Pelicans Rank Roundtable: John Salmons and Darius Miller
With Pelican Rank in full swing it felt proper to go behind the scenes and get a bit more reasoning behind why each player was ranked where they were by our staff. Because of that it felt proper to get a few roundtables going as the rankings progress, starting today with the two players who ranked at the bottom of the list- John Salmons and Darius Miller.
1. If we knew Darius Miller was going to hit threes consistently, say 37.5 percent, how much would it change your ranking of him?
Andrew: He would be higher, but not much. I’m pretty sure there is nothing he can do better than Jimmer. That might fall under the Andrew being biased because he loves Jimmer though.
Chris: It would have changed it a lot. I wouldn’t have put him in that upper tier of role players, but he would have been one of my higher ranked players. The Pelicans need floor spacing, and if Miller can consistently provide that, I’d have him up there in rankings.
Matt: It would have changed things for sure. I think that Miller has a chance to be pretty good for New Orleans but it all hinges on him knocking down threes consistently. I think if I could have trusted him to do that I would have slotted him at least two spots higher.
2. What would John Salmons have to do to move up the rankings for you?
Andrew: Be really good at defense, and do more than just hit three’s. If he did that I could see him moving up near eight or nine, but, that’s probably not going to happen, maybe I’m wrong though.
Chris: Not get traded I guess? Salmons doesn’t even feel like he’s gonna be around here for an extended period of time. It feels like there’s a yearly trade that Salmons is involved in, there’s gotta be a reason why he’s constantly being moved around like this. Solidify himself in the rotation/on the team and I might be willing to take him out of the lower tier.
Matt: Show more than I won’t hurt you on defense. I can’t get Salmons getting kind of torched by Joe Johnson in the playoffs out of my head and while I know that isn’t really Salmons fault as Johnson was great during the series I wonder how he plays during the long season. The threes will be nice but I can’t trust him to be even the second best defender who may see minutes at small forward and that is a problem.
3. Can you see Darius ever being a starting small forward in the NBA?
Andrew: Is this a serious question? On the 76er’s maybe. Hopefully the 76er’s aren’t in this state of basketball depression for too long though. In all seriousness though, I can’t see him ever being a starting small forward. If he makes long enough strides, it’s possible though.
Chris: At this moment, no. I’m one of those need to see it before I believe it guys, and there’s still a lot of healthy skepticism when it comes to Miller.
Matt: I doubt it right now but if he can be a consistent 38 percent guy from three that could change. He should be able to defend well enough to not hurt a team and for a team looking to save on salary somewhere it is possible, though not likely.
4. Should John Salmons be guaranteed a rotation spot this season?
Andrew: Guaranteed, no. Should he have one to start, yes. I say this because he is one of a few people on the roster who can fill the void at small forward size wise. I’m still in favor of Tyreke Evans starting at the three, and see what happens after that.
Chris: No, definitely not. Just cause he’s a veteran and the team is hurting at the small forward position doesn’t mean he helps them be a better basketball team.
Matt: No but I think he is almost assuredly going to be anyway. This team is clearly trying to win now and I think that Salmons helps do that more than Miller who still has plenty to learn. Miller is the higher upside so I would rather he get the shot but I’m not sure if that is how the Pelicans view things.
5. If we were to do these rankings at the end of the year based just on play from this coming season which guy do you project to be higher?
Andrew: I see Darius Miller being higher at the end of the year. I think he will make progress, and I am not a huge fan of Salmons on this team. You never know though, only time will tell.
Chris: Darius Miller, he’s been with Monty Williams long enough to have earned some trust from him. He has a great chance to take advantage of the lack of depth at the small forward position, so it seems likely that he’ll have a jump this year.
Matt: I will begrudgingly take Salmons. Like I said before Miller is the higher upside but I believe that Salmons is going to be given such a giant leash that his production is going to be much more than Miller. Hopefully I am wrong though.
Have your own answers to the questions? Feel free to leave them in the comments below.