In Search of the 'Perfect' Role Player
Perhaps it's time we reshape our basketball minds.
I love soccer. A lot of people know that already.
But the one thing that soccer has helped me do is expand my mind and open myself up to the idea of what’s possible in basketball. Weird, right? Maybe it doesn’t make sense on the surface, but allow me to explain.
Arsenal, the team I watch and root for, is currently partaking in the summer transfer window where players can come to personal agreements with interested teams, and then those prospective new teams have to come to a transfer fee agreement with that player’s old team — assuming that player isn’t a free agent — over what it’ll cost to sell them.
For instance, Arsenal recently completed a £65 million ($82.2 million) transfer with London rivals Chelsea for 24-year-old Kai Havertz. On the surface, it’s a pretty peculiar transfer. After all, Havertz’s best positions — a center attacking midfielder or even a striker playing a false-nine role — are already occupied at Arsenal by Martin Ødegaard and Gabriel Jesus, respectively.
So, how does Havertz fit in? Well, Arsenal will likely deploy him as a box-to-box midfielder. It’s not a natural role for him, but this is where the key part of what we’re going to discuss today comes into play: it’s not about position, but rather about skill set and archetype.
While soccer is fundamentally different than basketball, mainly because in soccer a team can just simply possess the ball a great deal more than their opposition and in basketball the possession share is essentially equal, this same principle can apply.
It should primarily be about skill sets and functional fit rather than positionality.
Some of this is thrown to the wayside in the NBA because there are situations where it becomes slightly untenable to eschew positionality in favor of skill sets — i.e. when facing players like Nikola Jokic or Joel Embiid who can tower over the opposition and feast inside, so keeping a center on the floor for most of those minutes makes sense. However, even those moments don’t preclude or prevent the idea itself.
Even LA Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank alluded to something similar during a media session after last week’s Draft.
“I think there will come a point in time where we no longer say point guards, forwards,” Frank said.
“Basketball's changed. To me, and it doesn't have to be this way: You have a point, you have wings and you have a big. The great thing about Kawhi [Leonard] and [Paul George], they can play up, they can play down.”
In the four years that Leonard and George have played together — OK, let’s just say three because of injuries — the biggest success they’ve encountered has been with a very simple formula: flank them with shooters, floor-spacers, players who can achieve some semblance of off-ball gravity, and ones who don’t necessarily take the ball out of their respective hands.
The skill sets required to give the team the best chance alongside those two stars are players who shoot a high level on three-pointers, particularly catch-and-shoot attempts; provide actual gravity that precludes the stars from seeing as much help defense; can set functional screens in a pick-and-roll setting with an added benefit if that person can do so in small-small pick-and-rolls; a decent ability to make good decisions with the ball; an ability to cut off the ball should defenses double-team a star; and some switchability defensively.
Now, all of those skills don’t need to be ticked off in the checklist when looking for players to fit that mold. In most cases, even being able to do two or three of them is simply enough as we have seen in recent years. Example: Eric Gordon and Nicolas Batum, two players of vastly different sizes and builds, both fit into the high-level shooter category while also supplying gravity and being switchable defensively.
Speaking of Gordon, it was learned on Wednesday night that the Clippers opted to waive the veteran guard instead of guaranteeing the final year of his deal which would have been worth $20.9 million. The move saved the Clippers roughly $110 million in luxury tax, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
This is something akin to a “Role Player Cheat Sheet,” courtesy of the good folks over at Basketball Index.
For the Clippers, you need to find quality shooters that can space the floor, are respected, and provide some semblance of quick decision-making and versatility on the defensive end.
It appears, at least based on the data gathered above, that the Clippers had a few options internally last season, with each player having their strengths and weaknesses. Another thing you might notice is that centers were not included, which is for a pretty obvious reason: centers, unless you can find a unicorn at the position, aren’t normally floor-spacers or switchable defensively. Hence, their lack of inclusion here.
As the Clippers continue to streamline their rotation and figure out how they’re going to attack this brand new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that aims to punish teams that attempt to spend money, they’ll need to find players who can structurally fit alongside their two best players no matter those other players’ positions.
