10 NBA Players Who Will Have Bigger Roles Than Expected in 2014-15
As the NBA preseason ratchets up to wind down, the league’s 30 depth charts are beginning to come into sharper and sharper focus.
Surprising upstarts will be cast back down, seemingly fading veterans will rise, and the pecking order of many a roster will—sadly and inevitably—return to order.
But change, in the NBA as anywhere else, is a constant. Be it in the form of plucky rookies or talents in their twilights, there are bound to be some who end up taking on outsized workloads for their respective teams.
Today, we’ll look at 10 players who stand to have much bigger roles than expected—wily vets and precocious neophytes, starters and seventh men and just about everything in between.
The NBA has always been as much about talent as opportunity. These are the guys we see making the most of the latter.
John Henson, Milwaukee Bucks
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What’s not to like about the Milwaukee Bucks’ John Henson? He’s young, he’s athletic, he improved leaps and bounds between years one and two and—most important of all—he’s efficient.
So why is he still listed behind Ersan Ilyasova on Milwaukee’s depth chart?
Part of the reason has to do with shooting: Ilyasova can (he’s a career 37 percent marksmen from deep) and Henson—save for the occasional 12-footer—can’t.
So how can Henson finally usurp Ilyasova in the starting lineup? Two words: Jabari Parker.
If the rookie phenom can somehow develop a reliable outside jumper, head coach Jason Kidd might be more inclined to start Henson at the 4 with Parker at small forward and second-year sensation Giannis Antetokounmpo at the 2 guard—all 6’11” of him.
Throw in Larry Sanders’ stellar interior D and Brandon Knight’s ever-improving playmaking, you have all the makings for a lineup wrought with length and nightmarish matchups for the opposition.
Expect Kidd to role with the more experienced Ilyasova out of the gate. If and when Milwaukee finds youthful groove, however, Henson could quickly find himself part of one of the league’s most exciting starting fives.
Caron Butler, Detroit Pistons
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From the young and the restless to the much older and…restful? Let’s go with it.
On July 15, Caron Butler signed a two-year deal with the Detroit Pistons, making it the eighth stop in the veteran forward’s 12-year NBA career. Call him a journeyman if you will, but Butler has long been lauded for having a locker room presence as steady as his on-court production.
As things stand, it seems likely that first-year coach Stan Van Gundy will at least try and make the starting frontcourt of Josh Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond work.
Just one small problem: that frontcourt troika registered a woeful minus-8.0 NetRtg over 1,361 minutes last season (per NBA.com—subscription only).
With Monroe having recently accepted the team’s $5 million qualifying offer, it stands to reason the burly big will tuck tail and bolt come the end of the season. Should the trio prove equally anemic, don’t be surprised if Butler assumes the role of starting 3, allowing either Smith or Monroe—depending on who’s more effective—to man their more natural power forward spot.
To the extent that most see Van Gundy trying to surround Drummond with capable shooters, Butler—a career three-point mark of 35 percent to his credit—makes eminent sense as a rotational staple.
Steven Adams, Oklahoma City Thunder
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As a defensive stalwart for the 2008 Boston Celtics, Kendrick Perkins earned a reputation as one of the league’s foremost paint protectors.
How coveted was Perkins? Enough for the Oklahoma City Thunder to justify parting with Jeff Green and—eventually—James Harden. You’ll just have to take our word for it.
But for all Perkins’ paint presence, his complete lack of an offensive game has made him virtually unplayable, particularly during playoff crunch time. Enter Steven Adams, who—while no Lew Alcindor—at least has the ability to catch and finish around the rim with consistency.
More importantly, Adams’ 102 defensive rating was actually better than Perkins (104) a season ago.
With Perkins entering the final year of his contract, the Thunder have little incentive to keep the omni-scowling big man happy. In fact, it’s more likely that OKC will look to deal Perkins at the deadline, officially freeing up his slot for Adams, rookie Mitch McGary and—most strategically interesting of all—lineups featuring Serge Ibaka at the 5.
Rodney Stuckey, Indiana Pacers
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The loss of Paul George was a crippling one for the Indiana Pacers. Not merely because George had long ago emerged as the team’s face and spiritual leader; but also because PG3 was, in the wake of Lance Stephenson’s departure, the team’s only reliable offensive option.
In Rodney Stuckey, the Pacers landed a reasonable Stephenson analog—someone who can get his own in a jam, but with enough in the way of playmaking prowess to keep the offense running.
With George out of the equation, Stuckey might have to launch 25 shots a game.
It seems likely head coach Frank Vogel will look to work through David West and Roy Hibbert more on offense. Sooner or later, though, the Pacers will find themselves needing a late-game or shot clock bailout. At that point, expect the ball to stick in Stuckey’s hands.
Stuckey might never reach the potential promised by his incendiary second season. But if there was ever a chance at narrative redemption, these Pacers—woeful as they are on offense—offer it in spades.
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
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One of the sneaky-biggest debates to emerge during the preseason concerns whether or not the Golden State Warriors should consider starting Draymond Green in place of David Lee.
We’ll wait until you stop laughing. All set?
Here’s the thing: The Warriors desperately need bench scoring. And while Green isn’t exactly J.R. Smith in that department, Lee—with his idiosyncratic post game and instant-offense potential—would make for intriguing second-unit fulcrum.
Green, meanwhile, is the classic jack of all trades, master of none. A stout defender and savvy passer capable of hitting an open jumper, Green accentuates Golden State’s strengths (namely, the all-world backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, as well as the team’s top tier defense) without making it any more vulnerable at the defensive end.
