Gonna Fly Now - the Jeff Adrien Thread

[chrbal]

I don't know about a 6'10" version of Jeff, but I would like to see the Bobcats bring in Samardo Samuels next season. Hes having a really good year in the Development League and makes sense for this teams needs.

[KembaWalker]

ill take adrien over blair any day

[mrknowitall215]

Season Report Card: Jeff Adrien

Grade: B-

13.39 PER vs 16.49 PER Against; Net -3.1

Strengths: Well, his strength. Literally, Adrien is very strong and can body up with most players in this league around the basket. He moves very well, is fairly quick for his size and has good lateral quickness — combine that to go with his powerful frame and it makes for an above average defensive PF in this league. In fact, Adrien may have been the closest to a defensive anchor as the Bobcats had in the paint this season — Charlotte finished the season with a 108.9 Defensive Rating, but with Adrien on the floor the team had a rating of 106.4 — to go along with Adrien’s physical attributes, he’s a very smart team defense player, usually in the correct position on the floor. Adrien also is a great PnR defender — his quickness & strength allow him to hedge hard and recover, but also sag under and contest a shot quickly if needed.

43.4% of Adrien’s FGA came ‘Around the Basket’ (less than 5-feet) — he was 47.9% from this area, which isn’t great — a lot of that has to do with the fact that he’s only 6’7 and drastically undersized for his position. The positive here, though, is that Adrien is committed to attacking the rim to find the majority of his offense. 28.5% of his FGA came from ‘Mid-Range’ (15-19 feet), where he converted on only 35.4% — this certainly shouldn’t be categorized as a strength, but the fact that he’s not shy about taking this mid-range jumper is a plus. That being said, if he wants defenders to respect him and, in turn, make himself a much more versatile offensive player, he’s got to improve the mid-range jump shot.

Weaknesses: This would require me basically to pick up where I just left off. Adrien doesn’t have a good offensive game, but it doesn’t appear to be because he’s incompetent. 42.9% from the field for a player that lives around the basket is not awesome, to say the least, but Adrien is undersized — which limits him around the rim. On top of that, he doesn’t have a consistent jump shot to pull defenders away from the basket and hang his hat on. Adrien’s jumper has a bit of a hitch in it and it’s apparent that he’s still not overly comfortable taking the shot. If he’s able to find his stroke and consistently knock down a 10-20 foot jumper, his game will begin to flourish — that remains to be seen.

Adrien is also a below average free throw shooter, although he did make a vast improvement on those numbers this season. In his first two seasons in the league he shot a respective 57.9% & 58.3%, but last season Adrien improved to 65% on about 0.4 more attempts/game.

Reasons for Optimism: I think they’re a ton of them — he’s the type of rugged, physical and drag out scrapper that every NBA team could use. Those qualities will all but likely (barring injury) keep this guy in the league well into his 30′s (27 currently). On top of that, if Adrien can make some progress on the offensive end and sharpen the blade on some go-to moves around the basket, he’s got the ability to be a solid rotation player in this league — consistently. If I were Adrien, I’d be studying tape on guys like David West and Carl Landry constantly.

I really hope that the Bobcats decide to keep Adrien around for ’13-’14. He’s technically on the books for about $915,000 next season on a league minimum deal, but the contract is fully unguaranteed, so we’ll have to see what the team decides.

Reasons for Pessimism: I really like Adrien as a player and the role that he can play for many teams for years to come. Let’s not take it out of context, I don’t think Jeff Adrien is Lebron James, but I really like his game and believe he’s got a higher probability to get better than worse from this point.

The other pessimistic thought would be that the front office wouldn’t bring him back for what would be no hair off their back financially. Considering how Rod Higgins has made all my dreams come true over the years, well, you get the drift.

http://queencityhoops.com/blog/wp-conte ... adrien.png

[catch20two]

I like this assessment of Adrien. I've been harping all season that I hope we bring him back.

[Eoghan]

He's not worth bringing back. Too short for his skill set.

[catch20two]

He's not worth bringing back. Too short for his skill set.

He's better at his skill set than most players at least 3 inches taller at his pay grade.

[HornetJail]

He's worth bringing back at less than $1M a year. I think that much is obvious unless we bring in another 4 man and re-sign all of our current 4s, that would make him the 4th string PF.

[vorbis]

i'm glad his contract next season is unguaranteed. bring him back to camp and if he's one of the best 6 or 7 non guards, then keep him on. otherwise, move on and trawl the waiver wire and d-league. oh wait, the bobcats don't care about the d-league for some reason.

[Eoghan]

He's not worth bringing back. Too short for his skill set.

