NBA Training Camp 2014-15: Depth-Chart Battles Fans Can't Wait to See
NBA training camps rarely fail to provide depth-chart battle fodder to the forefront, and this year is no different. With several major pieces shifting locations this summer, and with an influx of young talent entering the league, various training facilities will be home to furious competition for roles to start the year.
After losing Kevin Love, the Minnesota Timberwolves now boast a crop of young talent that is itching to make an impact. The Milwaukee Bucks also have a plethora of young pieces that Jason Kidd will be attempting to fit together.
Championship contenders have holes to fill too, like Oklahoma City's shooting guard spot and the Chicago Bulls' 3 and 4 spots.
Between now and tipoff time, there will be plenty of eyeballs on these positional battles throughout the preseason.
Plenty of Size in Utah
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The Utah Jazz haven't made much noise over recent years, but they've quietly compiled an attractive set of assets these past few summers.
Dante Exum, Trey Burke, Alec Burks and Gordon Hayward are all capable at the smaller positions. But the real training camp battle will be in the frontcourt where Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter and emerging sophomore center Rudy Gobert will be fighting for minutes under new coach Quin Snyder.
Kanter will be entering his fourth year as a pro and is coming off 27 minutes per game for the Jazz last year, predominantly at the center position. With averages of 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds, the still-developing 22-year-old had a solid season.
At 6'10" and a bit more athletic, Derrick Favors split minutes between center and power forward in 2013-14. He averaged more than 30 minutes per game, posting 13 points and nine rebounds while shooting 52 percent from the floor. His 19.0 player efficiency rating topped the team with nearly a three-point cushion, and his defensive rebounding percentage trailed only Gobert among players who played at least 10 games for Utah.
For Gobert, who turned 22 over the summer, this season should be a chance to make a real impact, unlike last season when he spent more time on the shuttle to the team's D-League affiliate than he spent on the floor. Gobert's freakish 7'8" wingspan and 9'7" standing reach make him a tremendous prospect, and he's proving himself right now in the FIBA World Cup.
For France, his averages of 4.8 points and four rebounds don't seem to mean much, but he's frequently made highlight reels with astounding dunks and defensive plays on the other end.
With Gobert coming into his own this season, it'll be interesting to see how his minutes factor into the Jazz's frontcourt rotation.
Can Wiggins Make an Immediate Impact?
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Kevin Love is out of the Minnesota fold, but in are Andrew Wiggins and the rest of the trade haul that president/coach Flip Saunders netted for the All-Star. What remains to be seen is how Saunders plans on running out those guys.
It'll be an interesting dynamic, as the Wolves are in the early stages of a youthful rebuild, while Saunders is a coaching veteran in his first season manning the Minnesota bench. You remember he hired himself for the position last June, presumably in an attempt to lure the team's situation back into Love's good graces. Now, he's left with a team in a rebuild, but still with some leftover parts from the previous era.
Wiggins will be splitting minutes at small forward with one of those pieces: Corey Brewer. Wiggins will likely win the starting role out of camp, but Brewer is an established-enough player to earn a shot. He started all of his 81 games last season, and the team was nearly 10 points better per 100 possessions with him on the floor.
In his current form, a 19-year-old Wiggins is a very similar player to Brewer. Both are defensive stoppers along the wings who can have success getting points from inside. Of course, Wiggins' ceiling is much higher than what he can give as a rookie in 2014-15.
There are still players with experience in the mix, like Brewer, Thaddeus Young, Nikola Pekovic, Kevin Martin and Mo Williams. So, Saunders will need to resist the urge that several older coaches can't seem to kick: denying younger players a chance to develop while chasing a few more meaningless wins via veterans.
Hopefully, Flip realizes the situation and gives Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, Zach LaVine and Gorgui Dieng a chance to grow.
How Will Derek Fisher Handle All the Knicks' Wing Options?
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Another team in an awkward in-between stage of a rebuild is the New York Knicks, led by Phil Jackson and rookie head coach Derek Fisher.
As the depth chart stands now, one or two of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Tim Hardaway Jr. may end up in the starting lineup come November. Second-round pick Cleanthony Early also figures to be in the mix, as do new acquisitions Quincy Acy and Travis Outlaw.
