Aaron Gordon, Julius Randle lead injury-bit 2014 draftees who need bounceback seasons
Let's say you're a first-round draft pick in the NBA draft. Indeed, it's something of a status symbol. It signifies that you were one of the 30 best players in the draft, and it brings with it at least two years of guaranteed salary and two additional option years. There is good reason for both player and team to feel optimistic about the circumstances that brought them together. Both parties see the beginning of a long and beautiful relationship.
Then life and the NBA season comes at you fast.
Maybe things don't completely work out during your rookie season. Perhaps it's an injury, a deep roster or a poor adjustment to the talent leap at the next level, but whatever the reason, both player and team are left re-evaluating the situation. This has led NBA personnel to believe the summer between the first and second year is crucial, as players are able to process the information acquired during the rookie season and make adjustments.
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The deadline for teams to exercise the third-year option in the rookie scale contract is Oct. 31, and history tells us options are picked up more often than not, since both player and team still want the relationship to work. After all, the team wants to recoup on its investment, while the player wants to continue to be employed and avoid the scarlet letter of not completing at least the four-year rookie scale deal.
Here are five sophomores who find themselves in this situation. They all had underwhelming rookie seasons, and they must bounce back this year.
Aaron Gordon | Orlando Magic
A top-five pick, Gordon missed two months early in the season after suffering a broken foot. Then, barely two weeks after his return, head coach Jacque Vaughn was served his walking papers. That's a considerable amount of turmoil to heap on a rookie on top of all the other stresses and pressures of trying to figure out the NBA game, so it's no surprise Gordon posted pedestrian numbers despite his lofty draft status.
While Gordon is a mortal lock (barring severe injury) to finish out his rookie scale deal, it would go a long way for his confidence to have a solid sophomore season that'd see him start fulfilling the potential that got him drafted so high.
He was phenomenal in Orlando Summer League, showing poise, determination on the court and efficiency from the floor -- particularly from 3-point range, a former weakness of his game. He was excellent on the boards and reminded me of the player
I evaluated before the draft last season as a Shawn Marion-type tweener who can make a huge impact all over the floor defensively.
It's a good thing for Gordon that his new head coach is Scott Skiles, the man who coached Marion through his first three seasons and helped mold his defensive identity. Skiles' acerbic style has shown to wear people out after a few seasons, but his impact on making teams and individual players better is undeniable, so expect Gordon to make a huge leap in his second season.
Julius Randle |
Los Angeles Lakers[/paste:font]
Randle's rookie season was cut short barely 15 minutes after it officially started. He fractured his tibia in the season opener, so for all intents and purposes, this will be his rookie season (even though he's not eligible for Rookie of the Year honors.). Still, Randle has a lot to overcome. He's
battling the perception of being a ground-bound, undersized big with limited range.
Hopefully a year off has allowed Randle's jumper to improve, but his advantage for now remains his mobility and ability to attack off the dribble versus larger, slower bigs. At the Las Vegas Summer League, he struggled to put it all together, but my impression was that Randle was trying to make up for lost time and prove himself, which led to a lot of forced action.
He's
worked out this summer with former Laker Metta World Peace -- who was more skilled as a wing than Randle but shares similar physical characteristics -- and that could help, but perhaps the biggest advantage Randle holds going into his sophomore year is the dearth of viable options at the 4 for the Lakers.
Ed Davis and
Carlos Boozer are both gone, and neither
Brandon Bass nor
Ryan Kelly can be considered strong favorites for the starting nod at the position, so Randle might get a boost from some much-needed playing time. Additionally, he'll benefit from having lowered expectations playing alongside gunners such as
Kobe Bryant and
Lou Williams. His role likely will be centered on screen setting and attacking the glass. Playing with
Roy Hibbert also will help, as Hibbert is excellent at blocking out and allowing others to clean up with the actual rebound.
Doug McDermott |
Chicago Bulls[/paste:font]
After appearing in every game in the first month of his rookie season (although getting inconsistent minutes), McDermott suffered a torn meniscus and whatever of the little goodwill and trust he'd developed with coach Tom Thibodeau had dissipated by the time he returned,. For the second straight time at summer league, McDermott looked very much at ease offensively on the court, getting his shot off and scoring steadily, but now he has to show the ability to apply that in an NBA game.
The hope is new coach Fred Hoiberg will extend the playing rotation -- much needed for a Chicago team that has dealt with injuries and heavy minute workloads for years -- and have a greater appreciation for McDermott's shooting ability. In turn, McDermott still has to fight for his share of minutes with
Tony Snell, a markedly better defender, and
Nikola Mirotic, a markedly better offensive player, which is no small task.
McDermott was drafted with the idea that shooting was his one NBA-ready skill, so at the very least he's got to show he's a capable catch-and-shoot player, particularly when he's left wide open. He only shot 4-for-16 from 3 on those shots last season. This is a typical affliction of big time collegiate scorers as they try to make the transition from having the ball a lot and being the focal point of the offense to not knowing when their next shot, or even next touch, is going to come. J.J. Redikk went through similar growing pains as a young player in Orlando, but he eventually made the transition. McDermott has to do the same this season.
Adreian Payne | Minnesota Timberwolves
Sometimes, an injury isn't a reason to sideline a player, but merely an excuse. While listed as having plantar fasciitis, Payne appeared in less than 20 total minutes of game action in 53 games with the
Atlanta Hawks, posting nine DNP-CDs and 41 games where he wasn't even dressed for the active roster.
It's easy to surmise that beyond Payne's injury, the Hawks were simply on too good of a roll to find playing time for the rookie, but that explanation fizzled when Atlanta traded him to Minnesota shortly before the All-Star break. Teams don't give up on first-round picks midway through their rookie season unless (A) a stunning deal comes across the table or (B) they are suffering buyer's remorse.
Still, Payne found plenty of opportunity in Minnesota, starting 22 of the 29 games he appeared in and averaging close to 25 minutes a night. He's long, decently athletic and was a good spacer at the collegiate level -- which made him a very effective pick-and-roll partner -- but he struggled to finish at the rim in Minnesota and his range did not extend to the 3-point line.
As a first rounder who was traded in his rookie season, the clock has started for Payne to prove he's worth his fourth-year team option, when he'll be due $3 million, and that's only if Minnesota decides it saw enough in his short stint last year and this summer to pick up his third-year option this fall.
The bigger problem for Payne is that it is very unlikely he'll get the same opportunities this season, as the Wolves feature No. 1 overall pick
Karl-Anthony Towns, a resurgent
Anthony Bennett (buoyed off a strong summer with Team Canada), newly signed
Nemanja Bjelica,
Gorgui Dieng (another strong summer, repping Team Senegal) and the venerable vet
Kevin Garnett.
Kyle Anderson | San Antonio Spurs
The man affectionately known as "Slo-Mo" for his slow, deliberate style lived the typical Spurs rookie experience: a lot of sitting and watching when with San Antonio and spending extensive time down in Austin playing for the D-League affiliate. He did his job on both levels, then followed up that rookie season by winning MVP at Las Vegas Summer League, leading the Spurs to the title. Now Anderson hopes to make the jump to rotation player, a tough proposition in a stacked Spurs roster.
A former point guard, Anderson still has a tendency to overdribble and probe rather than make snap decisions, something that won't hurt him when he's the best player on the floor but will when he's playing with the big boys. That's an adjustment he'll need to make. Still, with the offseason additions of
LaMarcus Aldridge and
David West, there will be opportunities for Anderson to get on the floor as a smallball 4, particularly with lineups that feature predominantly bench players. His ability to create off the dribble could help him immensely.
