Instead of bringing free-agent big man Bismack Biyombo back to Toronto (Biz signed a hefty four-year, $72 million deal with the Orlando Magic), the Raptors instead reloaded with two new big men on the cheap.
The first addition came by way of the NBA draft. The North opted to select University of Utah center Jakob Poeltl with the No. 9 overall pick acquired from the New York Knicks in the Andrea Bargnani trade. The other big added to the frontcourt was former Ohio State Buckeye Jared Sullinger.
Sullinger graded out very favorably by FAQ as the 10th-best free agent by the metric. His youth (he won’t turn 25 until March), win shares (he notched a career-best 4.8 last season) and newfound defensive prowess were the key factors driving up his value. Sullinger recorded a defensive box plus-minus of 2.3 a season ago. That was the best mark of his career and more than double his total from the season prior.
His ability to limit opponents to one offensive possession through improved defensive rebounding was a huge positive for Boston’s defense. Throughout a breakout year for the upstart Celtics, Sullinger grabbed 27% of available defensive rebounds when he was on the court — by far the best percentage of his career.
In 2005, the National Basketball Association mandated that future draft prospects must be at least 19 years old and a year removed from high school before they can become eligible for the NBA draft. Thus, the prep-to-pro era of professional basketball reached its end.
Prior to the rule change and after the NBA/ABA merger, however, 39 players were drafted to the NBA straight out of high school. Of those 39, 36 went on to play at least one game in the pros.
Note: Only players since
the NBA/ABA merger were considered for this ranking. That excludes
Reggie Harding, Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby from the NBA, as well
as ABA players like Moses Malone and Connie Hawkins.
Additionally, players who went to college/community college but did not play there (Shawn Kemp, Stephen Jackson), attempted the prep-to-pro route only to go undrafted and never play in the NBA (Lenny Cooke, DeAngelo Collins) or spent a year playing overseas instead of attending college (Brandon Jennings, Emmanuel Mudiay) will not be included in this ranking.
During an off-season featuring a massive salary cap increase — making just about every new contract drop jaws without the benefit of context — bargains were difficult to come by. Some teams did manage to sign players to modest contracts later on in the process, however.
Instead of bringing free-agent big man Bismack Biyombo back to Toronto (Biz signed a hefty four-year, $72 million deal with the Orlando Magic), the Raptors instead reloaded with two new big men on the cheap.
The first addition came by way of the NBA draft. The North opted to select University of Utah center Jakob Poeltl with the No. 9 overall pick acquired from the New York Knicks in the Andrea Bargnani trade. The other big added to the frontcourt was former Ohio State Buckeye Jared Sullinger.
Sullinger graded out very favorably by FAQ as the 10th-best free agent by the metric. His youth (he won’t turn 25 until March), win shares (he notched a career-best 4.8 last season) and newfound defensive prowess were the key factors driving up his value. Sullinger recorded a defensive box plus-minus of 2.3 a season ago. That was the best mark of his career and more than double his total from the season prior.
His ability to limit opponents to one offensive possession through improved defensive rebounding was a huge positive for Boston’s defense. Throughout a breakout year for the upstart Celtics, Sullinger grabbed 27% of available defensive rebounds when he was on the court — by far the best percentage of his career.
Additionally, players who went to college/community college but did not play there (Shawn Kemp, Stephen Jackson), attempted the prep-to-pro route only to go undrafted and never play in the NBA (Lenny Cooke, DeAngelo Collins) or spent a year playing overseas instead of attending college (Brandon Jennings, Emmanuel Mudiay) will not be included in this ranking.
During an off-season featuring a massive salary cap increase — making just about every new contract drop jaws without the benefit of context — bargains were difficult to come by. Some teams did manage to sign players to modest contracts later on in the process, however.
Instead of bringing free-agent big man Bismack Biyombo back to Toronto (Biz signed a hefty four-year, $72 million deal with the Orlando Magic), the Raptors instead reloaded with two new big men on the cheap.
The first addition came by way of the NBA draft. The North opted to select University of Utah center Jakob Poeltl with the No. 9 overall pick acquired from the New York Knicks in the Andrea Bargnani trade. The other big added to the frontcourt was former Ohio State Buckeye Jared Sullinger.
Sullinger graded out very favorably by FAQ as the 10th-best free agent by the metric. His youth (he won’t turn 25 until March), win shares (he notched a career-best 4.8 last season) and newfound defensive prowess were the key factors driving up his value. Sullinger recorded a defensive box plus-minus of 2.3 a season ago. That was the best mark of his career and more than double his total from the season prior.
His ability to limit opponents to one offensive possession through improved defensive rebounding was a huge positive for Boston’s defense. Throughout a breakout year for the upstart Celtics, Sullinger grabbed 27% of available defensive rebounds when he was on the court — by far the best percentage of his career.
Author Name
Author Description!
Get Free Email Updates to your Inbox!
Post a Comment