The Knicks have been a dramatically better team with Carmelo Anthony playing the power forward the past two years, which would open up space for two other wings in the starting lineup. But with Fisher having to work around two albatross leftovers from the prior regime, Amar'e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani, one may find himself starting at the 4, bumping Anthony down a spot.
Prior to this past season, Shumpert had been a starter through the majority of his career. His shooting numbers plummeted though, down to less than 40 percent on the season, and he eventually lost his spot to Smith, the Sixth Man of the Year in 2013. Smith finished the season strong, averaging 18 points, four rebounds and three assists on 46 percent shooting over his final 22 games, all of which were starts.
Hardaway impressed with the ball in his hands through much of his rookie season but hit the infamous rookie wall during the second half. He finished up averaging 10 points on 43 percent shooting, but he must improve in every other key area in order to earn a spot over the team's other options.
Early looked good in the summer league, but with Anthony and now Acy and Outlaw in the fold, he may be pressed for minutes, at least in the early going.
According to ESPN New York's Ian Begley, general manager Steve Mills suggested that Outlaw and Acy could be 'Melo's go-to understudies.
"Mills said the Knicks hope that the 6-9 Outlaw can provide depth at small forward behind Carmelo Anthony. Outlaw averaged 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds over 16.9 minutes in 63 games last season for the Kings.
"We were clearly heavier at (shooting guard) and needed to strengthen our situation at (small forward). So this clearly helps us there," Mills said.
Rookie Cleanthony Early also has been discussed as a potential backup to Anthony.
"We really like Cleanthony, obviously, but he is a rookie and we wanted to make sure that we had some veteran help at that position as well," Mills said.
The GM added that the Knicks were intrigued by Acy's play in the 2014 Las Vegas Summer League.
"He defends, he can play multiple positions (and) he runs the floor, blocks shots. I just think he adds a level of energy that we think is missing when we look across the roster," Mills said.
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Acy, Outlaw, Bargnani and Stoudemire all come off the team's books after this season, and Shumpert is set to hit restricted free agency this summer as well. Which means whatever shakes out this season may not be a permanent fix for Fisher's Knicks.
Who Will Play the 2 for OKC?
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During last year's postseason, the Thunder's inability to field a competent shooting guard seriously hampered their offense. A Reggie Jackson-Russell Westbrook pairing tended to benefit OKC, but Scott Brooks seems to prefer keeping Jackson at the point behind Westbrook. Finding a suitable 2 should have been the team's priority heading into the summer.
Sam Presti managed to snag Anthony Morrow on a three-year, $10 million deal, but the 28-year-old has averaged less than 16 points per game over the past two years and has never appeared in a postseason. But Morrow does add three-point shooting to a team that finished around league average last season at 36 percent from deep.
Royce Young of Daily Thunder spoke with Morrow shortly after his signing:
"Whatever the staff, whatever the team needs me to do. I’m going on my seventh year. I’ve started, I’ve come off the bench. It really doesn’t matter to me at all. It’s just a situation where I want to help the team. In free agency, I saw a need and a void I could fill in terms of shooting the ball and at the same time, it’s two superstars, actually, in my opinion three superstars with Serge, a guy that can draw a lot of attention and get in the paint and I can stand out there and make it easier on him as well. Whatever coach needs me to do, whatever my role is, I’m ready to embrace it. It doesn’t matter.
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Also competing for the spot will be Jeremy Lamb, who'll be entering his third campaign with the Thunder. Brooks was sporadic with Lamb's minutes last season as a sophomore, and the 21-year-old struggled to get into much of a rhythm. By playoff time, his minutes dipped to under nine per game, and Brooks decided not to play him in eight of the team's 19 postseason contests.
Andre Roberson is another option for Brooks at shooting guard, but after appearing for just nine playoff minutes as a rookie, and knowing Brooks' affinity to stray away from inexperience, Roberson will really need to earn his spot in camp.
Morrow brings elite shooting to the table, but Lamb projects to be a much more complete player—if not now, then soon. We'll see which way Brooks leans come opening night.
How Will Milwaukee's Young Pieces Fit Together?
