As we all know, competitive sports strength is king, and it is also true in the NBA where all kinds of masters gather, and the perfect youth training system, step-by-step talent training, and open-ended reinforcement policies have become the fundamental reasons for the continuous expansion of the NBA's influence. The steady influx of talent has led to a high elimination rate in the league, stagnation, blind confidence or mis-selection of teams, and the final result is to be eliminated by the league.
7. Reggie Jackson (Clippers)
Last season stats: 16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, shooting 39.2% from the field and 32.6% from three-point range.
In the 2011 draft, Reggie Jackson was selected by the sharp-eyed Thunder with the 24th pick in the first round, and the rookie season coincided with the Thunder's three-underbursted period, under the talent aura of Westbrook and Harden, Reggie, who averaged 18.6 points per game in the third season, did not get many opportunities to perform. In the 12-13 season, with Harden traveling to the Houston Rockets, the three youngsters became twin stars, and Reggie Jackson took the opportunity to become famous in the playoffs against the Grizzlies, averaging 13.9 points and 3.6 assists per game.
In the following season and a half, Reggie Jackson's ambitions grew, repeatedly confronting the Thunder Twins on the court, and the team management traded him to the Pistons in 2015 in order to stabilize the mood in the team. At the end of the 15-16 season, Reggie Jackson played 27 games for the Pistons, averaging 17.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game, and the highlight performance allowed him to win a five-year, $80 million contract extension as he wished, and became the backcourt leader of the weak eastern team.
When a player with an immature mind has enough rights, the nature slowly begins to show, in the Detroit Pistons four and a half seasons, Reggie due to the coach's tactical preference, led to him has been the boss of the boss, reprimanding teammates on the court, dissatisfied with the coach's tactical arrangements, creating contradictions in the dressing room, in the eyes of teammates and management, becoming a "thorn boy", the intolerable Pistons chose to cut him in early 2020.
Reggie Jackson's fiery temper made him disliked by many teams, and for the first time in his career, he experienced the feeling of falling to the bottom, and after a long wait, the Clippers, who were short of point guards, gave him a chance.
Last season, the Clippers suffered a major injury, Leonard was reimbursed for the season, George only played 31 games, at this time it was Reggie Jackson who stepped forward, carrying the heavy responsibility of the offensive end on his shoulders, although the shooting percentage was not impressive, but the key moments dared to take responsibility and refuse to escape is worthy of the respect of fans, not to mention his annual salary is only $10.38 million.
6. Kevin Love (Cavalier)
Last season stats: 13.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 43% shooting, 39.2% three-point shooting
In the summer of 2014, James decided to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the team management used the genius Wiggins as a chip to quickly assemble the championship lineup, and won the space center Love at the Timberwolves, who averaged 26.1 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game in the 13-14 season. The following four seasons, the Cavaliers and Cavaliers dominated their respective divisions, and the two teams met in the Finals for four consecutive years, with the Cavaliers scoring a record of 1 win and 3 losses.
In the 2018 offseason, James chose to join the Lakers, and the riding battle officially came to an end, this summer the Cavaliers offered a four-year $120 million maximum salary extension contract for Love, and then the team entered the reconstruction period. For Luck, who had passed the age and had no leadership qualities, was not a core player in the team's rebuild, and the idea of leaving the team became stronger.
But the Cavaliers didn't want to buy out his top salary contract, and Love began to protest to the team with action.
Just when fans and the media are looking down on the future of Lefour, last season Garland's sudden rise, rookie Mobley showed talent, cavaliers were all soldiers, the team's record rushed into the top eight in the East, at this time Lefu let go of the obsession of leaving the team, corrected his attitude, and set a good example for this group of talented youngsters by example.
In order to make the team more resilient, Love gave up the starting position, defined himself as the sixth person on the team, and played well on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, in the best sixth man of the season, Luck scored a total of 214 points to rank second, and the Heat young Hero scored 488 points to successfully elect.
For the 33-year-old Love, the poor defense doomed him to hardly get a high salary, and staying with the Cavaliers next season can both have the status of the team and help the team move forward, and his own value has a place. For the Cavaliers, because the team is in the benefit period of Garland and Mobley rookie contracts, it can eat the annual salary of $28.94 million next season, leaving the veteran to both enrich the team's tactics and provide experience guidance for this group of young players.
