Hibbert was waiting for an opportunity.
Roy Hibbert, an All-Star in 2012 and 2014, is now worried about his job...
This summer's free agent market can be described as "sky-high contracts", but now that the new season is only one month away, free agents, roy Hibert, who was two All-Stars in 2012 and 2014, still has not found a new owner. It is indeed regrettable that Roy Hibbert, who only turned 31 in December, has fallen into such a situation as he is now, but looking at his "turbulent" life and shrinking statistics in the past two years, the former league's no.1 center has fallen into such a situation that no one cares about now, and may really only be to blame himself.
Fast back in the 2011-2012 season, Roy Hibbert, who had a strong performance with the Pacers, was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star Team for the first time, and although he didn't have too much of a performance in the All-Star Game — 10 minutes, 3 points, 3 rebounds, he became the only Pacers player to be selected for the All-Star Game that year. That summer, he signed a four-year, $58 million contract extension with the Pacers, rising from a 2008 no. 17 pick in the first round to a "multimillionaire," and Hibbert made no doubt among the league's top players.
Hibbert was also a member of the All-Star Game.
The Pacers' contract did look like it was worth the money at first, and on November 21, 2012, in the Pacers' 115-107 home win over the Hornets, Hibbert scored an "alternative triple-double" of 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 blocks. Not only did this make Hibbert the second player in Pacers history to rely on scoring, rebounding and blocks to achieve triple-doubles after O'Neal Jr., but 11 blocks also set a Team record for the Pacers.
However, Hibbert's negative impact on the Pacers also began to explode, and the main reason for this may be that he could not control his mouth. On June 1, 2013, the Pacers entered game six of the Eastern Conference Finals with the Heat, and the Pacers, who were 2-3 behind, relied on the performances of Paul George (28 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists) and Hibbert (24 points, 11 rebounds) to equalize 91-77. But after the game, Hibbert was fined $75,000 by the league for making a big fuss about reporters and James. In the crucial game of seven, the Pacers eventually lost 76-99.
If it was just to shoot at reporters and James , Hibbert then apologized sincerely to his teammates , it may not have affected Hibbert's position in the team , but in the 2013-2014 season that followed , Hibbert began firing at "friendly forces". In the 2013-2014 season, Hibbert, who was selected for the All-Star Game for the second time, contributed less and less to the team on both the offensive and defensive ends, and in Hibbert's view, this can only be blamed on the few opportunities he got, which also made the conflict between him and Paul George increasingly intense.
Hibbert was once ridiculed on the Internet.
In the first round of playoffs against the Hawks, Hibbert averaged 0-points in game 5 and 6 — 0-of-1 and 0-of-2 — making Hibbert the second active All-Star in NBA history to end with 0-points in two consecutive playoff games, after Jim King in 1968. Two consecutive 0-point games gave Hibbert more reason to fire at The Pepper. But one reality that can't be changed is that in the entire series against the Hawks, Hibbert shot just 16-of-43 and ranked 9th on the team with 37.2 percent shooting. In addition, Hibbert averaged just 3.7 rebounds per game, ranking fourth on the team.
With the Pacers losing to the Heat again in the Eastern Conference Finals, Hibbert finished with four 0-point games throughout the playoffs, making him the most active All-Star in NBA history.
With increasing tensions with teammates and a declining role in the team, especially on the defensive end, there's no doubt about how the Pacers will choose between Paul George and Roy Hibbert. In 2015, Hibbert, who entered the final year of the contract, was traded to the Lakers, and this season with the Lakers, Hibbert's stats were even more "amazing".
In the 2015-2016 season, Hibbert played in 81 regular-season games as a starter, but he only averaged 5.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, and even reached a double-double in only three games. Hibbert, who was once unhappy with his repeated misses of the honor of the best defensive player, has been completely reduced to a representative of "high salary and low ability" - that season, Hibbert's annual salary was as high as $15 million, second only to Kobe Bryant in the Lakers.
Wasps once had high hopes for Hibbert.
In the summer of 2016, free agent Hibbert and the Hornets reached a one-year , $5 million contract , but in 42 games for the Hornets , Hibbert still handed over mediocre stats of 5.2 points and 3.6 rebounds. What awaited Hibbert could only be traded again.
Hibbert was traded to the Bucks on February 2, 2017, but he had yet to play in the Bucks, and on the 23rd of the same month, he was traded by the Bucks to the Nuggets. From being an All-Star player to changing three teams in a season, Hibbert's career has come to an extremely dangerous situation, and the Nuggets have also failed to become Hibbert's "blessed land", in the 6 games for the Nuggets, Hibbert averaged 0.7 points and 0.3 rebounds per game. All-Star player, second defensive team of the year... It's really hard to associate these honors with Hibbert at this time.
Today's NBA, big players are indeed not as "popular" as small ones, but no one can deny that no team will completely give up on big players who are more willing to concentrate on defense. Therefore, Hibbert, who on the one hand insisted on defending and on the other hand demanded the right to fire, fell to the point where no one cares today, and may be more to blame himself. So, as the new season draws closer, can Roy Hibbert still get a job in the NBA?