Ron Swanson wrote:I don't even think it's fair to compare those guys to David Lee. Lee was an All-Star with two separate clubs and was at least a willing passer even if he was also a defensive sieve. Wood and Collins are absolute black holes on offense, and the persistent rumors of Collins being upset over his role the last 2 years straight should probably be a pretty big red flag, as is the lukewarm trade market for him. He's not getting 16-20 shots a game here, and if he is, that's a detriment and overall net-negative to your team.
What exactly do we mean by being a black hole? Obviously he doesn't really pass the ball much, but that's simply not what his role has been in Atlanta. He's operated almost purely as a spot-up guy/rim-runner/lob threat. The ball doesn't really stick to his hands in any way; he just catches the ball and immediately scores more often than not. His average seconds per touch puts him in the same company as guys like Kevon Looney, Grant Williams, Duncan Robinson, and Chris Boucher. Maybe he'd turn into a black hole if given the kind of role he's seemingly looking for? I don't know. But he's been an absurdly efficient scorer every season of his career dating back to college and I think he's turned into an okayish defender.
I do think his potential complaints about his role is something that teams need to do their homework on. If he wants to be like a post-up big man that the offense is run through, that obviously is not going to fly. If, as some other reports have stated, he simply thinks the offense would run better if guys (mainly Trae) cut back on the early shot clock, terrible quality shots, that's a totally different thing and not a red flag IMO.
