Looking at some center options around the league

Posted on 6/29/23 at 1:16 pm

Posted by rondonumbanine

Member since Dec 2015

281 posts

Posted on 6/29/23 at 1:16 pm

I'm choosing to not look at contract and salary when doing this, but focusing on their on-court impact. From the center position, what this team needs most is rim protection, PnR defense, rebounding, and availability. I'm looking at their average # of games played over the last 5 seasons, field goal % on defended shots at the rim, points per possession when guarding pick and roll, and contest rebound percentage (the percentage of rebounds the player collects while an opponent is within 3.5 feet of the rebounder).

I'm going to throw out some names that have been discussed either as potential trade options or through FA. Obviously these stats don't tell the full story about these players, but I picked the stats that I believe best quantify the qualities discussed above.

To start, Jonas:
Average games played over the last 5 years - 66.8
DFG% at rim - 67.3%
PPP in the PnR - 0.94
Contested RB% - 43.7%

Zach Collins:
Average games played over the last 5 years - 49 (did miss the entire season in 20-21 from an ankle injury which I didn't count
DFG% at rim - 54.9%
PPP in the PnR - 0.94
Contested RB% - 46.1%

Mitchell Robinson:
Average games played over the last 5 years - 57.8
DFG% at rim - 58.1%
PPP in the PnR - 1.04
Contested RB% - 60.4%

Daniel Gafford:
Average games played over the last 5 years - 61.7 (4 seasons)
DFG% at rim - 54.3%
PPP in the PnR - 1.07
Contested RB% - 49.4%

Jakob Peoltl:
Average games played over the last 5 years - 70.4
DFG% at rim - 62.6%
PPP in the PnR - 1.24
Contested RB% - 54.9%

Jarret Allen:
Average games played over the last 5 years - 67.4
DFG% at rim - 54.1%
PPP in the PnR - 1.16
Contested RB% - 47.6%

Myles Turner:
Average games played over the last 5 years - 57.4
DFG% at rim - 56.3%
PPP in the PnR - 0.91
Contested RB% - 41.6%

Mason Plumlee:
Average games played over the last 5 years - 70.2
DFG% at rim - 64.1%
PPP in the PnR - 1.03
Contested RB% - 45.3%

Clint Capela:
Average games played over the last 5 years - 61.6
DFG% at rim - 59.6%
PPP in the PnR - 0.94
Contested RB% - 49.8%

(For fun) Zion:
Average games played over the last 5 years - 38, lol (over his 4 seasons and not including the entire season he missed)
DFG% at rim - 71.8%
PPP in the PnR - 0.67 (really low opportunities)
Contested RB% - 39.6%

Rankings

Availability:
1. Jakob Poeltl
2. Mason Plumlee
3. Jonas
4. Jarret Allen
5. Daniel Gafford

Rim Protection:
1. Jarret Allen
2. Daniel Gafford
3. Zach Collins
4. Myles Turner
5. Mitchel Robinson

PnR Defender (not including Zion):
1. Myles Turner
Tied for 2. Clint Capela
Tied for 2. Jonas
Tied for 2. Zach Collins
5. Mason Plumlee

Rebounding:
1. Mitchell Robinson
2. Jakob Poeltl
3. Clint Capela
4. Daniel Gafford
5. Jarret Allen

At this point Jarret Allen would be my target, with Gafford as a second and more realistic option. I may have messed up somewhere, I should be doing other things, lol.