In an ideal world, players like Batum, Robert Covington, Terance Mann, and Norman Powell would be back. Their fit around the stars isn’t a question of “how” but rather “how much.”
If you view it in soccer terms, the players who make quicker decisions and grant you the most space as they occupy defenders are inherently valuable commodities. Those aforementioned players all do that with their off-ball gravity and, really outside of Powell, do it with their decision-making process.
Since the Clippers let Gordon go, one could potentially rationalize it as a way to free up more minutes for Bones Hyland, a player of similar profile in terms of shooting and gravity, but lacking in the passing and defense departments. However, with a larger role, one might be able to see a pathway for Hyland to replicate some of what Gordon could do, which might have been enough for the Clippers to move on.
There are redundancies though, and while redundancies can be a good thing as they help shore up depth in case of injury, it can lead to a bit of a rough outlook for several players when it comes to playing time. The main casualty of playing time this past season was Covington. There’s no question he should have played more, but the team felt there was too much overlap between him, Batum, and even Marcus Morris Sr., for that matter.
Were they wrong to feel that way? Possibly.
On top of arguably botching that situation, the Clippers added the chaos grenade of Russell Westbrook into the equation which upset rotations and roles due to Westbrook’s need to have the ball in his hands to showcase his value — it should be mentioned that it’s not Westbrook’s fault; it’s just the player he has been throughout his career.
Westbrook is not a floor-spacer. There’s minimal gravity when he’s on the floor, and the turnovers, ball-stopping, and lack of shooting do hurt other players. The floor balance is thrown out of whack, and it’s what has made the rumors of Westbrook’s potential return a little bit more confounding.
The ability Westbrook has as a passer, which is a high-level skill, is somewhat negated by his propensity for turning the ball over. You’d much rather have the ball in the hands of better options, such as Leonard and George. Possession, as I’m sure everyone knows, is valuable.
It doesn’t get more star-heavy than what you see above.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George both handle the ball a lot, as evidenced by their grades in Quick Decision Making being so porous. It’s easily explainable: they handle the rock, so they take their time with making decisions. For Leonard, those decisions grade out very well. For George, it’s quite the opposite.
But everything else is pretty much exactly what you’d look for in a role player, with the added benefit that these guys can do this as stars with an incredibly high usage rate while also possessing a deadly off-the-dribble game and on-ball gravity.
So that leads you to look for the types of players who can fit in around them. The types of players, as mentioned before, that don’t dilly-dally on the ball, make poor decisions all that much, and who can be a positive threat from beyond the arc while also maintaining some flexibility and tenacity on the defensive end.
This is a sampling of eight players, none of whom are big men, that could potentially fill that role in some capacity:
Let’s start with the big one here: the Denver Nuggets, fresh off their NBA championship run, are not going to trade Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, least of all to the Clippers. But his archetype and profile would be the type of player who fits seamlessly. That’s the goal here.
Grant Williams is a restricted free agent and isn’t obtainable for the Clippers, either. But his versatility on the defensive end combined with his prowess offensively — believe it or not, Williams has shot 40.5 percent on three-pointers over the last two seasons, and 41.1 percent on them across 39 postseason games in that time — would do wonders with this current group in Los Angeles.
That brings us to the other six candidates.
De’Anthony Melton | G | Philadelphia 76ers
De’Anthony Melton is entering the final year of a four-year, $34.6 million deal which will see him earn $8 million this coming season. Melton is a fantastic defender but primarily guards his position rather than multiple spots. That doesn’t take away his dynamism on that end, though.
Offensively, Melton shot 39 percent on three-pointers this past season, including 41.4 percent on catch-and-shoot triples. This is after shooting 40.6 percent on catch-and-shoot threes in 2021-22 and 43.2 percent on them in 2020-21.
The added benefit with Melton is that he just spent last season on a team that featured two other superstars. In playing with Joel Embiid and James Harden, it’s reasonable to assume that Melton at least has some semblance of understanding of what it takes to coexist in an ecosystem that houses two ball-dominant stars.
In their 899 minutes together last season, the trio of Melton, Harden, and Embiid posted a plus-8.9 Net Rating, mainly due to a ridiculous 120.9 Offensive Rating, per NBA Stats.
