Phoenix Suns Player Evaluations '10-'11: Hakim Warrick Is More Nightmare Than Dream
by Alex Laugan on Apr 30, 2011 7:34 AM MST
in Phoenix Suns Commentary
Email
Print
Welcome to the fifth piece of the 2010-11 Phoenix Suns Player Evaluations. We here at Bright Side of the Sun have assembled somewhat of an All-Star cast of writers to put together alternative views on the players, front office, and coaches. Your favorite and least favorite Suns will no doubt get plenty of attention, and the compliments or criticism they deserve.
Kudos to Trevor for his vain attempt to convince you skinny, limited Hakim Warrick is worth keeping on this team. It must have been quite difficult.
Now I get the easy part of this pro/con game: Get rid of him as fast as possible!!!!!
Put him on a train, in a car, on a boat, in a plane, whatever it takes and make him disappear. We don't need him on this team! He doesn't even fit the mold, for chrissake. The Suns are building a non-athletic, overachieving, low-ceiling roster of hustlers and scrappers and Hak just doesn't fit in. He's the yang to Dudley's yin. All flash, no substance. Bring back Louuuuuuuuuu!
HIghlights, schmighlites! We don't need a flashy dunk or two each game for the highlight reel. We want hustle, diving, scrapping, scowling, flowing locks, missed putbacks, missed free throws, high foul rates and the occasional spectacular block. Oh wait, that last was a highlight valued at two points (saved, in this case). Scrap that. We don't even want no stinkin blocks! Just hard fouls!
(Dear Hakim, if you've read this far, please accept my apologies. I'm just following the spirit of the pro/con posting in this series of player evaluations. Your day to shine was yesterday. Now it's roasting time!)
Seriously though, let's discuss Hakim Warrick's shortcomings in more detail.
Unfortunately, I don't have access (and don't want to spend the money) on that SynergySports thingy for data-based backup. All I know is that Hakim Warrick is a turnstile on defense.
I mean seriously, the Suns are in big trouble when Hakim Warrick is on the floor. According to the free 82games.com, the Suns gave up 3 more points per 100 possessions when Hakim took off the warmups. But his incredible offense offset that right? WRONG! In those same minutes, the Suns scored 2 less points per 100 possessions. Ugh!
(point of reference: the Suns averaged about 96 possessions a game last season, so these numbers are roughly 'per game' numbers)
Every single on/off court comparison went negative with Hakim on the floor except free-throw shooting. But free throws don't help when you're not scoring more overall points with them in the mix.
Overall, the Suns were a winning team withOUT Hak on the floor (plus 1.3 pts/100 possessions), and a losing team with him (-4.4 pts/100 possessions).
That's a 5.7 point swing in the wrong direction, and that spells BAD. (at least Lou was only a net -1 the season before, when the Suns had a better supporting cast and won 54 games. Oh wait, scratch that supporting cast crap. It was ALL LOU!)
Get rid of this guy. Put him on the first bus out of town.
But how? they ask. How can we get rid of him when he's making so much money? Sarver is such a douche he overpaid for the worst player in the NBA!
Maybe a little hyperbole there. Hakim is not actually overpaid for 10 and 4 on 20 minutes. The Suns are only committed to 8 million over the next 2 seasons (a third season is a team option). Lots of teams can use a guy who can annually provide 10 and 4 over 20 minutes.
Familiarity breeds contempt. We know Hakim is maddeningly inconsistent, but his career numbers indicate the opposite. Every single season, he's produced the same okay numbers on light minutes.
Every season, he's done the same thing. Only his actual minutes have fluctuated between 1400 (career low this past season) and 2000.
Quite amazing for such an inconsistent player, you know?
So maybe someone will take Hakim. Certainly 3 other teams did so in the past (Milwaukee, Chicago and Phoenix), after Memphis kept him around for his rookie contract.
Make him disappear, Suns! And bring back the Louuuuuinator so the Suns can suck a little bit less!
