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http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?co...nger_john&id=2317689
Three new Cavs add up to one big train wreck
By John Hollinger
ESPN Insider
Archive
They say good things come in small packages. But bad things can come in packages too, and not necessarily small ones.
For further proof, just take a look at this year's most disappointing players. As luck would have it, each has been packaged by fate with an equally disappointing partner, either by playing with him, being traded for him or being replaced by him.
Having already gone over my candidates for most improved, it's only fitting that I also present the list of candidates for the year's "least improved" -- those who dropped off last year's "most" list. Since the league won't be presenting an award in this category, I have my own name for it -- the All-Train Wreck team.
Before I present the list, note that I left off a few people whose problems seem more related to injuries than ineffectiveness – Peja Stojakovic, Tim Duncan, Quentin Richardson, Jamaal Tinsley and Jason Collins, for instance, don't appear on the list below.
And of course, you'll notice the members of the All-Train Wreck come in packages. For instance:
Larry Hughes and Antonio Daniels. Washington thought it had a replacement for the departed Hughes when it signed Daniels, but he's been arguably the most disappointing player in the entire league. The steady scoring off the bench that Daniels provided in Seattle instead turned into a stream of bricks this year. He's shooting a career-worst 37.5 percent from the floor, and his once passable 3-point shot is now hitting at ghastly 17.0 percent clip. In nearly the same minutes, his scoring average dropped from 11.2 to 6.9.
Here's the punch line -- it turns out the Wizards were screwed either way. Using their full midlevel exception on an unproductive Daniels was bad, but dropping $60 million to keep Hughes might have been worse. After a breakout 2004-05, Hughes struggled to mesh with LeBron James in Cleveland's backcourt. He somehow found a way to take nearly five fewer shots a game but still make more turnovers, and his league-leading steal total of a year ago has been cut nearly in half. Making matters worse, Hughes suffered his annual 20-game injury and is back on the injured -- 'scuse me, inactive -- list.
PER: "All-Train Wreck" Team
PLAYER 2004-05 PER 2005-06 PER DIFFERENCE
Antonio Daniels 18.08 10.86 7.22
Desmond Mason 14.72 7.55 7.17
Larry Hughes 21.63 14.56 7.07
Damon Jones 15.57 9.17 6.40
Donyell Marshall 19.92 14.13 5.79
Devin Brown 14.57 10.72 3.85
Michael Finley 14.34 10.50 3.84
Brent Barry 14.01 11.00 3.01
Jamaal Magloire 12.80 11.76 1.04
Desmond Mason and Jamaal Magloire. Is it possible for both teams to get the worst of a deal? Both Mason and Magloire have become significantly worse in their new homes, leaving execs in Milwaukee and Oklahoma City scrambling to hit the Ctrl-Z buttons.
Let's start with Mason, my choice for the worst offensive player in the league who still gets plays run for him. He's hitting a career-worst 37.8 percent with his weird, hands-way-out-in-front-of-the-body shooting motion, and finding time to commit nearly two turnovers a game on the side. He suddenly forgot how to pass, too, registering 0.9 assists per game.
As for the Bucks, Magloire was supposed to rebound from an injury-plagued 2004-05 campaign and solidify the Bucks' soft interior. Guess not. Milwaukee remains a poor defensive team even with the Big Cat, and his numbers have never approached those of his All-Star season in 2003-04. It's hard to know what's more puzzling -- how a guy who shot better than 70 percent from the line three years in a row can be mired at 54.3 percent this year, or how a guy who never gets the ball can still make 2.4 turnovers per game.
Michael Finley, Brent Barry and Devin Brown. San Antonio's wingmen (current and former) aren't looking nearly as mighty as they did a year ago. En route to the Spurs' championship, Barry and Brown played important roles off the bench with their shooting and ball handling. That hasn't been the case this year. Barry's normally reliable shot has deserted him -- for a guy who might be the best standstill shooter of the past decade, 34.7 percent on 3-pointers is unacceptable.
Meanwhile, Brown left as a free agent for Utah but forgot to take his game with him. The 6-foot-5 swingman is shooting a career-low 39.8 percent and has nearly doubled his turnovers from a year ago in similar minutes. It's been so bad that he was passed over for a start this week in favor of Milt Palacio.
Then again, his replacement hasn't done any better. Michael Finley was supposed to energize San Antonio's second unit with his offensive skills, but instead has looked very old. He's averaging a modest 9.4 points despite plenty of minutes (27.4 a game) and, like many players on this list, is shooting a career low at 38.3 percent.
Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall. It's kind of amazing to see the Cavs at 27-18 when you look at what a disaster their free agents have been. I mentioned Hughes above, but after the Cavs nabbed him, they turned their attention to Jones and Marshall, both of whom have been tremendous disappointments.
Jones, the self-proclaimed best shooter in the world, has disguised that fact exceptionally well this year. He's hitting only 36.9 percent overall and 35.7 percent on his trademark 3-point shots, both of which are huge declines from his breakout year in Miami in 2004-05. He's also annoying fans with his bragging and strutting, stuff that plays much better with the locals when the shots are falling. Since he's a sieve on defense and doesn't create shots for others, he needs to start finding the range.
At least Marshall has still been an effective player, but he's not nearly the weapon he was a year ago in Toronto. Marshall shot over 40 percent on 3-pointers for three straight seasons, but the trip across the border has devalued him to a mere 31.9 percent in Cleveland. With LeBron James providing him with plenty of open looks from his favored spot in the corner, that figure needs to improve.
John Hollinger writes for ESPN Insider. His book "Pro Basketball Forecast: 2005-06" is available at Amazon.com and Potomac Books. To e-mail him, click here.
