The premium on shooting in the NBA has quietly become a bigger story over the past decade or so, but it reached a point at which it was no longer possible to ignore during this summer's free-agency period.
For posterity, we'll call that point "The Jodie Meeks Watershed."
The Detroit Pistons agreed to pay Meeks $18.8 million on a three-year contract at the outset of the July free-agency period, an eye-opening deal for a player who had collected just $5.3 million in his first five NBA seasons combined.
Meeks, career 37.6 three-point percentage and all, couldn't be worth that much. Could he?
Per Grantland's Zach Lowe, Meeks' perimeter prowess is part of an all-around package that isn't so pretty: "That shooting unfortunately comes with stark limitations, especially on defense. Meeks is undersized against just about every wing player, and he doesn’t have the versatility to defend small forwards in a pinch. He is chronically vulnerable to back-cuts."
Apprised of his warts and in desperate need of spacing, Stan Van Gundy's Pistons went for it anyway.
Sure, Detroit neede ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Grant Hughes
2014 NBA Free Agency Proves Shooting Is King
July 29th, 2014 by Grant Hughes Leave a reply »
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