5 NBA Role Players Who Will Have Increased Impacts During 2014-15 Season
The San Antonio Spurs traded away a beloved George Hill in 2011 to acquire what they believed would be a reliable role player.
Kawhi Leonard was acquired because of his defense. He seemed the perfect solution to replace longtime stopper Bruce Bowen, hopefully restoring some of the team's fading defensive legacy.
In the two seasons since his rookie campaign, the 23-year-old has become far more than a role player. His evolution into an emerging star was certified in June when he was named 2014 Finals MVP, a distinction highlighting just how far the three-year veteran's offensive game has come.
One of Leonard's teammates could make a similar jump this season, as could a handful of other complementary pieces around the league.
Role players are a vital component of NBA success, but there are times when a perfect storm of circumstances transforms such a player into something more. When upside and opportunity converge, just about anything can happen.
Here are five candidates to take precisely such a step in 2014-15.
Omer Asik, New Orleans Pelicans
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After starting 82 games for the Houston Rockets in 2012-13, center Omer Asik took a backseat when the organization signed Dwight Howard in advance of the 2013-14 campaign.
The 10.1 points and 11.7 rebounds Asik averaged in his first year with the franchise gave way to just 5.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game a season later—a predictable consequence of minutes that were cut from 30 to just 20.2 per contest.
So the New Orleans Pelicans' decision to trade for the 28-year-old this summer reflects a belief that he can excel as a full-time player in this league—much as he seemed to before Howard's arrival in Houston.
Asik will find plenty of playing time alongside emergent power forward Anthony Davis. Together, Asik and Davis may form one of the league's elite interior duos—especially on the defensive end.
As NOLA.com's John Reid put it this month, "With Asik in the Pelicans' lineup, Davis won’t have to do as much heavy lifting as he’s done the previous two seasons battling against bigger post players. Still, Asik and Davis need time to figure out how they will work most efficiently paired together before the regular-season opens."
Assuming that relationship clicks, New Orleans should make some strides after a 34-win season.
This seems like an ideal fit for Asik and the Pelicans alike. They get a starting-caliber big man who doesn't need the ball in his hands, and he gets an opportunity to play consistent minutes. And as you might have guessed, he's already working to earn those minutes.
"I'm just trying to learn the system defensively and offensively," Asik told reporters three days into the team's training camp. "It has been like a learning session, but so far it's been going good."
No matter how successfully he adjusts to his new environs, we shouldn't expect especially crazy numbers from the four-year veteran. His impact will be felt on the glass and the defensive end—and likely in the wins column.
Kent Bazemore, Atlanta Hawks
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Kent Bazemore's 2013-14 campaign was a tale of two seasons.
He played his first 44 games with the Golden State Warriors, maintaining relative anonymity with the team that signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Then the organization traded him (and MarShon Brooks) to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for veteran point guard Steve Blake.
That's when everything changed.
The Old Dominion product averaged 13.1 points in 28 minutes per game for the Lakers, even starting 15 of his 23 games with the club. He made a solid 45.1 percent of his field-goal attempts, including 37.1 percent of his attempts from three-point range.
It was a breakout stretch for the now-25-year-old, even if it was an admittedly limited sample size.
The Atlanta Hawks saw enough to pounce this summer, signing the swingman to a two-year deal that allows him to make his case for a more lucrative long-term deal in 2016.
Bazemore had surgery in April to repair a torn tendon in his foot, so his development in Atlanta may take a little time. But given his potential as a versatile playmaker, the Hawks are almost certain to provide him ample opportunity when the time is right.
"I'm just working on running the right way, landing properly, cutting," Bazemore told reporters at the start of training camp. "It's been fun because you learn to play all over again and reconstructing my jump shot. I have a lot of good stuff ahead of me. I'm excited to see all the work I've put in the month of September come into play on the floor."
Having lost sixth man Louis Williams via trade to the Toronto Raptors this summer, Bazemore could become an instrumental asset off the bench—or perhaps even a regular starter at the shooting guard spot.
Patrick Beverley, Houston Rockets
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The Houston Rockets will pay point guard Patrick Beverley $915,243 this season.
And it could buy them a performance worth up to 10 times that amount.
