NBA Defensive Player

Jrue Holiday #11 of the Philadelphia 76ers lays up a shot past Tyson Chandler #6 of the New York Knicks at the Wells Fargo Center on March 21, 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Knicks won 82-79.

Drew Hallowell / Getty Images

Updated May 02, 2012

The highlight shows tend to focus on the offensive end, but there will always be a place in the NBA for elite defenders. The best is honored every year with the Defensive Player of the Year award, an honor which, if there was any justice in the world, would be named for Celtic great Bill Russell, who dominated the paint before this award - and many statistical measures of great defense - even existed. (Russell's name is on the Finals MVP trophy.)

2012 Defensive Player of the Year: Tyson Chandler

It would be easy to dismiss Tyson Chandler's win as simple voter fatigue... NBA awards voters do seem to get bored with selecting the same player over and over again, and Dwight Howard had won three straight times. But Howard had a down year, while Chandler arrived in New York and helped the Knicks jump from 22nd overall in defensive efficiency to 5th.

Chandler is the first Knick to be honored as Defensive Player of the Year.

The Selection Process

The winner is selected by a panel of media members representing every NBA city, as well as a number of national broadcasters and writers.

The vote takes place immediately after the regular season; playoff performance doesn't factor in.

Defensive Player of the Year Trivia

• Shot-blockers and rebounders have dominated the voting in recent years. Since 1989, the only guards to win defensive player honors are Seattle's Gary "The Glove" Payton (1996) and Indiana swingman Ron Artest (2004).
• But big men didn't dominate the voting at the outset: five of the first six defensive player awards went to guards. Milwaukee's Sidney Moncrief won the first two.
• Michael Jordan, David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon are the only players to win Defensive Player of the Year and MVP awards. Olajuwon won both -- and was named Finals MVP -- in the same year.

NBA Defensive Player of the Year

2010-11 : Tyson Chandler - New York
2010-11 : Dwight Howard - Orlando
2009-10 : Dwight Howard - Orlando
2008-09 : Dwight Howard - Orlando
2007-08 : Kevin Garnett - Boston
2006-07 : Marcus Camby - Denver
2005-06 : Ben Wallace - Detroit
2004-05 : Ben Wallace - Detroit
2003-04 : Ron Artest - Indiana
2002-03 : Ben Wallace - Detroit
2001-02 : Ben Wallace - Detroit
2000-01 : Dikembe Mutombo - Philadelphia-Atlanta
1999-00 : Alonzo Mourning - Miami
1998-99 : Alonzo Mourning - Miami
1997-98 : Dikembe Mutombo - Atlanta
1996-97 : Dikembe Mutombo - Atlanta
1995-96 : Gary Payton - Seattle
1994-95 : Dikembe Mutombo - Denver
1993-94 : Hakeem Olajuwon - Houston
1992-93 : Hakeem Olajuwon - Houston
1991-92 : David Robinson - San Antonio
1990-91 : Dennis Rodman - Detroit
1989-90 : Dennis Rodman - Detroit
1988-89 : Mark Eaton - Utah
1987-88 : Michael Jordan - Chicago
1986-87 : Michael Cooper - Los Angeles Lakers
1985-86 : Alvin Robertson - San Antonio
1984-85 : Mark Eaton - Utah
1983-84 : Sidney Moncrief - Milwaukee
1982-83 : Sidney Moncrief - Milwaukee

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2012 Defensive Player of the Year: Tyson Chandler

Knicks fans received some good news for the first time in about a week when Tyson Chandler was named the NBA's 2012 Defensive Player of the Year.

Chandler doesn't have the gaudy rebound or block totals we've come to expect from the DPOY winner. His impact is much better measured at the team level. In 2010-11, before his arrival, the Knicks ranked 22nd in the NBA in defensive efficiency. This season, that rank jumped to fifth overall. That's particularly impressive considering the fact that most of New York's other top players - Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak especially - are considerably below-average on defense.

Chandler is the first Knick to be honored as the league's top defender.

Serge Ibaka placed second in the voting, followed by three-time defensive player of the year Dwight Howard in third place and LeBron James in fourth.

• Defensive Player of the Year
• 2012 NBA Awards

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The NBA's Worst Player Contracts

Aug 2 2011

The NBA's latest CBA proposal reportedly includes an "amnesty clause" - a one-time opportunity for teams to remove their worst contracts from the books.

