Contract-Year NBA Players Poised to Have Huge Seasons in 2015-16
There's nothing like a contract year to provide that extra burst of motivation necessary to push an NBA player toward the proverbial next level.
Stars begin striving to perform like superstars, role players attempt to carve out larger spots in the rotation and bench players do everything possible to make sure they won't be left out to dry when it's time for the next set of negotiations.
Though not all are fruitful in their contract-year ventures, some will stand out in a positive way. That much is inevitable in the undying quest for enormous paydays.
Here, we're not concerned with players who have already established themselves as yearly studs. Though we'll include a few burgeoning household names, you won't find any players who have made the All-Star team in the last five years. Kevin Durant and LeBron James may be working with expiring deals, but hopefully you don't need me to tell you they're going to have huge seasons.
These players still have room for improvement and are primed to experience significant levels of success as they fight to prove themselves to their current and prospective employers. Whether through better luck with injuries, increased responsibility, a developing skill set or an entirely new scheme to work in, something has changed for the better. In some cases, more than just one aspect has shifted in the right direction.
Come next summer, all of them, listed in alphabetic order, will be able to look back fondly upon their 2015-16 campaigns as they sit down to bargain with front offices.
Ryan Anderson
1 of 9
Team: New Orleans Pelicans
Position: PF
Age: 27
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 13.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.3 blocks, 15.6 PER
2015-16 Per-Game Stats: 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.3 blocks, 15.3 PER
Ryan Anderson just hasn't been able to stay healthy in recent years, suffering everything from a broken toe on his right foot to a herniated disk in his neck. In 2014-15, he was limited to just 61 appearances for the New Orleans Pelicans while plagued by an ankle injury, a sprained right elbow and a sprained MCL in his right knee.
Without consistent playing time and constantly rehabbing those maladies, the sharpshooter was more of a dullshooter. He knocked down only 34 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc—well bellow the career mark of 38.6 percent that he carried into the season.
This year, Anderson isn't just healthy. He's raring to go under new head coach Alvin Gentry and an offensive system that should actually be able to find him space for uncontested deep looks while operating at a quicker tempo. And despite the early-season struggles the Pelicans have experienced, he's already knocking down 37.5 percent of his looks while taking 5.3 per game.
If all goes according to plan, both of those numbers will only go up as everyone gains comfort by the bayou. And with his shooting goes Anderson's stock, since he's not ever going to make much of an impact in other facets of the game.
But things should click for this team, especially once Anthony Davis begins regressing to the mean and drawing defenders closer to him on every possession. This roster is perfectly set up for a player with Anderson's skill set to thrive, and thrive he will before his contract expires.
Harrison Barnes
2 of 9
Team: Golden State Warriors
Position: SF
Age: 23
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 10.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.2 blocks, 13.4 PER
2015-16 Per-Game Stats: 9.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.5 steals, 13.3 PER
If you're assessing Harrison Barnes' value based sheerly on his per-game numbers, you're making a big mistake. Despite the limited nature of his contributions in the scoring column, this 23-year-old is developing into an incredibly valuable piece for a team that looks as if it could emerge—for the second year in a row—as one of the very best squads in NBA history.
How exactly is Barnes expected to light up the scoreboard when he's fitting in next to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in the starting five? He's not asked to fill the role of primary scorer, but instead to contribute in smaller ways while remaining cognizant of any opportunities that emerge during the course of action.
Take the Nov. 2 blowout of the Memphis Grizzlies as an example. Barnes scored eight points on five shots from the field, but he played only 20 minutes before the game was out of hand, also logging three rebounds, four assists and a steal. That line may not seem inordinately impressive, but it was exactly what he needed to do.
Put Barnes in a different situation, and he has a serious shot to explode. Keep him on the Warriors, and he's going to fill his role perfectly while contributing to one of the few teams in NBA history that seems to have a puncher's chance at getting to the 70-win barrier.
