NBA Lockout: 12 NBA Players Whose Skills Will Erode with a Season off

The cancellation of the entire NBA season would be hard on many players from a financial standpoint. Many of the players face issues that are physical. Due to their age and or years in the league, sitting out a whole season could have drastic ramifications on their careers.

A player who is 35 and/or has logged 14 years or more in the league is primarily affected. The layoff may be too much to continue or, at least, come back at the same level.

Here are 12 players whose skills would erode most with an entire season off.

Ray Allen

Allen keeps himself in magnificent shape, but 37 is 37. That is how old he'll be when the next season starts, if this one is lost.

He'd be a free agent and a likely free-agent target for a team looking for a veteran presence who can hopefully still stroke the trey with regularity.

You have to imagine there would be some noticeable falloff at that point. However, people always say the jump shot is the last to go.

Kevin Garnett

KG's skills have already started to erode. He has attempted to compensate for that with bully tactics and bravado, but the truth is, as he said in his last days in Minnesota, "clock is ticking."

Garnett, like Allen, will be a free agent. A veteran big man with presence and defensive prowess will still get plenty of looks, even if he's a pissy old version of himself.

Antawn Jamison

It really doesn't seem like Jamison is 35, but he is. You have to wonder how motivated a guy who makes $15 million dollars per year is going to be to play for the Cavaliers.

He can't be considered a major target for a contender at this point, so where is his motivation?

Without that, a player can lose his edge.

Jason Kidd

Kidd is the definition of a true baller. He loves the game and his passion for it is evident. I have tons of respect for him, as he has evolved his game. He is a completely different type of player today than he was 10 years ago.

He has made himself a deadly set shooter, but his quickness has left him, as his defensive prowess has followed suit.

He will be a free agent if the season is lost and the only place I can see him playing is Dallas, but what guy would they be getting? All bets are off on 39-year-old point guards—even Jason Kidd.

Ben Wallace

Wallace has never been the same since he left the Pistons the first time. His explosion and quickness is all but gone. After a potential season off, Wallace could possibly walk away all together.

I don't think he wants to play anywhere but Detroit, but the Pistons aren't likely to bring back a 39-year-old Wallace.

Derek Fisher

Many of us may have forgotten Derek Fisher is actually a basketball player. Though, I'm not sure how much more skill he has left to erode.

At 37, Fish is certainly at the end of his playing rope. He has made an excellent account of himself as the Player's Union president—maybe a position like that should be his next step.

I don't even think Kobe Bryant will be able to talk the Lakers' brass into bringing him back.

Chauncey Billups

CB4 is 35 years old and injuries are starting to weigh on him heavily. He has never been an explosive athlete. Losing a whole year means the little step he used to use to get his man in the air, he won't get anymore.

Billups will be a free agent and it seems like he'll probably retire as he has so many other options he can pursue.

Vince Carter

What little bit Vince Carter has left is likely to be all but gone if this season is toast. Carter is an old 34, primarily because he hasn't played with a ton of desire for about seven years now.

A year off for a wealthy athlete with questionable desire is probably not the formula for sustained effectiveness.

Steve Nash

That is Steve Nash yelling for defensive rotation after his man has beaten him off the dribble again. Seriously, Nash is one of the worst defensive players I've seen in over 30 years of basketball.

At 37, the excellence of his game is declining, and so is the already terrible defense. Would Mike D'Antoni even take a 38-year-old Nash in New York?

Grant Hill

Grant Hill is the man, but he is an old man, He is 39 years old, losing this season—as a free agent—would be a hard hand to play.

He could have easily hung up the sneakers a long time ago with a serious ankle injury. He obviously hasn't been playing for the money. His wife is Tamia, he is from a well-to-do family.

He loves basketball, that is apparent, and that is why he's playing; but this lockout doesn't love him or anybody else.

Manu Ginobili

Manu is 34 years old now and his reckless slashing style has kept him injured and now he has lost a step. He is still a capable player, but he will certainly have more falloff with a missed season.

His free-agent exit will be just one part of the reconstruction of the San Antonio Spurs

Tim Duncan

The greatest PF who ever lived may have played his last game ever. If the season is truly lost, he is a free agent and may retire.

Greg Poppovich, his beloved coach, is also at the end of his contract. He and Duncan's careers are so tied together, it is very plausible that they might leave together.

Even if he does come back, Duncan is a shell of himself. It is understandable—he's 35 years old, and because of his enormous success, he has played 44725 minutes.

One of the worst things that could come from losing the season is the fact that one of the game's true greats could retire so quietly, without the respect he deserves.