5. PJ Tucker (76 persons)
Last season stats: 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 48.4% shooting, 41.5% three-point shooting
At the beginning of 2021, Harden applied to the Rockets management for a trade to join the Brooklyn Nets, the team instantly changed from a championship team to a weak team in the West, and the team began to use new people in order to rebuild as soon as possible, at this time, the 36-year-old Tucker was beaten into the "cold palace", and the playing time plummeted to less than 20 minutes. At this time, the Bucks, who are determined to win the championship, threw an olive branch to the iron-blooded tough guy, aiming to use him in the playoffs to defend against Front players such as Durant, Butler, and Tatum.
Coming to the well-formed Bucks, Tucker did not have any tactical position in the regular season, the average data per game slipped to 2.6 points and 2.8 rebounds, and there was no sense of presence at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, at this time, most of the media thought that this would be the last season of Tucker's career, and it would be difficult to sign a team after the contract expired.
But the value of the veteran is often reflected in the playoffs, in the Series when the Bucks swept the Heat, Tucker teamed up with Alphabet Brother to limit Butler's average score to 14.5 points per game, and the second round against the Nets exhausted Durant's physical strength, not only prolonging Tucker's career, but also allowing him to get the Heat a two-year, $15 million contract.
In this year's playoffs, Tucker personally contributed 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, shooting 45.1% from three points, helping the Miami Heat to reach the Eastern Conference Finals, if it were not for Hiro and Lowry playing too badly, standing on the Finals stage would be the Heat.
In recognition of Tucker's strength, 76 offered him a three-year, $33.2 million contract, the last year of which was a player option, and at the age of 40, he could still get an annual salary of more than $10 million, which is also a handful of people in the entire league. From the Rockets and Bucks being snubbed to the twilight of being signed by a strong team with a high salary, Tucker conquered the fans with his usual professionalism and tough guy behavior, and the strength interpreted "veterans are not, death will only gradually wither away".
4. Portis (Bucks)
Last season stats: 14.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists, shooting 47.9% from the field and 39.3% from three-point range
It can be said that it is the most perfect space-type blue-collar number four in the small ball era. It is this player with perfect paper statistics, but he is not welcomed by any team before 2020, the temper that explodes at one point, the maker of locker room contradictions is the label of the early days of his career, and fighting with teammates is his classic masterpiece.
In the summer of 2017, in the Bulls' pre-season training camp, Mirotic launched an aggressive action against Portis, the two sides rose from mutual garbage to physical collision, and the irrational Portis punched Miroti to the ground, who was diagnosed with a fractured maxilla and concussion, and the bad fight was instantly boiling, the Bulls management banned Portis for eight games as a punishment, and the two sides of the fight also left the team in a season.
At the beginning of 2019, Portis was traded to the Wizards, and was signed by the Knicks at the end of the season, although he could contribute 11+6 data per game steadily, but his strange personality and frequent conflicts with his teammates still left him unattended in the free market in 2020. At this time, the thirsty Bucks gave Portis a $3.62 million basic salary contract, and in this small town with a population of less than 700,000, the "thorn-headed teenager" found a long-lost respect, and the tolerance of his teammates made him warm again.
After helping the Bucks win the championship, Portis chose to take the initiative to cut salaries in order to reduce the team's luxury tax expenditure, and accepted a two-year, $9 million contract extension. This summer, the Bucks stopped in the Eastern Conference semifinals due to Middleton's injury, Portis averaged 10.6 points and 10 rebounds per game, and after the free market opened, the Bucks gave him a four-year $48.58 million contract extension, a cost-effective signing full of respect for each other.
3. Anthony (not yet signed)
Last season stats: 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1 assist, shooting 44.1% from the field and 37.5% from three-point range.
In the summer of 2018, Anthony was traded by the Thunder to the Hawks, and ten days later the Hawks reached a buyout agreement with Anthony, and the 25.53 million annual salary was paid in three seasons, and Anthony, who restored his free agent, joined the Houston Rockets as a free agent. In the 18-19 season, the Rockets had a bad start, with a 5-7 record that put the team in 12th place in the West, and the huge ranking gap was difficult for Rockets fans to accept, at which time the team management threw the "pot" to the newcomer Anthony.
The team officially dumped Anthony from the rotation lineup on the grounds that he was not suitable for the Rockets system and his reluctance to be a substitute, and anthony said in an interview with the media afterwards that he was willing to accept the bench lineup for the team's performance, but the Rockets still ruthlessly abandoned him. Because Anthony broke up with the Rockets so unpleasantly that other teams were discouraged, the star with the title of "offensive kaleidoscope" had to temporarily withdraw from the NBA.
