Head to Head: Most Overrated NBA Player?

Rajon Rondo

The Boston Celtics had been having internal discussions for years as to whether or not they should trade away Rajon Rondo, or re-sign him to a big contract and rebuild around him. Eventually Danny Ainge decided to part ways with Rondo before he hit free agency, opting to make sure Boston received assets in return instead of taking the chance that they would lose him for nothing.

The Celtics ended up sending Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson, two draft picks and a trade exception.

Rondo won a championship with the Celtics in 2008, when he was just 22 years old. His game continued to blossom as he took more control of the reigns in the years following Boston’s championship run. He led the league in steals in 2009-10, and then led the NBA in assists in back-to-back season (2011-12 and 2012-13). However, a string of serious injuries limited him to 53 games or fewer in three straight seasons.

Rondo, on the precipice of free agency, is healthy once again. And there is talk that he will demand max or near-max money when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this July. However, while he was once considered arguably one of best point guards on the planet, does Rondo still deserve that type of recognition?

The NBA is teeming with incredibly talented point guards such as Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul and John Wall among others. The reality is Rondo no longer can be mentioned in the top five, let alone the top tier. He is averaging just 8.9 points per game this season. It’s the first time since his rookie season (back in 2007-08) that he’s scoring fewer than 10 points per contest.

Never a great shooter, Rondo is in the midst of the worst shooting slump of his career. He’s shooting 41.2 percent from the floor, and an unimaginable 31.1 percent from the free-throw line. He’s on pace to become the first qualifying guard in NBA history to shoot below 35 percent from the charity stripe.

His turnover rate (5.4 turnovers per 100 possessions) is the highest it’s ever been.

And his defense, which once earned him back-to-back All-Defense honors in 2010 and 2011, is no longer near that same elite level. His plus-minus numbers speak to this unfortunate reality.

Rondo will get plenty of interest once he hits free agency, but will teams be paying for his current value, or overpaying based on past performance?

– Tommy Beer

Ty Lawson

Each year, Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson is one of the league leaders in assists. Currently he’s at 9.8 assists per game, behind just Washington Wizards guard John Wall and Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul, both of whom average 10.1 assists.

The next closest guards are Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook and Dallas’ Rajon Rondo, at 8.1 assists per game.

The Wizards (35-27) and Clippers (40-22) are both in fifth place in their respective conferences.  The Thunder have climbed to eighth in the Western Conference, bolstered by an outstanding run from Westbrook. Rondo’s numbers were split between the Boston Celtics (25-35) and Dallas Mavericks, but even Boston has a better record than the 22-40 Nuggets.

The point guard is ideally the extension of the team’s head coach, but Lawson couldn’t implement Brian Shaw’s vision – and Shaw has since been relieved of coaching duties.

Denver badly needs a true leader, but even at 16.1 points a game, along with his play-making, Lawson hasn’t taken the Nuggets anywhere in recent seasons despite having talented players around him.

Admittedly, the team was injury plagued last season, but on paper, Denver should be a lot better this season.

However, defense is a major issue for the Nuggets this year and, at 5’11, Lawson isn’t part of the solution.

Wall, Paul and Westbrook are all aggressive defenders. Rondo’s not quite the same player he used to be in Boston prior to the knee injury, but he’s more of a defensive presence than Lawson.

The Nuggets give up 106.5 points a night, trying to out-score their opponents while scoring 104.4.  Given the team is 10 games below .500, it hasn’t been working.

Shaw was the scapegoat, but Lawson and his teammates failed to get it done. As the team’s highest-paid player, Lawson deserves much of the blame.

– Eric Pincus

Deron Williams

After a tumultuous offseason that saw Jason Kidd skip town and be replaced by Lionel Hollins, the Brooklyn Nets entered this season with playoff aspirations. Well, it’s safe to say things haven’t gone according to plan. With only 22 games left, they are just 25-35 and have fallen out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. While there are a number of factors that have contributed to their disappointing season, the play of former All-Star Deron Williams may loom the largest.

It wasn’t long ago that Williams was mentioned in the same breath as some of the top point guards in the league, and deservedly so. For four years straight, from 2007-2011, Williams averaged over 18 points and 10 assists per game. He was without question one of the more dynamic offensive players in the NBA. Now in his fifth season with the Nets, Williams is a shell of his former self. This season he is averaging 13.3 points and 6.2 assists per game, while shooting a career low 39 percent from the field. Although back in the starting lineup lately, Williams is playing only 31.2 minutes per game, the fewest since his rookie season, and for a brief stretch was relegated to a bench role.

While Williams’ underwhelming play has certainly been disappointing, it’s even harder to stomach when you consider his enormous salary. This season, Williams will earn just under $20 million – a salary that makes him the eighth-highest paid player in the NBA. That number will increase to $21,042,800 next season and $22,331,135 in 2016-17, the final year of Williams’ contract. He does have an early termination option for the final year of his deal.

When the Nets acquired Williams, and subsequently signed him to a $98 million dollar contract extension, he was expected to be the face of the franchise, the centerpiece they would build around for years to come. At this point, that couldn’t be further from reality. Williams has declined significantly and is providing, at best, average play from the point guard position.

Despite the lack playoff-caliber teams in the East, the Nets’ playoff chances are starting to fade away. Now, more than ever, they need Williams to step up and be a leader. Unfortunately, his play has offered little reason to believe he can return to that high level. Williams is still just 30 years old, so it’s possible he may turn things around over the next year or two. However, it seems much more likely that his best days are behind him.

– John Zitzler