Last year, the Dubs were 2.3 points per 100 possessions better when Barnes was on the court, thanks to moderate improvements on both ends. This year, though the sample size is still small, that number has jumped to 5.4, as shown by NBA.com's statistical databases.
You might not notice the gains unless you're looking carefully, but they're there. And while this wing may not post mind-numbing numbers, doesn't getting better while aiding a historically great team qualify as a huge season?
Nicolas Batum
3 of 9
Team: Charlotte Hornets
Position: SF
Age: 26
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 9.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.6 blocks, 13.1 PER
2015-16 Per-Game Stats: 13.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.7 blocks, 13.9 PER
As Derek James wrote for At the Hive before the season began, Nicolas Batum figures to be quite the key player on the Charlotte Hornets' honeycombed floor:
"The Hornets are going to rely on Batum to stretch the floor and open up space for everyone else to operate. That's the obvious one, however. With Michael Kidd-Gilchristessentially out for the year, it will be up to Batum to pester the other team's best wing player defensively. It's not going to be easy to replace a player who makes your offense and defense better, but Batum is the best bet. Fortunately, Batum is a capable defender, and has historically been a more productive offensive player.
"
At this point, the world knows that Batum can serve as a lockdown defender with the versatility and lateral quickness necessary to work on the perimeter, but also the requisite size, length and timing to wreak some havoc in the painted area. But after a down season ended his tenure with the Portland Trail Blazers, he now has a chance to shine on offense as well.
The Hornets aren't exactly buzzing with players who can put up points in bunches. Al Jefferson, despite his long-standing dominance from the left block, is a fundamentally limited player who, even in today's pace-and-space league, needs time to operate. Jeremy Lamb is anything but a proven commodity. Kemba Walker is a horribly inefficient shooter who head coach Steve Clifford needs to force into taking a step back—and not a step-back jumper, as the former Connecticut star is often wont to do.
We could go on, but the point is simply that Batum needs to handle the rock quite often in this offense. He's the rare Charlotte contributor who can score on or off the ball while also keeping his head up and creating for his teammates with aplomb.
And, hard as it may be to believe, given his long tenure in the Association, he's still only 26 years old. There's still plenty of time for further improvements, especially as he gains comfort operating in a system previously foreign to him.
Kent Bazemore
4 of 9
Team: Atlanta Hawks
Position: SG/SF
Age: 26
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 5.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.4 blocks, 9.7 PER
2015-16 Per-Game Stats: 11.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.3 blocks, 16.1 PER
It's hard to remember now that DeMarre Carroll is coming off a spectacular season and postseason run with the Atlanta Hawks, one that he levied into a lucrative contract north of the border. But before Atlanta head coach Mike Budenholzer got his hands on the wing player, he was little more than a mediocre role player for the Utah Jazz.
Now, the former San Antonio Spurs assistant has a new project.
Kent Bazemore has clearly risen above Thabo Sefolosha, Justin Holiday, Lamar Patterson and Tim Hardaway Jr. in the Hawks' wing rotation, and he's given the team no reason to feel compunction about handing him such an opportunity. All of a sudden, he's mixing his typical defensive contributions with a substantial amount of confidence on the offensive end.
In consecutive games against the Charlotte Hornets, Bazemore dropped 19 and 20 points—both totals coming in efficient fashion. That's particularly notable for a player who had scored at least 19 only four times prior to this season, never in back-to-back outings.
Will the 26-year-old continue to thrive as one of the Hawks' leading scorers? Probably Definitely not. His shooting percentages will surely regress as the sample size grows larger, despite the offseason work he put in rebuilding his shooting stroke. But even when that happens, Bazemore has shown that he can thrive in his new role as a starter alongside Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap and Al Horford.
He's a great fit for the Hawks' schemes on both ends of the floor, and he now has the confidence necessary to thrive in a contract year.