Would the Philadelphia 76ers be open to dealing Melton? It’s incredibly hard to predict, but a call to Daryl Morey wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Especially with Philadelphia having to potentially navigate a future extension with guard Tyrese Maxey.
Kenrich Williams | F | Oklahoma City Thunder
It probably flew under the radar last season because a lot was going on in the basketballing world, but Kenrich Williams had a pretty solid year, averaging 8.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 53 games while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 37.3 percent on 2.5 three-point attempts per game.
The attempts weren’t anything to write home about, and he’s correctly not viewed as a prolific shooter, but he did connect on 39.0 percent of his catch-and-shoot long-range attempts last season. Williams is respectable, and defenses would likely have to pay attention to him.
Williams also had experience operating as a screener for both Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey last season, and his decision-making and defensive prowess allowed him to make a good impact when on the floor, as evidenced by the Thunder being 4.0 points per 100 possessions better with Williams on the floor as opposed to off.
It should be noted that Williams is an interesting case. He’s set to begin the first year of a four-year, $27.2 million contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the final year of that deal (2026-27) is a club option. Williams will be 32 at that time.
That’s a wildly affordable deal, and it’s also probably why the Thunder won’t just part with Williams for nothing of consequence. But should they be in the market to shop him around, the Clippers would be wise to phone them.
Torrey Craig | F | Phoenix Suns
I’m sure Clippers fans are probably cringing right now seeing Torrey Craig’s name being mentioned after what happened in the team’s first-round series against the Phoenix Suns where he connected on 10 of his 18 three-point attempts as the Suns knocked out the Clippers in five games.
But, truth be told, Craig wouldn’t be a bad fit alongside Leonard and George. The veteran forward is more than capable on the defensive end, and while his uptick in three-point shooting could be a bit flukish in the long run, having him spot-up in corners was largely beneficial for Phoenix this past season.
Craig averaged 7.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists last season in 79 games for the Suns while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 39.5 percent on 3.2 three-point attempts per game. Craig started 60 of the 79 regular season games that he played.
The forward also just completed the final year of his two-year deal and is now a free agent. It’s hard to say what he’ll get on the open market, especially after having his playing time drastically cut in Phoenix’s second-round exit at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. Craig played just 32 total minutes in the series’ final five games.
There would be an adjustment curve for the Clippers due to Craig’s lack of general off-ball movement, but a positive trait from Craig this past season was his screening. According to CourtOptix, the Suns averaged 1.50 points per possession when Craig set a ball screen for Kevin Durant and 1.15 when he set one for Devin Booker. Not too shabby.
Quentin Grimes | G | New York Knicks
A quick little note before we start on Quentin Grimes: if you can believe it, the pick that the LA Clippers traded to move up so that they could select Keon Johnson in the 2021 Draft turned into Grimes. So, this would be like getting reacquainted — sort of.
Grimes is a fan-favorite in New York, and rightfully so. The 23-year-old averaged 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists for the Knicks last season. He shot 46.8 percent from the field and 38.6 percent on 5.7 three-point attempts per game. Grimes converted on 64.1 percent of his twos, largely buoyed by a staggering 71.9 percent conversion rate at the rim.
To his credit, Grimes was a 40 percent catch-and-shoot three-point threat last season and even put up a 41.2 percent mark in his rookie season. That gives him the profile of the type of offensive player, especially at the guard position, that would benefit the stars greatly.
On the defensive side of things, Grimes primarily draws assignments against opposing guards. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, and the Clippers do need some semblance of an on-ball defender that can potentially defend ball-dominant guards. Grimes would fit the bill.
The issue with Grimes is that he’s still on his rookie deal which affords the Knicks great flexibility. They don’t have to trade him. Nor should they, in all honesty. They’re under no pressure to make it happen, and there might not be anything of note the Clippers could give that would pry him away from The Big Apple. But Grimes is the type of player the Clippers would love to have.
Tim Hardaway Jr. | G | Dallas Mavericks
When going through the numbers for this exercise, I must say that Tim Hardaway Jr. was a name that surprised me. We all know he’s a good shooter, but it’s probably lost on a lot of people that he might be the perfect well-known name to play next to star-level players.
