As the number 3 draft pick Mike Dunleavy looked like a complete bust for the Warriors. He was slow, wasn’t close to a good shooter, looked like a chemo patient, and just seemed to not have the heart to succeed in the L. When Don Nelson was brought on, he immediately shipped out Jr. The Warriors went on an amazing post-season run, and all was well in Warriors land.
A funny thing happened though: Dunleavy showed he’s a baller, and can start in this league. After never averaging more than 13.4 a game for the Dubs, Jr. is dropping 18 a game while shooting 47 percent a game. He’s not getting that many minutes, he just needed a change of scenery - and probably get away from what’s expected for a #3 pick.
With Dunleavy as a model, I’m going to take a look at the top 5 NBA players in need of a new team. These players aren’t exactly superstars (whiny bitches won’t get mentioned), but they could produce in a new area code. In no particular order…
Kelenna Azubuike
Speaking of Golden State Warriors … when Jason Richardson got traded, I expected ‘Buke to explode. He has good size, a decent jumper and quiet athleticism. Unfortunately, the wing position is packed on the Warriors and ‘buke’s barely cracking the rotation. Plus, you can’t really blame Nelson for giving the bulk of the shooting guard minutes to Monta Ellis.
His contract’s up this off-season, and he can probably be had for about half the mid-level exception. Teams that are weak in the backcourt (Orlando Magic) could pick up a solid starter for a good price.
Craig Smith
If you’ve never heard of Craig Smith, the Rhino, do yourself a favor and check out his blog. More than that, check out his game.
He’s a burly 6-8, 250 power forward with a tendency for nastiness. He’s part of this new wave of undersized tough 4’s (like Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, heck, even Carlos Boozer). The problem is that Jefferson’s about the same size and is unquestionably better. Jefferson has to slide over to the center position often, and besides being a bad defender, you’re forcing Big Al to perpetually be matched against bigger people.
What does this have to do with Smith? Well, the Rhino deserves playing time, and the Twolves aren’t winning anyway, so they play a small front court. If you put Smith on a team with adequate centers, he can have a legit impact on a winning team. By no means will he be an All-Star, but I could easily see Smith as a contributor on a winning squad.
T.J. Ford
The man who was once called a “point god” needs a new home. Houston’s T.J. Ford is lightning quick, has worked hard to make his shot, and has great court vision.
What’s the problem? The Raptors have Jose Calderon, who’s playing like an All-Star. Ford’s too slight to play defense on the bigger PGs, and there’s that whole ‘leaving-the -court-in-a-stretcher-multiple-times’ thing.
It’s a tough thing for any team to take a gamble on Ford, especially because he’s due $8 mil a year for the next few years. But, if healthy - a big IF - Ford’s a great floor leader who can have a Chris Paul-effect on a team.
David Lee
New York’s favorite player needs to get the hell off the Knicks. I know, I know, he’s the only reason Knicks fans have to care any more, but he deserves to be on a better team.
A hard worker, David Lee’s averaging close to a double double (10.7 pts and 8.7 boards) and the Knicks are an abortion. Lee has steadily improved his offensive game, and he’ll never be outworked.
Lee still has a few more years under contract at the rookie rate, but almost every team in the league would kill to have him. The Knicks could have had Ron Artest, but they were unwilling to give up Lee.
So, Lee doesn’t need to switch teams to excel, he needs to switch teams because it’s not fair that such a fine player has to deal with the mess in New York.
Joe Johnson
JSmooth needs to be the 3rd option on a championship caliber team. He’s not good enough to be the number one option … what? He left the Suns? Oh, screw him them.