"The way he conducted his business last year," Bazemore explained to NBA.com's Shaun Powell when asked what he learned from Carroll in 2014-15. "He just did his job. He and I came from the same type of background. Here's a guy who never got the chance and then in two years, boom. It just goes to show that no matter who you are or where you come from, if you work hard enough, the sky's the limit."
Bradley Beal
5 of 9
Team: Washington Wizards
Position: SG
Age: 22
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 15.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.3 blocks, 14.0 PER
2015-16 Per-Game Stats: 25.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.3 blocks, 18.4 PER
"Nobody can stop me. Plain and simple," Bradley Beal said into the microphone after his 14-point quarter sparked a comeback victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, per Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post.
So far, he's been absolutely right.
Beal opened his fourth NBA campaign by dropping 24 points for the Washington Wizards. He drained nine of his 19 looks from the field, two of his eight deep tries and four of his shots from the charity stripe. Two games later, that's arguably his least impressive performance as a go-to scorer.
The 22-year-old followed that up with the aforementioned 14-point quarter, and that was only part of his 26-point night against the Bucks. This time needing only 16 shots from the field, he thrived beyond the arc, making five of his six attempts. And one such outing wasn't good enough, so he reprised the performance with a 26-spot against the New York Knicks.
Nobody can stop him. Plain and simple.
This shouldn't change much as the season progresses. It appears as if Beal has made the proverbial leap with his shot selection, eschewing inefficient long twos early in the shot clock so that he can either attack the basket or wait for a look worth an extra point. Randy Wittman's offense changed dramatically during the playoffs, and the shifts have stuck, with Beal serving as one of the primary beneficiaries.
These Wizards no longer look like they're just John Wall's team. Instead, they now firmly belong to both backcourt members.
Jordan Clarkson
6 of 9
Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Position: PG/SG
Age: 23
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 11.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.2 blocks, 16.9 PER
2015-16 Per-Game Stats: 14.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.0 blocks, 15.7 PER
Last season, it was understandable to be a bit skeptical of Jordan Clarkson's sudden onslaught of success. This wasn't a highly touted prospect taking over for the Los Angeles Lakers, but a second-round pick benefiting from a rash of injuries and overall ineffectiveness in Tinseltown.
Was Clarkson legitimately a draft-day gem? Or was he fool's gold, the fortunate recipient of immense opportunity during a lost season?
Thus far, it appears the former is more accurate. Clarkson has picked up where he left off during the 2015-16 go-round, despite playing alongside Kobe Bryant, Nick Young and all the other ball-dominant cooks in the Lakers' overcrowded backcourt kitchen.
Showcasing the aggression that initially made him appear so dominant at the tail end of his rookie season, the former Missouri standout has continued to attack the hoop. And not with reckless abandon, but with enough control that he puts himself in promising position to punctuate each play with a pair of points.
According to NBA.com's SportVU data, not a single one of the other 55 players embarking upon at least five drives per game has been as efficient as Clarkson. He's knocked down 80 percent of his looks in that situation, and no one has come closer than Stephen Curry, Dwyane Wade and Evan Fournier, all of whom are back at "only" 66.7 percent.
"He's been outstanding since training camp," Bryant told Serena Winters of Lakers Nation at the end of October. "Or really, since the end of last season."
It doesn't look as if Clarkson will stop being outstanding at any point in the near future. In that vein, there's both good news and bad in Los Angeles.
Good: The Lakers look like they've found themselves another building block who can be relied upon for years to come. Bad: He's going to cost them a pretty penny this offseason.
Andre Drummond
7 of 9
Team: Detroit Pistons
Position: C
Age: 22
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 13.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.9 blocks, 21.4 PER
2015-16 Per-Game Stats: 18.7 points, 16.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.3 steals, 2.0 blocks, 23.7 PER
Can we go ahead and lock in Andre Drummond for a max contract next offseason?
The Detroit Pistons big man was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for his work during the opening salvo of the 2015-16 season. In short, he led his team to its first 3-0 start in nearly a decade while averaging 18.7 points and a league-best 16.3 rebounds.
