There’s still so many shoes that have to drop in the NBA free agency frenzy of 2010, so we’re going to have to wait on what the oddsmakers finally have to say about the upcoming NBA betting season. One thing we know for certain is that John Wall will be the leading front runner for all rookies in the NBA.
John Wall took over the summer league with 23.5 points per game and 7.8 assists. He’s everything that the Washington Wizards could hope for, and while his shooting leaves something to be desired, his sheer athleticism was overwhelmingly better than anyone on the floor at summer league.
What makes Wall even more dangerous in the 2010-11 NBA betting season is the acquisition of Kirk Hinrich who the Wizards traded for on draft day. The former Kansas guard averaged an unimpressive 10.9 points and 4.5 assists in Chicago, but was a serious threat in the playoffs. Hinrich produced 12.4 points per game in the post-season and also emerged with a 27-point effort against Cleveland in Game 3.
While Hinrich’s $9 million salary makes him a big of a head scratcher, he’s a great complimentary scoring presence to a guy like John Wall. He’s used to playing with supremely gifted guards, especially after two seasons serving alongside Derrick Rose.
Combined with Hinrich, Wall will have the shooter by his side to kick out too if he’s having a bad shooting day. It’s a similar situation that Derrick Rose thrived under in his rookie year when he landed with Ben Gordon as his running mate.
Competing with Wall for the ROY honors will be Evan Turner of the Sixers, DeMarcus Cousins of the Kings and Ed Davis of the Raptors. There’s a breadth of talented rookie that could worm their way in to the fray, but those three players have the biggest chance to impact their new teams.
Turner will have a lot of troubles in Philadelphia considering the team’s lack of identity. With Jrue Holiday serving as a better point man than what the team has had since losing Andre Miller, Turner and Igoudala will have to hope that Spencer Hawes and Elton Brand can bolster the front court. For the most part, Philly has been a laughing stock in the league and even with Turner I don’t expect that to change.
DeMarcus Cousins has an ideal situation in Sacramento largely because of another former ROY in Tyreke Evans. The thought of Cousins playing with Evans should terrify the NBA for years to come. It’s a tough combination of brutal physical play on the inside and outside, and if Cousins puts up staggering numbers on the Kings with the amount of minutes he’ll get to play, then he may get a crack at the ROY along with his former point guard in Kentucky.
The reason Ed Davis gets lumped in as one of my favorite rookies is because of where he landed. The Toronto Raptors lost Chris Bosh, and with it, any hope of being a contender. However, Davis is a very nice fill-in for Toronto. He’s an athletic power-forward who can run the floor, pass extremely well and has great instincts around the rim.
At 6-foot-10 and 215 pounds, he is undersized as a true banger underneath, and he has plenty to prove since missing the entire second half of the college basketball season with an injury. But if Davis can lead the Raptors to the post season in the post-Bosh era, he will not only be a hero in Toronto, he’ll be a strong candidate to upset Wall in the Rookie of the Year vote. I know it’s a big “if” but that’s why longshots are so fun, right?
Just because Wall was drafted first overall, it doesn’t mean that the Rookie of the Year award is definitively his. In the past 10 NBA seasons, only LeBron James and Derrick Rose have been the first overall pick and taken home the Rookie of the Year award. Wall seems like the only guy capable of winning the award given his immense talent, but the odds are stacked against him.
While you’re waiting for the 2010-11 NBA betting props to go up, bet on the FIBA World Championships instead!
