The contract isn’t official, it’s merely a rumor/report blowing in the wind, and yet Anthony Bennett has already added his name to the list of divisive players for Raptors fans to discuss. In every fan forum, every blog post, every Tweet, and article, two things are clear to everyone:
1) Anthony Bennett is an all-time bust who doesn’t have a place in the NBA, or
2) Anthony Bennett is a steal who could take over as the starting PF by the end of the season.
This whole process is just another reminder of the sensationalism that is involved in sports. We like extremes. Something is good or bad, hot or cold, expensive or cheap, etc., etc., etc..
Many don’t do well with the middle ground. There is the objective reality that we don’t know how something is going to work out, but opposed to that we all seem to have a belief that we know what is going to happen. I think this falls into almost every area of life, but it is magnified when we are dealing with sports. Irrationality too often reigns supreme in the sporting world.
When it comes to the draft we all think we know who will succeed and who will fail. When it comes to free agency we all want to believe that we know who will live up to their contract and who will be the next financial albatross (we’re watching you, Enes Kanter). We want to be able to say that we knew ahead of time, when it was merely an educated guess.
I get it. I want to be right too. I don’t want to be caught off guard, and I want people to think that I am educated enough to have known.
But what I truly don’t understand is how anybody could be against signing Anthony Bennett to a minimum contract. I had trouble figuring out why this bothers me so much, but I finally figured out the two reasons why.
The first reason is that many seem to think that Anthony Bennett is a known commodity, which is something I wholeheartedly disagree with. I don’t think that Bennett is done growing as a player at just 22 years old, and that he has shown enough little flashes of potential to indicate such.
We tend to like things that are new, because they are unknown and they can provide hope that we can be right about a wildcard. We want to cheer for the underdog, and to have a player come out of nowhere to everyone but us. This is the biggest reason why we all latched on to Bruno so quickly, because we are on the inside and can hopefully be proven right in the long run. Since Bennett was a top draft pick, logic dictates that he must then be a known commodity. I disagree with this rational in this instance, but that is more a matter of opinion than of fact, so I’ll move on.
The second reason this bothers me so much is far more measureable. It’s the money.
Anthony Bennett was the first overall selection just two years ago, and has been a clear disappointment. To date he has yet to live up to his potential, and has routinely looked lost when he has gotten an opportunity to see the floor. No one can argue that he has been a success to date in his career, and even those who think he could eventually be a starter in Toronto (the minority, but I have read it in several locations) would do so on the argument of potential and not by track record.
But the money adds up.
Take a look at the following advanced and per 100 stats for six players who were free agents this summer, and the six contracts that they recieved.
Per 100 Stats:
| Rk | Age | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | ORtg | DRtg |
| 1 | 24 | 1287 | 13.5 | .459 | 2.5 | .300 | 11.1 | .494 | 4.0 | .784 | 3.2 | 9.1 | 12.3 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 6.0 | 16.3 | 105 | 109 |
| 2 | 26 | 988 | 19.4 | .404 | 5.6 | .236 | 13.9 | .471 | 3.0 | .780 | 2.7 | 6.0 | 8.6 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 7.4 | 19.3 | 97 | 106 |
| 3 | 21 | 894 | 16.9 | .421 | 1.3 | .304 | 15.6 | .431 | 3.6 | .641 | 3.0 | 9.3 | 12.3 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 4.9 | 16.9 | 96 | 111 |
| 4 | 30 | 828 | 19.3 | .361 | 10.4 | .311 | 8.9 | .420 | 2.8 | .733 | 1.4 | 5.5 | 6.9 | 3.2 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 19.2 | 88 | 106 |
| 5 | 21 | 1352 | 16.1 | .396 | 5.6 | .287 | 10.5 | .454 | 4.9 | .752 | 2.4 | 5.0 | 7.4 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 18.1 | 92 | 105 |
| 6 | 26 | 2434 | 20.3 | .466 | 2.4 | .330 | 17.9 | .484 | 4.2 | .655 | 2.7 | 6.0 | 8.6 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 22.5 | 102 | 109 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/26/2015.