"It's not all about me," Drummond explained after learning about his accolade, per Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. "The accomplishments that I have and as a team we're always one and, if we all could get the conference player of the week, I think we all should have got it."
Drummond has been a dominant individual, but as he hinted at, he's also playing in a system perfectly suited for his talents. Head coach Stan Van Gundy has brought together a horde of floor-spacing forwards and guards to open things up for him around the hoop, and it often leaves him free to fight through just a single box-out en route to an offensive rebound and an easy second-chance opportunity.
It's the classic mutually symbiotic relationship.
The Pistons make Drummond shine because he's at the center of what they do on both ends of the court, but his presence also makes Detroit able to employ the four-out, one-in system Van Gundy has loved for years. Neither would be as successful without the other.
Drummond hasn't made an All-Star team up to this point in his promising career, but that seems likely to change before he puts ink to paper in the hottest months of next year.
Meyers Leonard
8 of 9
Team: Portland Trail Blazers
Position: PF/C
Age: 23
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 5.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.2 steals, 0.3 blocks, 14.8 PER
2015-16 Per-Game Stats: 6.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.8 blocks, 4.7 PER
Though Meyers Leonard has struggled during the opening portion of the Portland Trail Blazers' schedule, it's far too soon to give up on the idea that he's going to break out in a big way. After all, we're not only working with a small sample, but also looking at a player who's been playing through numbness in his left hand.
And despite the struggles, the big man remains confident, as he told Mike Richman of the Oregonian:
"I know I can shoot the ball. That's just the way it is and I'm confident in that. Like I said earlier, it's strange to me that, especially over a three game period, that I haven't made many shots. That's an adjustment. But I have to know that I can be effective in other ways and while the shots aren't falling. I have to continue to play hard, be a factor on defense and rebounding and just move forward.
"
The shooting stroke will come around in time. It has to for a player who was on pace to join the ultra-exclusive 50/40/90 club but didn't have quite enough attempts to truly qualify. And if that's not enough evidence, how about him excelling come playoff time and drilling 10 of his 13 long-range bombs?
But even as Leonard has drawn more iron than net in 2015-16, he's made positive contributions in other areas. He's taken noticeable strides as a distributor—particularly when passing out of the post—and NBA.com's SportVU data shows that he's still deterring opponents from shooting any better than 41.2 percent at the rim while facing 4.3 shots per game.
Despite the crowded nature of Portland's frontcourt and the presence of other high-upside prospects, Leonard will continue to receive big minutes as he works through the shooting woes.
And work through them he will.
Hassan Whiteside
9 of 9
Team: Miami Heat
Position: C
Age: 26
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 11.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 0.1 assists, 0.6 steals, 2.6 blocks, 26.2 PER
2015-16 Per-Game Stats: 13.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 3.3 blocks, 23.5 PER
Hassan Whiteside still needs to prove he can remain both level-headed and healthy for a significant portion of an NBA season. But as soon as he does so, there's no doubt he's going to be awaiting a massive paycheck.
Few centers are as physically talented as this 26-year-old, and Whiteside routinely puts those tools to good use. He's already a dominant presence on the boards with a developing offensive repertoire. And though his rotations can still be on the slower side, he knows how to protect the rim and seems to genuinely enjoy stuffing opponents as frequently as possible.
During the early portion of his professional career, Whiteside struggled to find a home. He bounced between the Sacramento Kings and the D-League's Reno Bighorns for a while, played across the pond and was waived by both the Kings and Memphis Grizzlies before Pat Riley snatched him up.
Since then, South Beach has treated this big man well, and he, in turn, has done wonders for the upside of the Miami Heat.
You're looking at a bona fide building block here, which seems crazy to say about a player who underwent such recent trials and tribulations while trying to carve out a permanent—or even semipermanent—role in the world's best basketball league.
All stats, unless otherwise indicated, come from Basketball-Reference.com and are current heading into Nov. 3's games.
Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @fromal09.
