Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Jason Collins and the 15th Man Conundrum


Last April, Jason Collins became the first active male professional athlete to come out of the closet. It takes quite a bit of spirit to do that. Tennis player Martina Navratilova was the first active gay athlete to come out i 1981, but it's a testament on how ridiculously harder it is for a man that Collins did it 32 years later. He was two years old when Navratilova came out. Despite stating that he would seek a new contract during the summer, Jason Collins still doesn't have a job today and it is neither bigotry or savvy management. Not at the moment.

Collins' coming out happened at a tricky moment of his career, because his career is clearly winding down and he is becoming a fringe NBA player. He has been a serviceable backup center for several years, but he never really had a crticial role to play in any rotation he was a part of after he left the New Jersey Nets. His greatest moment was in the 2011 playoffs when he played for the Atlanta Hawks, and defended Dwight Howard into elimination. Quite frankly, I don't remember him having an impact on another situation, but my NBA knowledge is not encyclopedic.

But is Jason Collins a good player? Yes, he still is. He doesn't do a lot of things, he doesn't show flare on the score sheet, but what he does, he does well. He is a savvy low post defender, he sets hard screens on the pick and roll and he actually boxes out on the rebound. Lots of players seems to forget to do that once they reach the NBA. Collins is limited but fundamentally sound. The bulk of what he can offer a team is done off the ball. But is that enough to clinch a roster spot on a NBA Team? That's where bigotry might be coming into play.

J.R's bro is the Knicks' 15th man because he is J.R's bro.

I hate to point the finger at my Knicks, but they are a perfect example of what several teams are guilty of. Their 15th man is Chris Smith, J.R's little brother. He is a tragically undersized shooting guard, caught in the rotation behind his bro, Iman Shumpert and Tim Hardaway Jr. The fact that he is on an NBA roster is both detirimental to his development and the Knicks' success. It's likely that he'll never play a minute, caught behind three solid shooting guards. New York needs a low post presence that can alleviate pressure off Tyson Chandler and Kenyon Martin. They need 8 to 12 minutes of Jason Collins on a nightly basis. To their discharge, their troubles only became clear the last few weeks, so maybe they'll sign him sometime in November.

One other important fact about a 15th man is that it is, first and foremost, a teammate. It is really tricky to find a good one that accepts his role with the team and helps on and off the court. That maybe is the biggest surprise to me about Jason Collins lingering free agency because he's been in the league for so long, GM's know he's a reputable leader and a great teammate. I'm not ready to pull the bigotry card on the Jason Collins case yet, but the clocks is ticking and there are teams that need serious help on their bench. Help that he can provide. I'm even surprised our favorite fun-loving oligarch David Stern didn't pick up the phone yet to make it happen. What will become of Jason Collins, this season?

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