77 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Well, I kinda disagree
He is not a defensive player, an he never was one of them. His skills in offense are not that great but he still can produce from the bench. And he make some plays that everybody wants to see, specially for his teammates. So what to do? You’re praying for bringing back Lou, who was a fav player for the fans, but NEVER a one who you can rely on in that skills you say that Warrick is really bad. So, nothing changes, all stay the same, but with someone who can only rebound more, but is a hole in the other half.
I’m not a Warrick fan, but if he was the problem last season I would say pack it up guys, we don’t deserve to be talking about basketball.
There are bigger problems to care about like Peaches or Lopez. I’d rather preffer to see them going than to see Hak walking away.
And yeah, you were really hard on him haha
"Steve Nash is more valuable for the Suns than Kobe for the Lakers" - Jared Dudley
by Juac on Apr 30, 2011 12:02 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
very salient points, Juac
Blogging Suns Basketball at Bright Side of the Sun
by Alex Laugan on Apr 30, 2011 12:04 PM MST up reply actions
I was not pretending to be hard on you Alex, I like your writing most of the time
Changing the subject was any party yesterday in Phx celebrating the Grizz win?
"Steve Nash is more valuable for the Suns than Kobe for the Lakers" - Jared Dudley
I did the happy dance
"Maybe I’m old school," Nash said, "but I signed a contract to play here and I want to honor it. I feel like I owe it to my teammates and the city and everybody to keep battling until they tell me it’s time to go." STEVE (God of Basketball) NASH
It looked remarkably similar to the macarena.
by East Bay Ray on Apr 30, 2011 12:52 PM MST up reply actions
Yeah but when you get 2 people having a happy time, you get...
a partee?
Grant Hill: where making MVPs look like wannabes happens.
no porno pls, we're under 18 hehe
"Steve Nash is more valuable for the Suns than Kobe for the Lakers" - Jared Dudley
"Maybe I’m old school," Nash said, "but I signed a contract to play here and I want to honor it. I feel like I owe it to my teammates and the city and everybody to keep battling until they tell me it’s time to go." STEVE (God of Basketball) NASH
by 2NASHTY on Apr 30, 2011 1:43 PM MST up reply actions 3 recs
how does that relate to anything?
I'm from Chicago. I like the Phoenix Suns more than the Chicago Bulls
by sunsfanfromchitown on Apr 30, 2011 4:47 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
Sigh... It relates to everything.
C’mon now.
Grant Hill: where making MVPs look like wannabes happens.
I really don't get this,
Can u please explain?
I'm from Chicago. I like the Phoenix Suns more than the Chicago Bulls
by sunsfanfromchitown on Apr 30, 2011 5:44 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
The first rule of .GIF posting
Is you don’t talk about .GIF posting
Blogging Phoenix Suns basketball at Bright Side of the Sun twitter: @iamtrevorpaxton
by Trevor Paxton on Apr 30, 2011 6:44 PM MST up reply actions
that would be me
doing the happy dance
"Maybe I’m old school," Nash said, "but I signed a contract to play here and I want to honor it. I feel like I owe it to my teammates and the city and everybody to keep battling until they tell me it’s time to go." STEVE (God of Basketball) NASH
It's supposed to be stupid
"I don't lift weights because they are heavy, and I don't run because it makes me tired." - Charles Barkley
Makes so much more sense...
I'm from Chicago. I like the Phoenix Suns more than the Chicago Bulls
by sunsfanfromchitown on May 1, 2011 9:24 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
I'll take consistent rebounding/shot blocking/energy to inconsistent offense any day
"You need to get real!"
i don't because there players that would beat you even if u have energy
"Steve Nash is more valuable for the Suns than Kobe for the Lakers" - Jared Dudley
Talk about hyperbole... You went overboard on this one, Alex lol.
