NBA Players Who Can Thrive In Bigger Roles Next Season
Larger roles don't always translate to additional success for NBA players. Some contributors are at their best when providing bite-sized impacts.
That's just not true for these five yet-to-be-named players.
Narrowing down the field of needs-more-shine candidates requires some ground rules to minimize potential snubbery. Players must have averaged under 20 minutes per game during this past regular season to be considered. From there, anyone whose floor time exploded by year's end (i.e. Mark Williams) or battled injuries and has an undeniable claim to more exposure next year (i.e. Ousmane Dieng) was bounced from the field.
Players must also be 25 or younger at the start of next season to crack the final list. This is one-part arbitrary, three-parts "talent of a certain age may not be wired to do much more." Javonte Green and Haywood Highsmith have my sincerest apologies.
AJ Griffin, Atlanta Hawks
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The Atlanta Hawks at times flirted with bestowing a larger role upon AJ Griffin during his rookie season. They inevitably didn't have the stomach for it. Griffin didn't see the floor for a single minute during Atlanta's first-round series against the Boston Celtics.
This must change next season.
Defensive shortcomings limit Griffin's bandwidth in lineups with other perimeter liabilities. But he's too scintillating from deep to repress his minutes, which ended up at 19.5 per game. He drilled 39 percent of his triples, including 46.7 percent of his off-the-dribble treys (28-of-60) and 38.6 percent of his step-back attempts (38.5 percent).
Yet, while his outside marksmanship will take center stage, it's Griffin's floor game that renders him must-play. He displayed a real knack for attacking overaggressive (or inattentive) defenses inside the arc, peppering a handful of turnarounds, fadeways, catch-and-drive layups and runners into his arsenal. He dropped in 55.6 percent of his floaters (55-of-90).
Finding more time for Griffin will be hard if the Hawks perimeter rotation goes untouched. Dejounte Murray and Trae Young burn through roughly 35 minutes per game apiece, and Atlanta still has Bogdan Bogdanovic, De'Andre Hunter and Saddiq Bey.
That's not an excuse. Griffin's multi-level shot-making is too tantalizing to deploy in small-medium doses. If the Hawks can't make adequate room for him at the 2 and 3 spots, he deserves to be on a team that can.
Isaiah Joe, Oklahoma City Thunder
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Isaiah Joe went from the fringes of the NBA to appearing in 73 games for the plucky and lethal Oklahoma City Thunder. You really do love to see it*.
Oklahoma City desperately needed a higher-end shooting threat. Joe delivered. His 40.9 percent clip from distance came on over 10 attempts per 36 minutes. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were the only other players to sustain both benchmarks.
The soon-to-be 24-year-old wasn't subsisting on gimme looks, either. The Thunder had him flying around, sometimes as the screener, and launching quick-fire treys in motion. And while long-range sniping is his specialty, Joe flashed speed and aggression in transition as well as the wherewithal to pump-and-drive and keep the ball moving in half-court sets.
There is defensive value here, too. Oklahoma City insulated Joe against absurdly tough assignments, but he will party crash passing lanes, fight through screens, track down loose balls and contest jumpers.
It isn't immediately clear whether the Thunder have a much bigger role to offer. Joe's playing time spiked in the middle of January through the end of the season, and Oklahoma City has more equity invested in other perimeter players.
Still, flame-throwing offensive outlets who don't submarine your defense are incredibly valuable to good teams. Joe may prove more important to the Thunder as they climb up the Western Conference hierarchy.
(*Unless you're the Philadelphia 76ers.)
Moses Moody, Golden State Warriors
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Moses Moody closed the 2022-23 campaign amid one heck of a transition. He went from sparingly used during the regular season to borderline mission critical by the end of the playoffs.
This progression, while somewhat sudden, makes sense. Fellow prospect Jonathan Kuminga may have the higher ceiling, but Moody has the loftier floor. He is, unequivocally, the safer playing-time bet for a Golden State Warriors franchise still attempting to optimize the Stephen Curry timeline without ignoring its future.
Next year should mark a coming-out party for the 21-year-old Moody. He has shown the ability to knock down triples—44 percent on above-the-break looks this year—and visibly improved his floor navigation away from the ball.
His defense is trending up, particularly on-ball, and promises matchup malleability. Golden State has predominantly rolled him out against off-guards and movement shooters, but he sponged up more reps at the point of attack and against bigger forwards in the playoffs.
Guaranteeing Moody more than 13 minutes per game is an obligation. It's also a necessity. Donte DiVincenzo (player option) is almost certainly leaving in free agency, Klay Thompson isn't getting any younger (33), and the Warriors won't have the mid-level exception this summer.
Golden State needs an every-night staple to emerge from its own ranks. Moody is ready.
Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves
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Naz Reid saw his minutes tick up after the All-Star break, but the increase wasn't nearly enough to clarify his place on a fully healthy Minnesota Timberwolves squad. Suffering a broken left wrist ahead of the playoffs didn't help matters.
Even so, the soon-to-be 24-year-old showed enough over the course of the season to necessitate much more floor time moving forward.
Reid was initially valued for his spacing above all else. That appeal remains intact. His three-point accuracy has never erupted for an entire year, but a 37 percent clip on non-corner triples is decidedly above-average and allowed Minnesota to feature him in dual-big arrangements.
This year, though, Reid also expanded his offensive horizons to include a more frequent and quicker-paced floor game. He can navigate tighter spaces with the ball in his hands and deliver gritty, physical finishes using either hand. Over his final 15 appearances, he averaged more than 16 points while downing over 65 percent of his twos and 38 percent of his triples and fortifying his rim protection.
Entering free agency this summer will give Reid the opportunity to scope out a bigger role, perhaps as a starting 4 or 5. The Timberwolves can offer him more years and larger raises than anyone. But bringing him back to play the same modest part would be a disservice to his current skill set and future development.
Obi Toppin, New York Knicks
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Obi Toppin is no stranger to these exercises. He just wrapped up his third season and has been under-utilized in every single one.
This isn't someone with poor stamina or who has shown limited development. Toppin plays like a shot of adrenaline, but his end-to-end energy can scale to more than 20 minutes per game, let alone the 15.7 he averaged this past season.
Select advanced metrics paint the picture of someone who plateaued or took a step back. That's just not the case. Toppin significantly juiced his per-minute three-point volume while drilling a career-high 37 percent of his above-the-break triples. His handle needs tightening, but he has the chops to attack when working in actual open space and can inject pace into entire lineups playing exclusively away from the ball.
Sticklers can harp on his inconsistencies. That's why New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau gives him a quick hook. But what if he's inconsistent because of that quick hook?
It might not matter. Julius Randle exists. That inherently caps Toppin's usage. Especially if Thibs remains steadfast in his refusal to play both together. So while Toppin deserves a larger role, he may need a new team to get it.
Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference, Stathead or Cleaning the Glass. Salary information via Spotrac.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
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