NBA teams have had this opportunity once before. In 2005, teams were given the chance to waive a single player contract. Teams were still bound to pay the players' salary, and the salaries continued to count against the cap, but teams were freed from any obligation to pay luxury tax on those salaries.

That rule came to be known as the "Allan Houston Rule" - based on the general assumption that New York would jump at the opportunity to waive their oft-injured, high-priced guard. (In an ironic twist, Houston was not waived under the rule that bears his name - the Knicks gambled that Houston's injuries would prove to be career-ending, and that they'd get cap - and insurance - relief as a result. That turned out to be the team's savviest personnel move of the decade.)

The provision in the owners' CBA proposal may be similar, though it seems reasonable to assume that this amnesty clause would remove contracts from the salary cap number as well, especially if accompanied by a substantial reduction in the cap number or the elimination of cap "exceptions."

That's interesting for a couple of reasons. A big wave of amnesty-clause free agents would make the 2011 free-agent class a lot deeper -- and if we assume that the waived players would still collect money owed under their existing contracts, those new free agents might be willing to work for very little. It would also give teams that are struggling under the weight of some bad decisions to add some talent over the summer.

Which players would be impacted? A quick look at each team's payroll offers quite a few clues. (All salary figures are from the invaluable team payroll listings at HoopsHype.com.

The NBA's Worst Contracts: 2011-on

Atlanta: Joe Johnson's mammoth contract (which will pay him nearly $25 million in 2015-16) is generally regarded as the league's worst. But can the Hawks afford to part ways with their best player? Kirk Hinrich ($8 million in 2011-12) might be another candidate, given Jeff Teague's emergence in the playoffs.

Boston: The Celtics still have Rasheed Wallace on the books for over $6.7 million in 2011-12. He's the obvious choice.

Charlotte: Their draft-day trade with Milwaukee cleared Charlotte's ugliest contract - Stephen Jackson's - off the books. Corey Maggette is significantly overpaid, but at least his deal expires after the 2012-13 season.

Chicago: The Bulls are in excellent shape, payroll-wise; their core is locked up through 2012-13, and no player is making a really outrageous sum.

Cleveland: The Cavs would happily part ways with Antawn Jamison (owed over $15 million in 2011-12) or Baron Davis (owed nearly $29 million over the next two seasons).

Dallas: I suspect the Mavs would rather not have Brendan Haywood on the books for $42 million through the 2015-16 season, especially if it means losing their flexibility to re-sign Tyson Chandler and replace an aging Jason Kidd when the time comes.

Denver: The Nuggets only real contract extravagance is Al Harrington's deal, which runs through the 2014-15 season at an average of over $7 million per year.

Detroit: Joe Dumars has been trying to part ways with Rip Hamilton for the better part of a year - this could be his chance.

Golden State: A lot depends on what sort of team the Warriors want to be. If they decide to get away from their offense-first philosophy, they could re-think their long-term commitment to David Lee. Andris Biedrins could lose playing time to 2010-11 rookie Ekpe Udoh, and ($9 million/year through 2013-14) would also make a lot of sense.

Houston: Unloading Brad Miller on draft night cleared the Rockets' worst liability off the books. Hasheem Thabeet doesn't give the team much, but he's still on a rookie deal and could be gone after this season.

Indiana: Danny Granger is the only Pacer signed beyond next season (if you ignore a variety of player/team options). Indiana could clear a little space for 2011-12 by cutting ties with James Posey ($6.9 million) a year early.

View the original article here

The NBA's Worst Player Contracts

Aug 2 2011

The NBA's latest CBA proposal reportedly includes an "amnesty clause" - a one-time opportunity for teams to remove their worst contracts from the books.

NBA teams have had this opportunity once before. In 2005, teams were given the chance to waive a single player contract. Teams were still bound to pay the players' salary, and the salaries continued to count against the cap, but teams were freed from any obligation to pay luxury tax on those salaries.

That rule came to be known as the "Allan Houston Rule" - based on the general assumption that New York would jump at the opportunity to waive their oft-injured, high-priced guard. (In an ironic twist, Houston was not waived under the rule that bears his name - the Knicks gambled that Houston's injuries would prove to be career-ending, and that they'd get cap - and insurance - relief as a result. That turned out to be the team's savviest personnel move of the decade.)

