Marquis Daniels
"Offense: Gets about a fifth of his offensive from each of fast break opportunities, pick and rolls, and spot ups. Shows solid one-on-one skills as well. Decent jump shot. Doesn’t show ideal follow through. Won’t hit many three pointers, but he’ll take them when he is open. Takes some questionable shots with a hand in his face. Shows decent footwork, but could stand to work on his fundamentals in that regard. Won’t always set his feet consistently. Good ball handler. Can play a bit of point guard. Not a great scorer off the dribble, but can create for teammates. Likes to pull up for jumpers when he drives right. Will work hard off the ball. Does the little things. Pretty good finisher at the basket. Will play above the rim when he has space. Mediocre foul shooter. Valuable as a passer and scorer, but not a standout in either. Defense: The Pacers most versatile perimeter defender. Can defend all three backcourt positions. More effective against the two guard positions than small forwards. Shows great intensity and effort on the defensive end. Displays tremendous lateral quickness and fast hands. Plays physically, but doesn’t foul. Very intelligent in that way. Does a good job reading passers off the ball and jumping in front of telegraphed passes. Doesn’t do a whole lot of rebounding. Very sound on the defensive end. "
Daniels has definitely has really had an opportunity to shine this season, especially given the injuries Indiana faced to Mike Dunleavy and also some to Danny Granger, this post was written a year ago, and I definitely think he's improved some. He's still not a great 3 pt shooter by any stretch of the imagination, but he's definitely improved his rebounding, getting it up to 4.6 per contest, a pretty respectable number for a perimeter player, epsecially usually as an off guard. The biggest question then, would be whether or not Indiana will pick up Daniels's team option which is valued at $7.3 million. It's a mite expensive so I can imagine Indiana letting him walk and him signing somewhere else
Marvin Williams:
"Offense: Has improved his jump shot significantly since entering the League. Shoots no-dribble jumpers in two-thirds of his spot-up situations; a telling sign of where he is most comfortable at this point. Gets most of his other touches from one-on-one dribble drives and in transition, but seems extremely content hoisting shots from the perimeter when defenders give him space. Able to shoot an above average percentage on mechanics alone. Kicks his legs from time to time when in rhythm, which makes him look less fluid. Could stand to take that out of his game and improve his footwork. Needs to improve both his consistency and aggressiveness to reach his potential. Asked to post up periodically. Shows some decent moves down low. Tends to avoid turning to the baseline when posted up on the right side, but shows the ability to score over both shoulders at a decent clip from the left block. Doesn’t crash the glass as hard as he should given his athleticism. His future remains on the perimeter, and he needs to improve his ball-handling skills and range in order to take advantage of his physical assets. Wouldn’t hurt him to cut down on his turnovers and look to assert himself off the dribble more frequently either. Has shown the ability to get to the line at a high rate. His ability to shoot a good percentage will make his development as a slasher that much more worthwhile.
Defense: A tweener? Doesn’t translate his physical talents to the
defensive end as well he translates them to the offensive end. Has a tough time defending the post. Is susceptible to bigger more experienced post players. Can make an impact defending the perimeter. Ability to contest shots on the perimeter, coupled with the fact that he doesn’t take a lot of risks shows how solid a defender he is. A little bit too upright in his stance, which makes it tough for him to stay in front of quicker small forwards. Commits some unnecessary fouls, but that shouldn’t be a problem as he acclimates to his competition. Rebounds the ball at a good rate."
Williams is also like 3rd or 4th down the line on the offensive chart in Woodson's offense behind Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, Josh Smith, and possibly even Al Horford. Still, he's averaging 14 points per game this season. Additionally, he's significantly improved his 3 point shooting, hitting for this season a decent 35.5% making about 1 per contest. I think playing in a wing position (which Woodson does, playing Smith at the PF slot) is where he is strongest and will make a huge impact. Unlike his rookie classmates; Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Andrew Bogut, Williams and Raymond Felton are the only remaining top 5 picks from the class of 2005 to not reach a contract extension agreement with their respective teams. Of course, the question then ends up being, will Atlanta just pick up Williams's qualifying offer or will they match anything someone else throws at him? Most people believe that re-signing Williams ought to be the Hawks' priority, but given how they handled Josh Smith's contract, I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up walking.
Josh Childress:
"Offense: Has a very smooth offensive game, but is the owner of one of the League’s most awkward jump shots. Displays a major hitch in his jumper and releases it with minimal elevation. Knocks it down consistently enough not to not have to fix it. Scores efficiently, which is the result of great shot selection. Shows a deceptive first-step. Is able to attack the rim off the dribble, and sets his man up by moving well off the ball. Isn’t the most efficient finisher due to his lack of vertical explosiveness. Does a good job of using his length and crafty footwork to beat defenders to the rim or get to the line. Doesn’t pull up off the dribble very often, since he connects with those kinds of shots at a pedestrian rate. Shows range out to three-point range, but his form gives him a very small margin for error, which is represented in his three-point percentage. Finds his offense in transition situations and drives off the dribble, both of which embody his desire to run the floor and his capacity to handle the ball well. Has good court vision, passing ability, and decision-making skills. Doesn’t play all that much point-forward since Joe Johnson fills that role. Won’t light up the scoreboard, but is a consistent contributor that gets his baskets in the flow of the offense. Provides a steadying presence on the floor in Atlanta, despite his age, and is a valuable asset in half-court sets.
Defense: Atlanta’s most fundamentally sound defender. Doesn’t have ideal foot-speed, but has tremendous defensive intangibles and a great wingspan. Reads ball-handlers extremely well, and creates turnovers by getting into passing lanes. Length and effort make him a very good perimeter defender. Lacks the bulk to defend strong players in the post, but makes an effort to deny entry passes by working hard to take away angles. Gets beat off the dribble periodically, but doesn’t give up anything easy at the rim. Does a good job of rotating with the ball. Isn’t reckless when closing out his man off of skip passes. Still manages to block a few shots due in large part to his long arms and good timing. Has great timing and knows how toget his team extra possessions."
I don't think Hawks really have Childress that much on their radar, but if he does decide to return to the States to play ball, it's entirely possible that the Hawks will match anything that anyone throws at him, especially given how many free agents the Hawks have this coming off-season. However, it's also entirely possible that the Hawks just don't want anything more to do with Childress after how they handled him last season and his subsequent departure for Greece. Hope he does come back, does have to add some serious weight though.
Walter Herrmann:
DraftExpress didn't have a writeup of him, so I pulled a quick one from Sportsnet.
"Assets
Athletic and smart, he is a very solid player fundamentally who can excel in either up-tempo or halfcourt schemes. Drives fearlessly to the hoop and can hit from anywhere in the offensive zone. Unselfish, and an underrated natural scorer.Flaws
While solid defensively he is a bit of a 'tweener (not really a small forward and not really a power forward). Needs to find his niche at the NBA level."
Hm.... solid defender that hits threes... Herrmann lit it up towards the end of the 2007 season when the Bobcats pretty much gave up. He's super efficient at scoring when he gets playing time, but thusfar in the Detroit rotation has been somewhat buried. He's already 29 but still, I'd imagine he has a bit of ball left in him. He's an unrestricted free after this season with Detroit, and I don't know that they'd look to keep him. Solid guy for whichever team needs some spot offense and solid defense at the 3.
Of course there are other big names out there, Ron Artest, Shawn Marion, Hedo Turkoglu should he opt out, other names to look at would include Trevor Ariza though I doubt Lakers let him walk.
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