The two-year veteran averaged 10.2 points in 31.3 minutes per game a season ago. That was almost 14 more minutes than he averaged as a rookie, testifying to a rapid ascent in which Beverley started 55 of his 56 games during his sophomore campaign.
Nothing has come easily for the 26-year-old. He was selected with the 42nd overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 but spent time in the Ukraine, Greece and Russia before latching on with the Rockets.
The Arkansas product has made his name on the defensive end, pestering ball-handlers with stifling perimeter defense. But he's also proven himself a capable spot-up shooter, converting on 36.1 percent of his 4.6 three-pointers per game last season.
Without Jeremy Lin backing him up this season, Beverley's services will be as vital as ever. He could very well play over 35 minutes per contest, possibly even emerging as Houston's third scoring option (behind James Harden and Dwight Howard) in the process.
While there's no doubting the very concrete contributions Beverley will make this season, he could also set himself apart through leadership.
"Effort is always a mindset," Beverley told media this month. "That is the difference between good players and great players. It's a will. It's a will to keep fighting through screens. It's a will to box out the big man or to lay out a big man. It's a will to get through screens, and it's a will to put a hand up on Damian Lillard when he shoots. We have to be better at that this coming year."
And with Beverley adopting a larger role, they just might be.
Danny Green, San Antonio Spurs
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All of the talk has been about Kawhi Leonard.
Earning 2014's Finals MVP honors will do that sort of thing.
But don't forget about swingman Danny Green, the North Carolina product who's started 177 games over the past three seasons for the San Antonio Spurs.
Like Leonard, Green has established himself as one of the league's premier perimeter defenders. And like Leonard, he's saved some of his most heroic performances for the postseason. That included six games of at least 15 points during the 2014 run—as well as an unforgettable and ultimately wasted series of gems against the Miami Heat in the 2013 Finals.
There are a few reasons to believe we haven't seen the best of Green just yet.
After playing just 24.3 minutes per contest last season, the 27-year-old could accept an expanded role now that he's well into his prime.
Green has progressively diversified his offensive game, demonstrating an improved between game last season and increased usage of floaters around the basket. He's grown more comfortable putting the ball on the floor, showing signs of becoming a player who can help carry the scoring load on a more consistent basis.
It's possible that 37-year-old Manu Ginobili could see his playing time further decreased from the 22.8 minutes he averaged a season ago. It's also possible Marco Belinelli—who started 25 games last season—could take a step back after having a career year behind the three-point line.
Given Green's defensive contributions, it's entirely conceivable that he might stake out a greater share of minutes on the wing, paving the way for more scoring opportunities and a broader overall impact—even in the wake of San Antonio's historically egalitarian distribution of playing time last season.
C.J. Miles, Indiana Pacers
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C.J. Miles has been a model of consistency for his last six seasons, averaging between 9.1 points and 12.8 points per game each year during that span.
Taken by the Utah Jazz with the 34th overall pick in 2005, some might even describe the 27-year-old's career as the epitome of sustained mediocrity. He's consistently solid, a skilled three-point shooter who made over 38 percent of his attempts in each of the past two seasons.
He's not a star. Not an especially gifted playmaker. Not an elite defender.
But that could change in his first campaign with the Indiana Pacers, a season in which the team will attempt to survive without emerging superstar Paul George, who was lost to a broken leg suffered during a Team USA scrimmage in advance of this summer's FIBA World Cup.
Miles—along with new addition Rodney Stuckey—will be charged with replacing George's minutes and production to the best of his ability. After playing just 19.3 minutes per game with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, this is a welcome opportunity for the nine-year veteran.
Perhaps even one last chance for a little late blooming.
For Miles, blossoming into a more productive weapon may be largely a matter of mindset.
"Just being aggressive and not letting the thinking become too much part of the game," Miles told reporters this month. "Coming here every day, we drill all the plays, so there's no reason for me to overthink those, I know everything that we've put in so far so the biggest thing is just to play.
"I'm still feeling some stuff out, but I guess it just looks that way because I'm being a little more aggressive when I can but I'm still feeling some stuff out."
A more aggressive version of Miles could yield numbers we've yet to see from him. Numbers the Pacers desperately need on a consistent basis.