The provision in the owners' CBA proposal may be similar, though it seems reasonable to assume that this amnesty clause would remove contracts from the salary cap number as well, especially if accompanied by a substantial reduction in the cap number or the elimination of cap "exceptions."

That's interesting for a couple of reasons. A big wave of amnesty-clause free agents would make the 2011 free-agent class a lot deeper -- and if we assume that the waived players would still collect money owed under their existing contracts, those new free agents might be willing to work for very little. It would also give teams that are struggling under the weight of some bad decisions to add some talent over the summer.

Which players would be impacted? A quick look at each team's payroll offers quite a few clues. (All salary figures are from the invaluable team payroll listings at HoopsHype.com.

The NBA's Worst Contracts: 2011-on

Atlanta: Joe Johnson's mammoth contract (which will pay him nearly $25 million in 2015-16) is generally regarded as the league's worst. But can the Hawks afford to part ways with their best player? Kirk Hinrich ($8 million in 2011-12) might be another candidate, given Jeff Teague's emergence in the playoffs.

Boston: The Celtics still have Rasheed Wallace on the books for over $6.7 million in 2011-12. He's the obvious choice.

Charlotte: Their draft-day trade with Milwaukee cleared Charlotte's ugliest contract - Stephen Jackson's - off the books. Corey Maggette is significantly overpaid, but at least his deal expires after the 2012-13 season.

Chicago: The Bulls are in excellent shape, payroll-wise; their core is locked up through 2012-13, and no player is making a really outrageous sum.

Cleveland: The Cavs would happily part ways with Antawn Jamison (owed over $15 million in 2011-12) or Baron Davis (owed nearly $29 million over the next two seasons).

Dallas: I suspect the Mavs would rather not have Brendan Haywood on the books for $42 million through the 2015-16 season, especially if it means losing their flexibility to re-sign Tyson Chandler and replace an aging Jason Kidd when the time comes.

Denver: The Nuggets only real contract extravagance is Al Harrington's deal, which runs through the 2014-15 season at an average of over $7 million per year.

Detroit: Joe Dumars has been trying to part ways with Rip Hamilton for the better part of a year - this could be his chance.

Golden State: A lot depends on what sort of team the Warriors want to be. If they decide to get away from their offense-first philosophy, they could re-think their long-term commitment to David Lee. Andris Biedrins could lose playing time to 2010-11 rookie Ekpe Udoh, and ($9 million/year through 2013-14) would also make a lot of sense.

Houston: Unloading Brad Miller on draft night cleared the Rockets' worst liability off the books. Hasheem Thabeet doesn't give the team much, but he's still on a rookie deal and could be gone after this season.

Indiana: Danny Granger is the only Pacer signed beyond next season (if you ignore a variety of player/team options). Indiana could clear a little space for 2011-12 by cutting ties with James Posey ($6.9 million) a year early.

View the original article here

JR Smith to Become Highest-Paid Player in China

Denver Nuggets swingman J.R. Smith has signed a $3 million contract with the Zhejiang Chouzhou Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association, NiuBBall is reporting. That deal makes Smith the highest-paid player in China's pro league.

As with Smith's Denver teammate Wilson Chandler, the deal does not include an opt-out to allow Smith to return to the United States when the lockout is settled. The Chinese league does not allow opt-out clauses in contracts. Smith is a free agent, and will be able to sign with any NBA team when (and if) he returns to the States.

He is the third current NBA player to sign a deal in China, joining Chandler and Earl Clark.

Smith is an... interesting choice for the Chinese league. At his best, he's an electric scorer and outstanding three-point shooter. But he's nearly as well-known for his long-running clash with Denver coach George Karl, and has spent the bulk of his NBA career in and out of Karl's dog house. Coaches in China have shown very little tolerance for that sort of thing in the past. Steve Francis' career in China lasted just 13 days and 14 minutes of playing time before the one-time NBA All-Star was waived.

Poor conditioning also played a major role in Francis quick exit.

Ex-NBA players Ricky Davis and Mike James had similarly brief cameos in the Chinese league. But Stephon Marbury - one of the NBA's most notorious knuckleheads during his tenure with the Knicks - is one of China's most popular players.

Some are predicting Smith will re-write the league's record book - and it wouldn't surprise me if that's the case. I'd be equally unsurprised if he returns home well before the CBA season is over.

(h/t: Scott Schroeder, SBNation.com)

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