Since arriving in Dallas, Hardaway has shot 37.8 percent on 7.5 three-point attempts per game. That's across 273 contests. Hardaway averaged 14.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists this past season. The veteran guard drained 39.3 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes.
Hardaway has a ton of experience moving off the ball while playing next to Luka Doncic, and more recently, Kyrie Irving. While Hardaway isn’t asked to make a lot of passing decisions, he doesn’t turn the ball over and is a pretty solid decision-maker overall.
You wouldn’t think of Hardaway as a screen threat, but this past season the Mavericks averaged 1.27 points per possession on 5.9 instances per game where Hardaway set a ball screen for Doncic, according to CourtOptix. While his 6-foot-5 frame might not make him seem like a versatile player, he did see considerable time across three positions, per Cleaning The Glass, and has generally been malleable during his time in Dallas.
Hardaway is slated to make $17.9 million this upcoming season and another $16.2 million in 2024-25. Is he the type of contract that the Mavericks could be looking to move this offseason? Only time will tell. But regardless, his archetype, versatility, and general comfortability alongside stars would make him a pretty ideal candidate for the team to consider.
Troy Brown Jr. | F | Los Angeles Lakers
OK, I get it, this is a bit of an odd name to see on this list. But hear me out. Just because a player provides positive traits in a few areas doesn’t mean they’re a positive player. Remember: we’re looking for fit and function, not stardom. That’s where Troy Brown Jr. comes in.
Brown grades out pretty well in all of the above categories. However, you wouldn’t say he’s someone teams are clamoring to sign or acquire. It still doesn’t change what his archetype is, though. And that’s the important part when looking at something such as this.
The former first-round pick averaged 7.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 76 games for the Los Angeles Lakers last season. Brown started 45 contests. The swingman knocked in 43 percent of his field goal attempts and 38.1 percent of his 3.7 three-point attempts per game. Brown also shot 63.6 percent at the rim and 39 percent on catch-and-shoot triples.
Where Brown is oddly fascinating is that he appears to be a versatile player, having played multiple positions for the Lakers last season and having done so alongside both LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Add in the Lakers averaging 1.22 points per possession when Brown would set a ball screen for James, and you have the makings of someone who could theoretically fit the Clippers.
Brown is set to be a free agent. He just got done making the minimum with the Lakers and is hitting the open market once again. It’s hard to pinpoint what his market will be, but Brown does possess the necessary skill set, youth (soon-to-be 24), athleticism, and size (6-foot-7) to be a wildly intriguing option for the Clippers.
The above graphic displays eight more players who could somewhat qualify for the role player category, but we’re just going to rapid-fire them for the time being.
The case for Kyle Lowry is an interesting one. There have been some rumblings that Lowry could eventually reach a buyout with the Miami Heat if they’re able to navigate a trade for Damian Lillard, and while Lowry doesn’t grade out particularly well across the board, he can still defend and shoot which is something the Clippers need out of their guards. Payton Pritchard has the shooting chops and some defense to fit in, as well, and is entering the last year of his rookie deal.
Wings such as Corey Kispert and Georges Niang fit the mold of very good shooters who don’t overexert themselves on the ball but have some defensive hiccups potentially. Kispert is unlikely to be traded by the rebuilding Washington Wizards, but Niang is a free agent.
Considering how important he is, it’s hard to envision the Boston Celtics trading Al Horford, but his ability to play the four and the five would greatly benefit the Clippers if they opted to move him. Horford is entering the first year of a brand new two-year deal worth $19.5 million total.
If you’re looking at pure role player wings, then Saddiq Bey fits the mold. Bey was traded to Atlanta this past season, and talks are that the Hawks are looking to extend him. Either way, Bey is set to enter the final year of his rookie deal.
Forwards OG Anunoby and Cameron Johnson are the two best players on this list. Johnson, 27, is entering restricted free agency and is wholly out of the Clippers’ price range, but he could be an interesting trade option down the line. Anunoby, who turns 26 in July, has seemingly been on the trade block ever since signing his four-year, $72 million extension with the Toronto Raptors a few years ago. Anunoby is set to make $18.7 million this upcoming season and has a $19.9 million player option for 2024-25, which he will surely decline.