Darren Collison, Marcin Gortat: What To Do with Young Studs behind Veterans?

What happens when you have a stud player with a young stud backup? 

That question will be addressed this offseason most likely, when young players saddled into backup roles demand trades to receive more playing time.  This article will look at a few examples of this situation and discuss possible new homes for the mentioned players.

We'll begin by taking a look at Darren Collison, pictured here.

Chris Paul is the face of the Hornets, averaging 20-plus points and 10-plus assists every year, but behind Paul we've come to see a very effective young stud from UCLA. 

Since Paul went down with his knee injury, Collison has put up All-Star numbers himself, averaging 18.3 ppg, 9.6 apg, and adding a steal and four boards.  Clearly, he is too good to be backing up a player like Paul, where Collison will only see a max of 10 minutes a night. 

Where could Collison go?  As a self-admitted Magic homer, I would love to see the Magic dump Jameer Nelson and go after Collison, but Magic GM Otis Smith is deeply committed to Jameer—for unknown reasons.  The Knicks are absolutely dying to replace Duhon, and Collison's up-tempo game and great passing ability would be a match made in heaven under D'Antoni's high octane offense. 

The Pacers are without a clear-cut leader, too.  While AJ Price and Watson are reliable and trusty point guards, they are not as explosive or promising as Collison.  The Heat also have no serious long-term answer at point guard.  With Chalmers struggling and veteran Rafer Alston currently managing the duties, the Heat could use a young potential All-Star to take some of the playmaking pressures off of Dwyane Wade. 

Also, if Kevin Martin is traded, as many expect, Sacramento could push likely Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans to shooting guard and start Collison.  So, I would have to think the best possible locations for Collison are New York, Indiana, Miami, and Sacramento. 

Whether this actually happens is a matter of debate, but he would be a perfect fit in New York, and indeed a welcome addition to all four teams.

Next, we'll look at Magic backup center Marcin Gortat. 

Signed to an offer sheet by the Dallas Mavericks this summer, Gortat appeared to be headed to an ideal situation to start at center and play alongside Jason Kidd.  Unfortunately, for Gortat, he was "disappointed" when the Magic chose to match that offer and retain the young Polish center. 

Last year, averaging a mere 12 minutes a game, Gortat averaged 3.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 0.8 bpg.  Translating that to per-36 minute averages, Gortat was at 11.4 ppg, 13.5 rpg, and 2.4 bpg. 

I have to believe that given a starting role and receiving about 36 minutes a game that Gortat would put up those type of numbers.  "The Polish Hammer," as he is affectionately dubbed, is extremely fast running the court and has above average hops and a decent short-range jump shot.  His help side defense is great, too, frequently covering the blunders of poor perimeter defenders. 

Possible homes for Gortat?  Philadelphia is looking to shed Dalembert's contract and go elsewhere, so that is a possibility.  Detroit is going to have to replace 35-year-old Ben Wallace soon, if not after this season, and Gortat would be a much better option than Kwame Brown or Chris Wilcox. 

Charlotte could certainly benefit from Gortat, too, with Nazr Mohammed currently receiving the lion's share of the minutes and Chandler's health ever in question.  Dallas obviously would be interested or they would never have thrown their full MLE at Gortat last summer. 

While Oklahoma City took two young centers in the draft last year (Ibaka and BJ Mullins), neither is as polished or as promising as Gortat.  Portland might shovel some of their depth off for Gortat since they are currently stuck with Juwan Howard.  And one would have to think Sacramento might be interested too, with Byrant Reeves' reincarnation Jon Brockman currently starting at center. 

So we can easily say there are six teams that desperately need a better center.  The problem with trading Gortat this season, however, is only half his salary counts towards a trade.  So while he is definitely a nice trade chip for the Magic, they will likely wait until after this season passes before making a move.

Our third player to consider is more of a foregone conclusion to actually start for his current team, but Paul Millsap is definitely one of the best subs in the game.  Utah is expected to part ways with Carlos Boozer this summer, letting him walk as a free agent, which will pave the path for Millsap to start. 

During the six games that Boozer was unavailable, Millsap averaged 19.3 ppg (including a 32-point outburst against Sacramento—further proving that Brockman is not an adequate center and Gortat would be a perfect fit), 1.6 bpg, and 10 rpg.  Millsap, while not likely to be traded, is still a great example of a player stuck behind a stud.

While there are certainly other examples of great bench players stuck behind established starters, these are probably the most prime examples of it in the NBA.  Look for Collison and Gortat to demand trades eventually and for Millsap to assume Boozer's starting role after this season.