Three new Cavs add up to one big train wreck
By John Hollinger
ESPN Insider
Archive
They say good things come in small packages. But bad things can come in packages too, and not necessarily small ones.
For further proof, just take a look at this year's most disappointing players. As luck would have it, each has been packaged by fate with an equally disappointing partner, either by playing with him, being traded for him or being replaced by him.
Having already gone over my candidates for most improved, it's only fitting that I also present the list of candidates for the year's "least improved" -- those who dropped off last year's "most" list. Since the league won't be presenting an award in this category, I have my own name for it -- the All-Train Wreck team.
Before I present the list, note that I left off a few people whose problems seem more related to injuries than ineffectiveness – Peja Stojakovic, Tim Duncan, Quentin Richardson, Jamaal Tinsley and Jason Collins, for instance, don't appear on the list below.
And of course, you'll notice the members of the All-Train Wreck come in packages. For instance:
Larry Hughes and Antonio Daniels. Washington thought it had a replacement for the departed Hughes when it signed Daniels, but he's been arguably the most disappointing player in the entire league. The steady scoring off the bench that Daniels provided in Seattle instead turned into a stream of bricks this year. He's shooting a career-worst 37.5 percent from the floor, and his once passable 3-point shot is now hitting at ghastly 17.0 percent clip. In nearly the same minutes, his scoring average dropped from 11.2 to 6.9.
Here's the punch line -- it turns out the Wizards were screwed either way. Using their full midlevel exception on an unproductive Daniels was bad, but dropping $60 million to keep Hughes might have been worse. After a breakout 2004-05, Hughes struggled to mesh with LeBron James in Cleveland's backcourt. He somehow found a way to take nearly five fewer shots a game but still make more turnovers, and his league-leading steal total of a year ago has been cut nearly in half. Making matters worse, Hughes suffered his annual 20-game injury and is back on the injured -- 'scuse me, inactive -- list.
PER: "All-Train Wreck" Team
PLAYER 2004-05 PER 2005-06 PER DIFFERENCE
Antonio Daniels 18.08 10.86 7.22
Desmond Mason 14.72 7.55 7.17
Larry Hughes 21.63 14.56 7.07
Damon Jones 15.57 9.17 6.40
Donyell Marshall 19.92 14.13 5.79
Devin Brown 14.57 10.72 3.85
Michael Finley 14.34 10.50 3.84
Brent Barry 14.01 11.00 3.01
Jamaal Magloire 12.80 11.76 1.04
Desmond Mason and Jamaal Magloire. Is it possible for both teams to get the worst of a deal? Both Mason and Magloire have become significantly worse in their new homes, leaving execs in Milwaukee and Oklahoma City scrambling to hit the Ctrl-Z buttons.
Let's start with Mason, my choice for the worst offensive player in the league who still gets plays run for him. He's hitting a career-worst 37.8 percent with his weird, hands-way-out-in-front-of-the-body shooting motion, and finding time to commit nearly two turnovers a game on the side. He suddenly forgot how to pass, too, registering 0.9 assists per game.
As for the Bucks, Magloire was supposed to rebound from an injury-plagued 2004-05 campaign and solidify the Bucks' soft interior. Guess not. Milwaukee remains a poor defensive team even with the Big Cat, and his numbers have never approached those of his All-Star season in 2003-04. It's hard to know what's more puzzling -- how a guy who shot better than 70 percent from the line three years in a row can be mired at 54.3 percent this year, or how a guy who never gets the ball can still make 2.4 turnovers per game.
Michael Finley, Brent Barry and Devin Brown. San Antonio's wingmen (current and former) aren't looking nearly as mighty as they did a year ago. En route to the Spurs' championship, Barry and Brown played important roles off the bench with their shooting and ball handling. That hasn't been the case this year. Barry's normally reliable shot has deserted him -- for a guy who might be the best standstill shooter of the past decade, 34.7 percent on 3-pointers is unacceptable.
Meanwhile, Brown left as a free agent for Utah but forgot to take his game with him. The 6-foot-5 swingman is shooting a career-low 39.8 percent and has nearly doubled his turnovers from a year ago in similar minutes. It's been so bad that he was passed over for a start this week in favor of Milt Palacio.
Then again, his replacement hasn't done any better. Michael Finley was supposed to energize San Antonio's second unit with his offensive skills, but instead has looked very old. He's averaging a modest 9.4 points despite plenty of minutes (27.4 a game) and, like many players on this list, is shooting a career low at 38.3 percent.
Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall. It's kind of amazing to see the Cavs at 27-18 when you look at what a disaster their free agents have been. I mentioned Hughes above, but after the Cavs nabbed him, they turned their attention to Jones and Marshall, both of whom have been tremendous disappointments.
Jones, the self-proclaimed best shooter in the world, has disguised that fact exceptionally well this year. He's hitting only 36.9 percent overall and 35.7 percent on his trademark 3-point shots, both of which are huge declines from his breakout year in Miami in 2004-05. He's also annoying fans with his bragging and strutting, stuff that plays much better with the locals when the shots are falling. Since he's a sieve on defense and doesn't create shots for others, he needs to start finding the range.
At least Marshall has still been an effective player, but he's not nearly the weapon he was a year ago in Toronto. Marshall shot over 40 percent on 3-pointers for three straight seasons, but the trip across the border has devalued him to a mere 31.9 percent in Cleveland. With LeBron James providing him with plenty of open looks from his favored spot in the corner, that figure needs to improve.
John Hollinger writes for ESPN Insider. His book "Pro Basketball Forecast: 2005-06" is available at Amazon.com and Potomac Books. To e-mail him, click here.
