In order for basketball players to survive in a competitive environment, they must be able to adapt. Some adaptations are subtler, while others are overt overhauls, but they all serve to better the individual player and more importantly the team. DeMarcus Cousins has become a more willing passer and a poised leader. Tyreke Evans and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist have both made tremendous improvements to their shot. P.J. Tucker had to develop a knockdown corner 3-pointer and work his butt off playing all around the world before returning to the NBA years later and emerging as a potential reincarnation of Bruce Bowen. Austin Rivers had to become more well rounded, reel himself in on the offensive end and drastically improve on defense in order to prosper with the Pelicans.
At 6-8 Thaddeus Young had to slide to the power forward position and figure out how to use his quickness, strength and craftiness to make a living against NBA-sized power forwards once he entered the NBA—while continuing to improve his outside game despite Doug Collins’ insistence otherwise. Avery Bradley and Arron Afflalo entered the league as shooting guards with great defensive ability and have vastly improved their 3-point shooting, turning a weakness into a strength. Their teammates Jared Sullinger and Darrell Arthur are both trying to add a reliable 3-pointer to their respective arsenals, and it probably won’t be long before Anthony Davis is sinking treys as well. Though we haven’t been able to enjoy George Hill’s game yet this season, he will be looking to prove he is capable of taking on more ball-handling and playmaking duties when he returns. In the East it’s still possible that once David West and Hill come back, Indiana will be a playoff team. Pacers teammate Chris Copeland has not been shy about letting it fly now that he’s been moved to small forward, with mixed but still promising results.
And then there’s the complete and total morphing of a players game, which is much more rare. Perhaps the player whose game has evolved the most since he entered the league is Channing Frye. During Frye’s first four NBA seasons (278 games, 20 minutes per game) playing for the Knicks and the Blazers, he attempted only 70 3-pointers, making 20 of them. However, when he joined Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns in 2009-10, that changed rather quickly. During his first year with Phoenix, his 3-point attempts skyrocketed to 4.8 per game on 43.9 percent. It only took Frye about a month in Phoenix to launch and make more 3-pointers with the Suns than he had in his entire NBA career.
Since that year Frye has connected on 39.2 percent (623-1590) of his 3-point attempts, and after making a smooth return to action 2013-14 after missing 2012-13 with a heart condition, he got paid to the tune of four-years, $32 million this past summer. He came into the league shooting lots of twos and very few threes, but realized that he had a better chance of surviving in the NBA as a stretch-four, and is now an extremely valued veteran who rarely shoots a 2-pointer on an up and coming Orlando Magic team. Though Tobias Harris is only shooting 2.5 3-pointers per game, he has been shooting 40.0 percent from downtown during 2014-15, and his ability to keep his defenders honest is helping him evolve into a more complete wing player. With Nikola Vucevic and Victor Oladipo also likely to continue evolving, Orlando should be one of the more exciting teams to follow for League Pass lovers in 2014-15, thanks in no small part to Frye.
Stats are from BasketballReference.com
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