Here’s the answer to “what is defense worth in the NBA?” For the Oklahoma City Thunder, it’s apparently worth awarding Andre Roberson a three-year, $30 million contract. Roberson only has a career average of 4.5 points a game. But, his scoring has “improved” year over year.
- 2013: 1.9 pts.
- 2014: 3.4 pts.
- 2015: 4.8 pts.
- 2016: 6.6 pts.
So, he’s technically trending in the right direction. But, many critics will argue that $30 million for a defensive specialist is too much. I’m not in that camp. The way that teams like the Golden State Warriors play the game and players with the skill set of Andrew Roberson becoming few and far between, I think this is a good move.
With Paul George coming to Oklahoma City, Roberson will be allowed to become a true shooting guard for the first time. It should also prevent him form having to shoot the three ball, which highlights his inability to score. He only made 24 percent of his shots from behind the arch last season. He attempted 184 of them. There won’t be as much of a need for those attempts with George coming to town.
ESPN: “Restricted free agent forward Andre Roberson has reached agreement on a three-year, $30 million deal to stay with Oklahoma City, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He has been a polarizing player around the NBA because of his one-sided ability, but in a league trending toward the perimeter, Roberson’s defensive talent is becoming a valued commodity.”