The Case for Joey Graham

By this time, everyone knows what wrong with Joey. His basketball IQ leaves much to be desired! Most famous for his Raptors TV commercial featuring Jose Calderon trying to inbound the ball, “Joey, JOEY, JOOOO-EEEY, I am going to pass you the ball.” 

Joey’s lack of basketball IQ showed up in getting confused guarding more complex offensive sets and driving to basket only to be called for a charge or being trapped in “no-man’s-land” with the ball and no idea of what to do. 

Sometimes fans were left wondering if Joey knew what he was doing—sometimes there wasn’t much doubt.

And then there were the constant reminders from the Raptor commentators, “Who will we see tonight—the good Joey or the bad Joey?”  

And Joey did help promote these comments by following up many of his best double digit scoring games with low single digit games the very next night.

But what did he do well?  Joey is big, he is strong, and he is hard to move.  Joey is athletic.  Joey can rebound! 

The one area of his game that has improved since his rookie year is his rebounding.  That in and of itself makes Joey worth a second look—on this Raptors team anyway. 

In modest minutes, under 20 per game, Joey’s rebounding numbers have gone from 3.0 rpg in 2005-06, steadily up to 3.7 rpg last season. (The 07-08 year not being reflective of anything, except Mitchell)

Joey also performed well guarding big men like Dwight Howard or stronger wing players who prefer to post up where he could use his strength to hold his ground. Joey’s mid-range offensive game is decent as well, reflected in a very acceptable shooting percentage of about 48 percent.

What about Joey’s progression from his rookie season. In Joey’s rookie year he averaged 6.7 points (PPG) and 3 rebounds per game (RPG). Unfortunately for Joey, Sam Mitchell was not a fan. While Sam’s frustration may be understandable, one thing is certain, if you want to ensure a young player doesn’t develop—don’t play him. 

Joey’s minutes dropped from 19.8mpg in 2005-06 to 16.7 in 06-07, to 8.7 in 07-08.  If Joey was going to develop as player, it wasn’t going to happen in this situation. Last year, in Joey’s first 13 games, he averaged only 6 minutes with 1.6 ppg and 1.4 rpg.

If senior management believed that was all Joey had left in him, Joey was done then and there.  Shortly thereafter, Jay Triano replaces Sam Mitchell. Joey’s numbers over his final 65 games improved to 8.3 ppg and 4 rpg.

The Raptors did not offer Joey a contract this off season making him an unrestricted free agent. It is also unlikely Joey will receive an offer for more than the NBA minimum salary from any team, including the Raptors. So it would only be fair to compare Joey to what else is available to the Raptors at this point in time.

Antoine Wright, acquired in this summer’s trade with Dallas, started 53 games last year on a 50 win team. At 6’7” and 215 lbs, Wright is comparable in size to Joey, but not as strong, and is legitimately listed as a combo guard/forward. 

Reports say Wright was an acceptable starting wing for Dallas from a defensive viewpoint.  Last season, Wright averaged 7.3 ppg and 2.1 rpg.  Other than his lack of boards, Antoine should be considered an effective backup possibility for the Raptors small forward spot.

Demar DeRozan, drafted ninth by Toronto, has the size and athleticism to backup small forward. However, it would seem imprudent to rely on a rookie without a legitimate alternative.  

And, DeRozan seems destined to be the starting shooting guard (with a host of alternates to back him up there from Wright, to Belinelli, to Jarrett Jack, even Quincy Douby and Roko Ukic if needed).

Free agents who can fill the three spot and are likely to sign minimum deals, are available such as:

• Ime Udoka,       age 32, 3.4ppg, 4.6rpg in 20 minutes
• Desmond Mason, age 32, 7.5ppg, 4rpg in 27 minutes
• Keith Bogans,    age 29, 5.6ppg, 3.1rpg in 20 minutes
• Rodney Carney, age 25, 7.2ppg, 1.9rpg in 18 minutes
  
• Gerald Green,    age 22, 5.2ppg, 1.4rpg in 10 minutes

While any of Udoka, Mason, or Bogans may be able to provide more boards out the backup small forward position than Antoine Wright, one has to question the benefit to the team of giving available minutes to an older veteran player over a decent younger player whose game still has the potential to get better. 

Also, if the object is to try and improve the Raptor’s rebounding rate, the available Joey Graham is superior to all but Udoka (who struggles to score even more than Joey).

In the end, the strongest case against Joey Graham is the team can probably get by without him. Having an open roster spot going into the season has advantages in and of itself.

But, the Raptors are a team that virtually everyone acknowledges is going to have issues rebounding the ball. Especially from the wing positions. 

Joey Graham can help fill that need. Maybe having a limited role, with defined responsibilities, could finally take advantage of the skills and physical attributes Joey does bring to the court.  

There is a case for bringing back Joey. At this point, it’s not likely a better alternative will be found.