"We've got to make DeSagana better. He has a lot of work to do because, quite honestly, you can't trade his contract."
-Larry Brown at a post-season press conference - from Rick Bonnell's blog Inside the NBA.
$6M+ this year for DeSagana Diop - and $6.4M+ next season - and $6.9M+ in 11-12 - and then a player option for $7.3M+ when his contract finally runs out in 2013 (huge thanks to ShamSports for the numbers - a great source for NBA salary information). Diop played just over 260 minutes for the Bobcats this season, with none coming after February 16th. I will not do the standard critical note of calculating dollars per minute (or point scored) - but at the same time, a review of Diop has to start here, with his contract because there is not getting around that the Bobcats did not get their money's worth out of the investment this season. With 3 years and over $20M remaining, the Bobcats need more from Diop going forward.
One reason for optimism regarding DeSagana? Nazr Mohammed. In 2008-09, it was Nazr Mohammed who languished on the bench for Larry Brown - collecting a big paycheck for being a big bench-warmer. While injuries slowed him late this season, Nazr was a key part in the Bobcats mid-season success, manning the middle while Tyson Chandler was out with an injury. If Nazr can regain Brown's trust (I know LB may be gone - but the issue will be the same no matter the coach), why can't Diop? On a team where the focus is on strong defense and whatever it takes offense - there is a role for the defensive minded big man.
And when I say defensive minded, I have little option even if his defensive prowess slipped some due to atrophy of his abilities while on the bench. Diop's offense has never been good or even average - but he set a new personal low this season - 4.4 points per 36 minutes (thanks Basketball-Reference.com). DeSagana Diop was the least prolific scorer in the NBA this season of players who played at least 200 minutes, narrowly edging Dominic McGuire 4.4 to 4.45 points per 36 minutes. Diop did at least recognize his shortcomings at the end, and tended to play hot-potato with the ball if he did receive it. DeSagana had a respectable field goal percentage of 51.7% - but a couple of other numbers negate that: 22.2% and 24%. One of those is his free throw percentage and the other his turnover rate. Yes, Diop had a higher turnover rate than rate at which he converted on free throw attempts. Yes, that made him a severe liability on offense, leading to incredibly low minutes total for the season. Can it be rectified is the question going forward?
The answer probably - but not to even an average level of production. For his career, those numbers are closer to 47% and 20% (again, Basketball-reference.com) - which do at least make it so that Diop can be on the court, just not at the end of a close game. With Dell Curry providing a bit of coaching, Tyson Chandler improved to 73% on free throws this season compared to about 60% for his career. Diop - time to sign up for class. Oh, and as for turnovers - like the other Bobcats big men, a chunk of those were illegal screens - some coming from the big man moving or using his arms and then a few more coming from impatient guards not waiting for the screen to be set. That should be an area of focus for all next season, as it was infuriating to see the Bobcats called for moving screens game after game.
And that is about all I have on my mind for Diop - he has the size and ability to provide some competent post defense for short stretches. Nothing more - he is going to be 29 next season, and is not going to develop into a post threat this late in his career. If Diop will take on Nazr's attitude from last off-season and come into camp in great shape, it will go a long ways towards gaining some trust in his dedication and desire to earning his remaining contract money. Making half of his free throws would be the other step in getting back on the court.
Click here to comment/view comments for this post.