With two, onerous years left on Lee’s contract, it seems unlikely newly minted head coach Steve Kerr would be quick to bring the former All-Star off the bench, lest he rankle the locker room.
But if the Warriors somehow struggle out of the gate, expect the Green-as-starter experiment to get some serious legs.
Luke Ridnour, Orlando Magic
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Between his near-triple double at the Orlando Summer League to the rave reviews from peers, the Orlando Magic’s Elfrid Payton looks to be every bit the franchise cornerstone many believed.
That said, Payton is still rawer than beef tartar—a gifted defender and athlete who has much to learn about the nuances of running an NBA offense.
As the team’s only reliable backup, Luke Ridnour could see hefty minutes as the season winds on. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, either: While he’s by no means spectacular, Ridnour’s ability to marshal an offense is exactly the kind of first-hand tutelage Payton needs.
Given their incredibly young core, the Magic are likely still a year or two away from legitimately contending for a playoff spot. Which means head coach Jacque Vaughn will care not a whiff if he has to bring his young floor general off the bench.
Jason Smith, New York Knicks
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When the New York Knicks announced they had signed veteran forward Jason Smith to the mid-level exception on July 18, the reaction from many a Knicks fan was twofold: “Who?” and “Why”?
For a first-year head coach in Derek Fisher looking to install the triangle offense, the latter is much more important than the former.
In Smith, the Knicks found themselves an ideal triangle big man: A sneaky-savvy passer capable of knocking down midrange jumpers with ease.
From Posting and Toasting's Scott Davis:
"Nonetheless, Smith brings a different dimension at center than anything else the Knicks have on their roster. Though he's not the prototypical big man, and he probably won't defend or rebound like Sam Dalembert or Cole Aldrich can, his skill set can still be useful. His accuracy from the midrange is not unlike Andrea Bargnani's (another candidate to get minutes at center this season), except Smith is still a better rebounder and overall defender.
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Finding minutes in a frontcourt that already includes Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani and Samuel Dalembert might be a bit tricky early on. But with both Stoudemire and Bargnani’s contracts set to expire, Fisher and team president Phil Jackson have little incentive to play them for the simple sake of saving face—particularly if the two once again prove to be overwhelming liabilities on defense.
Coupled with Dalembert’s injury history, Smith—a solid but unspectacular triangle big in the mold of a Luc Longly or Bill Wennington—could be an intriguing, and productive, plan B.
Steve Blake, Portland Trail Blazers
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Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
At 34 years old and coming off arguably the most irrelevant season of his 11-year NBA career, Steve Blake would seem ripe for a retirement party. Instead, the heady-steady floor general opted to sign a two-year, $2.2 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, one of the league’s youngest, most exciting up-and-coming teams.
Think Blake was merely looking to coast into career twilight with one of his many previous NBA employers. Think again: Beyond Damian Lillard, the Blazers have no one who could be described as a reliable point guard (apologies to Diante Garrett).
Portland’s bench has finished dead last in the league in bench scoring the past two seasons. And while Blake certainly doesn’t offer much in the way of scoring punch, his ability to run an offense will give guys like C.J. McCollum, Thomas Robinson, Chris Kaman and Dorrell Wright—offensive-minded all—opportunities aplenty.
Indeed, there’s a reason Blake has stuck around the league so long. For what he lacks in box-score punch, this grizzled vet more than makes up for with a steady hand and sound decision making.
Kris Humphries, Washington Wizards
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After a year biding his time in the basketball purgatory that is the Boston Celtics, Kris Humphries is back where he belongs: poised to play more consistent minutes on a legitimate playoff team.
True, the Washington Wizards aren’t exactly desperate for frontcourt help, why with Nene and Marcin Gortat manning the paint. What Humphries provides, however, is a marked upgrade over Drew Gooden—even given Gooden’s surprising productivity down last season’s stretch.
For his part, Nene hasn’t exactly been the most durable of players over the years. Should the Brazilian big man miss any time, he could be an intriguing replacement alongside Gortat—a classic rebounding-and-energy guy capable of taking some of the pressure off Washington’s lumbering center.
One small caveat: Reports suggest Humphries could miss three to four weeks after undergoing surgery to repair nerve damage in his pinky finger. Still, when he does return, expect productive minutes aplenty from everyone's favorite Kardashian castoff.
It was only two years ago that Humphries was putting up 13.8 points and 11 boards for the then New Jersey Nets. Bad as that team was, Humphries proved himself a legitimate NBA starter.
Even if he never quite regains that role, his defense and rebounding alone should pay immediate and lasting dividends for the suddenly ascendant Wizards.
Vince Carter, Memphis Grizzlies
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For all their undeniable defensive fortitude, the Memphis Grizzlies have struggled mightily to foster anything resembling an elite-level NBA offense.
The signing of Vince Carter alone doesn’t change that equation. What it does do, however, is give Memphis a potent dose of perimeter scoring where Courtney Lee and Tony Allen—both terrific defenders—simply haven’t.
At 37 years old, Carter is nowhere near the high-flying force of a decade ago. But in an offense built around the bruising low-post presence of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, he doesn’t have to be.
"I just see they're playoff-ready and just see what I bring to the table," Carter told the press. "I'm able to come in and hopefully get us over the hump. That's the goal. Go as far as possible and hopefully hold up that O'Brien trophy here in Memphis. So why not make that the goal?"
Overly ambitious? Perhaps. But if Carter can help the Grizzlies become even a middling NBA offense, the team’s defense—designed to mask Carter’s brand of perimeter weaknesses—could be good enough for a deep playoff run.
