Heading into this season, there were a lot of reasons not to draft Sam Dalembert.
- He’s a veteran on a team looking to find minutes for younger players.
- He’s a plodder on a team that likes to get out and run.
- He’s a defensive specialist with a coach known for his offense.
- And he makes too much money, so management has been shopping him for forever.
But a funny thing has happened in recent weeks — Dalembert has been getting 30-plus minutes on a fairly regular basis. And as my colleague The Professor points out, when Sam plays that much, he generates good numbers — nearly 12 boards and over three blocks per game.
So I’;m willing to accept the idea that Dalembert is worth playing when he’s getting starter minutes. The question then becomes — how often is that going to happen? After all, he’s still competing for minutes with a promising youngster (Marreese Speights) and another highly-compensated veteran (Elton Brand).
via NBA FanVoice > Iverson Keys Dalembert’s Revival.
