Grantland’s Zach Lowe has a comprehensive breakdown of Lance Stephenson’s game and potential suitors in free agency. It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Stephenson’s potential and moxy.
Lowe lists Charlotte, Detroit and Indiana as the best possibilities to sign Stephenson. The Nuggets and Pelicans are also in the mix. It’s believed he’ll get offers approaching $10 million on the market.
What about the Celtics? I asked Lowe on Twitter:
@RedsArmy_Chuck don’t have the cap room as things stand now, focused on other stuff. Could have mentioned, though.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) June 10, 2014
@RedsArmy_Chuck I don’t think a lot scares Danny, but I also don’t think they are interested in Lance
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) June 10, 2014
I’m willing to forget about Stephenson if the “other stuff” is Kevin Love.
Character and maturity are the big variables for teams interested in Stephenson. If you are willing to look past all that stuff, Stephenson’s game isn’t exactly flawless. I was frightened by Lowe’s analysis. Some snippets:
- He drove the ball to the rim only about 4.2 times per game
- He’s a good 3-point shooter, but not a great one, and certainly not one other teams fear when he’s away from the ball.
- Watch the tape, and his pick-and-rolls appear to have a go-nowhere quality
- All that fancy stuff resulted in a heap of ugly turnovers
- He doesn’t have a reliable midrange jumper to shoot over those big guys
- His assists in the half court are mostly unspectacular
- He zooms in without a plan, which means a lot of ugly jump passes and desperate wraparounds in the tight area underneath the basket
$10 million per year for that? To be fair, Lowe did praise Stephenson for his creativity, passing and defense.
The consensus among fans who tweeted at me this morning is that Stephenson doesn’t fit with Rajon Rondo and the Celtics need more of a pure shooter to compliment their point guard. I think they’re right.
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