He's better at his skill set than most players at least 3 inches taller at his pay grade.

Not really. There's probably a handful of guys in the D-league with comparable production with better height. Houston alone probably has the rights to 2 of them. I like Adrien but all he did was scrap and occasionally beast against scrubs in garbage time.

[catch20two]

He's not worth bringing back. Too short for his skill set.

He's better at his skill set than most players at least 3 inches taller at his pay grade.

Not really. There's probably a handful of guys in the D-league with comparable production with better height. Houston alone probably has the rights to 2 of them. I like Adrien but all he did was scrap and occasionally beast against scrubs in garbage time.

Those 2 D-league guys that belong to Houston that you might be referring to are 1st round draft picks. Of course they would be comparable to or better than Adrien. He played respectable for our ball club and held his own defensively as well as on the boards despite his lack of length. Adrien was easily one of our most physical presences which isn't saying much but for his price tag I wouldn't mind keeping him around for another year.

[Eoghan]

Hilton Armstrong>Jeff Adrien

Plus there'll be a slew of undrafted guys as good or better than Adrien. Howell, Cooley, Kazemi, etc.

[catch20two]

Hilton Armstrong>Jeff Adrien

Plus there'll be a slew of undrafted guys as good or better than Adrien. Howell, Cooley, Kazemi, etc.

I like Hilton Armstrong as well as Kazemi out of Oregon but I'd rather Adrien over Cooley or Howell. The thing with those guys outside of Armstrong is that we don't know how their game would translate to the NBA. Adrien has shown me that he can hold his own in the big leagues as a 3rd string big off the bench. I'm not arguing your opinion because I agree that Adrien isn't anything special but I like his appreciative attitude and on-court grit so I want to see him stick around.

[Eoghan]

Richard Howell >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Jeff Adrien. Easily. Taller, better rebounder, better jumpshot, better man defender.

[catch20two]

Richard Howell >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Jeff Adrien. Easily. Taller, better rebounder, better jumpshot, better man defender.

Adrien had a much, much, much better college career than Howell did not to mention Adrien did so on loaded UConn teams compared to the middling NC State squads that Howell played on.

[JMAC3]

I think for under a million.... it is a nobrainer to bring him back. He is a solid 3rd string pf especially if the other team goes small... He can at least sort of guard quicker 4 men....

It will just depend on what else we do in free agency...

[James Gatz]

I'd love to bring him back at whatever minimum contract he is on. Granted if we go out and draft a big or sign someone else I'd be fine with losing him. I like Rocky a lot for what he does.

[mrknowitall215]

If the Bobcats happen to acquire at least 3 new frontcourt players this offseason then they should probably let Jeff Adrien walk, but if not, then they need to make sure they retain him. I know many people probably wouldn't consider Adrien to be anything special, but it would be difficult for Cho to find another big in the D-League or off the street to come in & play as sound as he did for the Bobcats this past season. Most bigs are in the D-League for a reason, usually because they lack the physical or mental tools, and sometimes both, to withstand the NBA game, but Adrien has both the physical & mental tools without the height in which he somewhat make up for with his 7'2" wingspan.

[mrknowitall215]

Decisions, Decisions - Odds of Bobcats Bringing Back...

Jeff Adrien: An energetic type of player who is physical/strong + can rebound the ball. Could be a nice role player for many teams in this league.

If Cho does indeed decide to amnesty Tyrus Thomas + Byron Mullens ends up elsewhere due to a sweeter offer, then I could see Adrien back in Charlotte. Although it seems highly unlikely at this point, there is the possibility that both Tyrus & Mullens are on this roster next season — that would leave little, to no room for Adrien.

A lot will depend on how the Bobcats address their frontcourt needs this summer. Do they seek to add a star through free agency/trade, or do they go get a player like Anthony Bennett in the draft? If either of those situations manifest themselves, then it’s hard to imagine that Adrien will find his way back in Charlotte.

Ultimately, it’s hard to see Adrien back in Charlotte due to the fact that all signs point towards Cho addressing some of the frontcourt needs this summer through either the draft, free agency or a trade. On top of that, you have McRoberts, Mullens, Tyrus & Adrien all wondering whether or not they’re going to be back next season — Adrien is likely towards the bottom of that list in priority for the front office, so you do the math.

– 35% probability Adrien signs a new contract with Charlotte.

http://queencityhoops.com/blog/2013/06/ ... ee-agents/

[LamarMatic7]

I really hope some other team signs him, if we don't. Dude deserves a guaranteed contract to prove what he can do with the energy he has.

[James Gatz]

Why wouldn't we want to keep him on as a cheap end of the bench player?