz, of course, had the right to match any offer no matter how big it was or how much it put them over the cap, but many thought they’d relent and allow their promising 24-year-old big man to walk. They couldn’t possibly decide to pay Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, and Millsap an excess of $9 – $16 million each, at least so the Blazers’ hopes went.

Well, they obviously did, and though they’re now left scrambling to ease the luxury-tax burden of their spending spree, in the long run Millsap should prove worth the upfront investment. Unfortunately, it probably won’t bear fruit this season as long as Boozer’s around, but barring a change of financial heart, the latter will be selling his services to the highest bidder this summer, and that bidder won’t be Utah. Enter Millsap, who in 38 games as a starter last season averaged 16 points, 10.3 boards, 2.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1 block per; big numbers for a guy who slipped to the middle of the second round on draft day in ‘06 due to ‘tweener concerns (he’s listed at 6-8).

We’ll see if he can replicate that production over the course of a full 82-game season as a starter, but in all likelihood we’ll find out next year… the first of three remaining seasons in which he’ll collect a modest total of $20 million.

Thabo Sefolosha, GF, Oklahoma City Thunder

The traditional preamble every time we’ve brought up Sefolosha over the past, oh, 3 years is that he’s an underrated gem in this league and one of our favorite players with untapped potential. Well, young Thabo is now a ripe 25 years old, in his fourth NBA season, and doesn’t look like he’ll ever be a dynamic scorer or shutdown defender. That’s fine, I’m not sure that he needs to be either one to make a sizable impact for the fledgling Thunder franchise.

We’ve said it something like 100 times, and I’ll say it once more: every team could use a Sefolosha (or two) on their roster. At a long 6-7, the Swiss Army Knife can lineup as a two or three, play above-average man defense on some of the league’s most deadly shooters, score opportunistic buckets, and cause turnovers. I’ve seen him get hot from the field on occasion, but those efforts have been few and far between and will continue to be with Durant, Westbrook, Green, & Co. dominating the offense.

Sefolosha is not a star, never will be, but he’s a multi-talented glue guy who plays hard and knows his role. If this team continues transforming itself into a Western Conference power, and works their way into the NBA Finals before the remaining 4 years and $13.8 million are up on Sefolosha’s bargain-basement deal, you can book him right now as a guy who makes a crucial play–a contested jumper, a steal, a block, something–to seal a game in the Finals.

Five more cases of NBA buyer’s delight after the break…

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By: Zachariah Blott

LeBron James’ statistics are amazing. He’s putting up 30 points, 7 boards, and 8 assists per for essentially the sixth season in a row, and there are exactly zero players who can get close to that trio of numbers for even one season. But he’s doing something else, just as consistently, that no one else of consequence is able to do: not get called for fouls.

Look at the personal fouls column for the top-10 scorers in the league. Nine of them collectively average 2.7 fouls per, falling within the range of 2.3 – 3.4. These nine include some of the NBA’s biggest names who obviously have “earned some calls,” guys who can easily score 10 from the charity stripe in a night while getting the refs’ attention for only their two most obvious hacks.

And the tenth player? That would be James, who averages 1.8–and that’s rounded up. Many people suspect the league helps protect the Wades, Kobes, Anthonys, and other marquee players who keep those turnstiles turning, but how in God’s green earth does LeBron absolutely smoke them all in not getting whistled for defensive misdeeds?

And this isn’t the first time he’s been in the referee’s good graces to this degree. Last year, James averaged 1.7 fouls per. Going backwards from there, you have 2.2, then 2.2, then 2.3, then 1.8, then 1.9… then he was at his high-school prom. Not only is 2.3 fouls per the worst of LeBron’s career, it actually marks the best in the careers of both Wade and Bryant.

Is James, who happens to be the most marketable guy in the league, just that much superior to everyone at not fouling players? We’ve all seen him play, and he’s obviously a very good defender, but he’s no Shane Battier, Ron Artest, Gary Payton, Dennis Rodman, or Bill Russell. James, however, has done a much, much better job than any of them at not being whistled.

Breaking down in great detail LeBron James’ “amazing” fouls rate after the break…

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By: Zachariah Blott

Milwaukee got Jacked up: Toronto Raptors PG Jarrett Jack had one of the most efficient scoring nights of the year on Friday, helping to put away the Bucks 101-96. Jack needed only nine shots to register a game-high 27 points: that’s 7-9 FG, 2-4 triples, and 11-12 from the free-throw line. To put this in perspective, here are the points and shots taken by some big-name scorers Friday: Wade, 32 pts on 19 FGA; Nowitzki, 15 pts on 13 FGA; Joe Johnson, 19 pts on 17 FGA; Bryant, 27 pts on 24 FGA; Ellis, 4 pts on 9 FGA; Stoudemire, 23 pts on 15 FGA. For the year, Jack is averaging 10.5 points per and 7.7 FGA.

Little man in a big man’s world: Dwyane Wade, who’s listed at 6-4, had back-to-back 3-block games last week, sending back a trio of Thunder shots on January 16 and doing the same against the Pacers on January 19. Not even a week earlier, on January 11, Wade had another 3-rejection night, that time against Utah.

Dwyane Wade Photo Credit: Icon SMI

For the season, the shooting guard is averaging 1.2 blocks per, good enough to rank among the league’s best 30, ahead of big men such as Al Jefferson, Chris Bosh, and Shaquille O’Neal. In fact, the most comparably built player to Wade on the top-40 blocks list is 6-8 SF Shane Battier. How does the little guy do it? He’s dynamic as hell; statistics aside, Wade might be the closest thing we have to Oscar Robertson in today’s NBA.

I would still never let this guy near my team: Zach Randolph keeps on posting 20-10 games like they’re going out of style, including 4 of them in 6 days between January 15-20. Through that January 20 loss at New Orleans, Z-Bo had 20 20-10 games on the season (during which Memphis is 14-6); this ranks second only to Chris Bosh’s 26. This next fact should raise some eyebrows: even with his multi-faceted statistical domination of the league, LeBron James only has 11. Randolph’s pers for the year are 20.8 and 11.5.

Zachariah Blott cannot recommend Rick Telander’s “Heaven Is A Playground” enough.