Hak has never been a defensive player. When you watch him on the court, well it’s not like he’s not trying… As bad as his defense may be, he helped us a lot on the offensive end. Wasn’t he our leader in FT attempts? He attacked the basket and is sadly our best post player. In fact, one of the worst things about this season’s team that we never would’ve said about any other Nash era team was that we couldn’t score for long stretches of the game.
Combine shitty offense with average/below-average defense and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Our offensive schemes aren’t bad, but we have two of THE streakiest of players on this team in Vince and Pietrus. Warrick hasn’t been stellar but he honestly hasn’t been THAT bad. Warrick and Childress started to look pretty comfortable near the end of the system. I honestly cannot wait to see Pietrus and Vince go.
Grant Hill: where making MVPs look like wannabes happens.
sort of "not that bad"
I truly hope that Warrick is on the next flight out of town, but I’ll agree with you that his offense, while wildly inconsistent from game to game, is not that bad. He’s 1.5 dimensional (can be a terror on the pick and roll and has a half-decent mid-range shot in spite of how ugly it looks) and can’t be counted on from night to night, but in the right circumstances he’s shown that he can put up some points.
He’s WAY below average on defense, though, and there’s no way you can say that he’s trying when half the time he’s just standing around playing observer. I’ve honestly never seen an NBA big man be that far out of position play after play after play. I’ve practically worn out the reverse button on my TiVo reviewing plays to see how on earth he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Got screened, stumbled, picked the wrong guy to watch, etc? Nope … just standing there. Lopez is almost as bad, but Lopez at least has the excuse of being as mobile as an oak tree while Warrick is agile and slippery quick when he wants to be. On defense, Warrick is either clinically clueless or he isn’t trying … one or the other. Warrick doesn’t sound brain dead in interviews, so i vote for the latter.
Besides, point differential is what wins games. What good does it do to have someone out there who contributes a few points on offense but costs you more of them on defense?
by BenchSplinters on Apr 30, 2011 12:42 PM MST up reply actions
Year to year consistency
Alex, the problem with Warrick isn’t so much his long term inconsistency … it’s the short term that is so erratic and undependable. There is a mathematical concept called "convergence of the means, which basically says that the more averages you average the more you will get a steady number. It’s kind of like saying the annual average of the daily averages of the number of hours you watch live Suns telecasts is X amount of hours. The concept even applies to totally random processes, and Wikipedia even has this to say about it:
“The same concepts are known in more general mathematics as stochastic convergence and they formalize the idea that a sequence of essentially random or unpredictable events can sometimes be expected to settle down into a behavior that is essentially unchanging when items far enough into the sequence are studied.”
The fact that Warrick’s annual stats haven’t changed much from year to year doesn’t mean anyone can figure out how he can help them win games. If I’m trying to build something, I think I’d prefer that the guy I’m paying to help me hands me the same medium sized hammer each time, instead of a large hammer one time and a hand grenade the next. I’m not Gentry’s biggest fan, but I honestly don’t know how any coach can build a successful rotation around players that some nights might as well not have suited up.
by BenchSplinters on Apr 30, 2011 1:09 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
I understand the average of the averages and all that stuff. I was really just trying to go overboard with the generalities.
Blogging Suns Basketball at Bright Side of the Sun
So who else did not bother watching the Royal Wedding?
Grant Hill: where making MVPs look like wannabes happens.
I stayed up by myself watching and drinking while my gf had already fallen asleep
Is that bad?
Re-sign BAMF.
I honestly have to ask.
How hot did Kate look when you were drunk?
Grant Hill: where making MVPs look like wannabes happens.
Oh god...
2N’s going to take this to heart and perform a nude wedding when he gets married. Great…
Grant Hill: where making MVPs look like wannabes happens.
for the last time eric
stop thinking about me nude…
"Maybe I’m old school," Nash said, "but I signed a contract to play here and I want to honor it. I feel like I owe it to my teammates and the city and everybody to keep battling until they tell me it’s time to go." STEVE (God of Basketball) NASH
I can honestly understand the internet's fascination with Kate's wedding dress.