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An unexpected team to keep an eye on this season will be the Milwaukee Bucks under new head coach Jason Kidd. (Yep, still waiting for that not to sound weird.)
The Bucks drafted Jabari Parker last June, who will presumably slide in immediately as the starting small forward. Giannis Antetokounmpo will be entering his sophomore campaign, and with an extremely unique blend of skill and size, he could be the team's breakout player in 2014-15.
The Bucks added Kendall Marshall, who put up impressive numbers under Mike D'Antoni with the Lakers last season. And Larry Sanders, who just a year ago was presumed to be one of the league's emerging standout centers, is set to begin the year healthy.
If veterans O.J. Mayo and Ersan Ilyasova can bounce back from treacherous 2013-14 campaigns and look viable in camp, Kidd will have some decisions to make. He's mentioned running Antetokounmpo out as the league's tallest point guard, which is intriguing, but the better play may be to let him develop at a more natural position up front.
Brandon Knight started 69 games for the Bucks at the point last year, but it'll be interesting to see if Marshall can impress outside of a D'Antoni offense.
The Bucks may not be very good this season, but at the very least, they'll be interesting.
What Will Steve Kerr Do with the Dubs?
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Harrison Barnes' disappointing sophomore year has directed him out of the good graces of many who follow the Golden State Warriors—new head coach Steve Kerr not being one of them, it seems.
The team went out and nabbed Andre Iguodala off the free-agent market last summer, locking him in for four years. He started every game he played—in fact, Iguodala has started every game in his 10-year NBA career. But Kerr certainly didn't make him seem to be a lock when he spoke with Diamond Leung of Inside the Warriors:
"Andre was the starter last year, and he very well may be this year,” Kerr said of Iguodala, who made the NBA All-Defensive first team while his numbers on offense were down. “It all depends on combinations and who’s coming off the bench. I would say Andre is more of a ball-handler and a playmaker than Harrison. Harrison’s probably a little more of a scoring-minded player, so you have to factor all those things in when you decide who’s going to start and who’s going to come off the bench.
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Iggy shot 48 percent from the field last year, including 35 percent from three, averaging nine points, five rebounds and four assists per game. The Warriors were an astounding 18 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor, particularly due to his defensive prowess.
But if Barnes' downfall last season was, like Kerr says, due to him playing with the second team as opposed to Stephen Curry and the rest of the starters, then it could make sense to re-insert him there, at least to see if what Kerr posits has merit.
The Warriors could then run their second team's offense through a combination of Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. It's a unique approach, but Kerr seems to be the kind of basketball brain that won't be bound to traditional ideologies—that is, if he's anything like his mentor Phil Jackson.
In the grueling Western Conference, Golden State will need to figure things out quickly in order to contend for a top seed.
Chicago's Frontcourt Positions
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After missing out on Carmelo Anthony this summer, the Chicago Bulls still figure to be in the mix to come out of the East.
At the 3, rookie Doug McDermott will be an interesting fit under Tom Thibodeau. He provides a scorer that the team has been so desperate for without Derrick Rose, but his tendency to fall short on the other end isn't characteristic of recent Bulls teams. He'll be battling with Mike Dunleavy, who started 61 of the team's 82 last season but will be 34 years of age on opening night.
Carlos Boozer is finally out of the mix, but Taj Gibson can't seem to secure the starting job that's been calling his name for seasons now. Chicago grabbed another scoring weapon this summer in Pau Gasol, who will log minutes at both the 4 and 5 this season.
Though he's not a weak defender, that area isn't Gasol's forte, and it will be intriguing to see which lineups feature him. A Gasol-Joakim Noah pairing at the 4 and 5 would presumably make for versatile high-low action, with both being incredible playmakers who can hit from outside the paint.
Newly imported Nikola Mirotic will factor in as well, after signing with the Bulls on a three-year, $16.6 million deal coming over from Real Madrid. At 6'10", the 23-year-old brings more size to the team but is yet another weapon with the ball in his hands. He can stretch the offense with range that extends near the three-point line.
With Rose (hopefully) back for real this season, the Bulls have assembled a depth chart that is littered with talent to compete for a title.