Fast forward to the summer of 2019, the Blazers gave the veteran a chance, with the support of the core Lillard, Anthony with a base salary can average 15.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, helping the team break into the playoffs and fighting back with strength to the Rockets fans who once questioned him. After two happy seasons in Portland, Anthony chose to join the Lakers with Westbrook, James and thick eyebrows in order to pursue the first title of his career, and the biggest star of the 2003 class dreamed of evoking the youth memories of exclusive old fans.
The reality is always so unexpected, because Wei Shao is difficult to integrate into the team, and the thick eyebrow brother is injured for half a season, Anthony is forced to take on the team's offensive responsibility, hitting 2.2 three-pointers per game, but the team is gradually moving away from the championship. Since the opening of the free market, the full free agent Anthony has not signed any team, and the Lakers are still the frontrunners of Anthony's home.
2. Oladipo (Heat)
Last season stats: 12.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 47.9% shooting, 41.7% three-point shooting
To ask who is the star who has the biggest fluctuation in the status of the team in the past two seasons, then Oladipo is positioned at the top of the list, at the beginning of the 20-21 season, Oladipo is also the leader of the Pacers, leading the team to play in 9 games, averaging 20.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game, at this time Sabonis Jr.'s overall performance made the management begin to think about the direction of the team, and Oladipo, who had suffered a major injury, became a victim and was sent to the Houston Rockets in the four-way deal.
Coming to the Rockets that decided to rebuild, Oladipo changed from a partner on the court to Wall, and in the 20 games played for the team, Oladipo averaged 21.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5 assists per game, and his ultra-low offensive efficiency allowed him to personally experience an embarrassing 20-game losing streak, and the team officially embarked on a "swing" journey.
The Rockets traded him to the Heat after the free market opened, in exchange for Bradley and Olynyk.
The leak coincided with overnight rain, and Oladipo suffered another injury after playing four games for the Heat, and was forced to undergo right quadriceps tendon repair surgery to announce the season reimbursement. Last offseason, Oladipo decided to go to jail and accepted a one-year pay contract from the Heat, and his performance after returning from injury at the end of last season was surprising. As the 2013 top performer, Oladipo's scouting report highlighted that he was an excellent outside defender, which became his secret weapon to bottom out.
In this year's playoffs, the Heat point guard line has Lowry, Hiro, Vincent, Strus and Oladipo, of which Oladipo has the most balanced attack and defense, and is favored by Spoo's coach, with 24.5 minutes of playing time per game, averaging 10.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. While 36.8 percent shooting from the field needs to be improved, Oladipo eventually secured a two-year, $18.2 million contract extension for the Heat with defensive hardness in key moments.
1. Batum (Clippers)
Last season stats: 8.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, shooting 46.3% from the field and 40% from three-point range.
In the 2008 draft, Batum was selected by the Rockets with the 25th pick in the first round, then traded to the Blazers to start his career, and after seven seasons in Portland, he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets, and in his first season, he scored 14.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists, and the management immediately offered him a five-year, $120 million contract extension.
After winning a big contract, Batum's athletic status declined year by year, only 3.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3 assists in the 19-20 season, the Hornets had to reach a buyout agreement with the veteran in order to accelerate the rebuild, his annual salary of $27.12 million in the last year of his contract was paid in three years, and Batum could still receive an annual salary of $8.86 million for the Hornets next season.
Batum, who resumed his free agent status, was recruited by the Clippers with a veteran base salary, and under the coaching of Tyrenlu, Batum returned to the role of organizational forward, the offensive efficiency soared, and the three-point shooting rate was stable at more than 40%, which was two people compared with last year's performance in the Hornets.
In the 2021 Western Conference Semifinals, the Clippers series fell behind the Jazz 0-2, Batum became the secret weapon of Tyrone Lu's change of team, removing center Zubac to play five small lineups, Batum with an arm span of 2.15 meters to play center, smooth passing ball helped the team create a large number of empty shooting opportunities, and the Clippers who found a three-point sense successfully advanced to the Western Conference Finals for four consecutive games. Unfortunately, the Clippers, who lacked a team leader, eventually lost to the suns with a more neat lineup and failed to stand on the stage of the Finals.
Last season, the Clippers withdrew from the title race early due to Leonard's season reimbursement, and Batum successfully won a two-year, $22 million contract extension with a stable and irreplaceable role, which is the best among the players in the same class.