Advanced Stats:
| Rk | G | PER | TS% | 3PAr | FTr | DRB% | TRB% | AST% | STL% | BLK% | TOV% | USG% | OWS | DWS | WS/48 | OBPM | DBPM | BPM | VORP |
| 1 | 68 | 11.9 | .533 | .181 | .293 | 20.5 | 13.5 | 8.7 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 13.8 | 15.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | .063 | -2.3 | -0.8 | -3.1 | -0.3 |
| 2 | 58 | 11.5 | .466 | .286 | .154 | 13.4 | 9.3 | 9.3 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 10.3 | 20.0 | -0.1 | 0.9 | .042 | -1.8 | 0.7 | -1.1 | 0.2 |
| 3 | 57 | 11.4 | .458 | .077 | .215 | 21.6 | 13.8 | 8.7 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 10.0 | 17.8 | -0.1 | 0.4 | .017 | -3.6 | -1.2 | -4.8 | -0.6 |
| 4 | 50 | 7.4 | .468 | .539 | .145 | 11.7 | 7.4 | 9.9 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 15.2 | 21.3 | -0.9 | 0.8 | -0.008 | -2.8 | -1.5 | -4.3 | -0.5 |
| 5 | 62 | 10.6 | .494 | .346 | .306 | 11.4 | 8.0 | 9.3 | 1.6 | 4.2 | 17.6 | 19.3 | -0.9 | 1.5 | .020 | -3.8 | 1.1 | -2.7 | -0.2 |
| 6 | 76 | 15.7 | .507 | .119 | .207 | 13.5 | 9.6 | 12.4 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 10.0 | 21.5 | 1.6 | 1.4 | .061 | 0.2 | -0.3 | -0.1 | 1.2 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/26/2015.
Contracts:
Player 1 : 1 Year, $981,348
Player 2: 2 Year, $5,754,630 (second year player option)
Player 3: 1 Year, $947,276
Player 4: 1 Year, $1,150,000
Player 5: 3 Year, $10,000,000 (third year team option)
Player 6: 4 Year, $50,000,000 (fourth year player option)
Although basketball is far more than the numbers we produce in charts such as these, who do you think should receive each of these contracts based on the above stats?
I’ll give you a moment to guess:
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Here’s who they are:
Player 1: Quincy Acy
Player 2: Darrell Arthur
Player 3: Anthony Bennett
Player 4: Chris Copeland
Player 5: K.J. McDaniels
Player 6: Thaddeus Young
None of them light the league on fire, but many of the fans who hate Anthony Bennett at the minimum salary would likely have jumped at paying K.J. McDaniels his new deal (Bennett is just one month older than McDaniels). Many would have wanted Thaddeus Young and see his contract as a reasonable deal in the new economic landscape of the NBA. Many would have liked to bring back Quincy Acy for added depth, or to sign any of the others, but we seemingly get held up on Bennett’s draft selection and his status as a bust.
In fact, Julyan Stone just signed a one year, non-guaranteed contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder for $981,000. You remember him right? We will apparently be paying Anthony Bennett less than Julyan Stone would earn if he makes a roster.
The Raptors have a need for a long term PF. I think it’s irrational to believe we can know that Bennett will certainly be this player (although he could be), and it’s irrational to believe that we can know for certain he has no chance of being that player. Right now he is somewhere in the middle and his paid fairly for the value he brings.
Anthony Bennett is no longer the top pick. He is a 22 year old prospect, a waived player making a league minimum salary who is now fighting for his NBA life, and a man who has (apparently) hand selected the Toronto Raptors as the team he wants to play for. I cannot understand how anyone can be against that at the moment when we’re talking about a minimum salary contract.
There is no downside to bringing Bennett home to Toronto…you know…unless you’re Ronald Roberts.