She was smokin’ hot in it.
Grant Hill: where making MVPs look like wannabes happens.
whoever designed that dress is going to have so much money from future business its not even funny.
Blogging Suns Basketball at Bright Side of the Sun
Definitely.
And now Kate’s sister has gotten a lot of exposure. It’s like the UK version of the Kardashians.
Grant Hill: where making MVPs look like wannabes happens.
Yep, the worst on court/off court number of any Suns rotation player.
Warrick was worse than Dowdell and Siler by this measure. Not that this stat (or any other single stat) is the be all/end all, but it speaks to the point that unless Warrick is scoring, he’s pretty much worthless.
However, I’m not letting go of the Louuuuuu comparison just yet. Yesterday, I posted the comparison between Amundson in 09-10 with the Suns and Warrick this past year. Well, take a look at Amundson with the Warriors vs. Warrick with the Suns for 10-11. Warrick blows him away pretty much across the board. Even Amundson’s DRating and rebound % aren’t impressive, although he slightly edges Warrick in those areas.
You can write some of it off to Lou’s broken finger, but maybe it’s more of what Alex hinted at here, that being surrounded by good players on the Suns last year made him appear better than he really is. It might be time for Louuuuuu fans to get over it. Dude’s just not a good player, no matter how happy your memories of him are.
I think it's safe to say every player that has left or been traded away by the Suns
have not had anywhere near the level of success they had here with Steve Nash. Joe Johnson has been the only exception.
Grant Hill: where making MVPs look like wannabes happens.
The only "success" Joe Johnson achieved sans Nash was getting a 119 million dollar contract
Really, what have the Hawks done except getting routinely sweeped in the first two rounds of Playoffs?
Beating the Magic in the 1st round lol
Steve Nash, the league's MVP, is a longhaired Canadian who spoke out against the war in Iraq and reads The Communist Manifesto. Quentin Richardson declared after a game-winning shot that it "was like Hamlet. It was a suspense thriller, and I killed them at the end." Amare Stoudemire, when asked to comment on a 22-point third quarter against the Kings, said, "I've got a tendency to jump over some guys' heads and throw it down."
Absence makes the heart grow fonder ...
From what I was reading on the Warrior boards, some of those fans weren’t all that sold on him either.
by BenchSplinters on Apr 30, 2011 5:29 PM MST up reply actions
Worth noting...
Applying statistics of any kind to Louis Amundson is like trying to apply defensive driving skills to a NASCAR driver. Just don’t fit.
I smell like the vault. I'm so PAID.
by RMason on Apr 30, 2011 9:32 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
Was the game against the Rockets where Warrick and Vince Carter each went for 32
The biggest freak occurrence of the season? How in the hell did that happen?
planets were in some position that let them achieve that
"Steve Nash is more valuable for the Suns than Kobe for the Lakers" - Jared Dudley
I think they were aligned that night.
Can someone verify this?
Grant Hill: where making MVPs look like wannabes happens.
Actually that game was on 8th March
And 8th March 2011 was International Women’s Day. I am not kidding.
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/
Alea iacta est!
by PolishHammer on Apr 30, 2011 2:57 PM MST up reply actions 3 recs
when they played like WOMEN!
RoaR!!!
"Maybe I’m old school," Nash said, "but I signed a contract to play here and I want to honor it. I feel like I owe it to my teammates and the city and everybody to keep battling until they tell me it’s time to go." STEVE (God of Basketball) NASH
I'm not a big fan of Hakim...
But Lawal? Seriously? He was a low second round draft pick BEFORE he blew an ACL.
I lean much more strongly to the bring back Lou contingent. Individually, he’s pretty meh. But the team (especially the bench) played better with him in the lineup.
And we can’t attribute that to Amare taking pressure off him because they didn’t play together that much.
Mostly, I try never to argue with success.
New York, the other Planet Orange.
by suns68 on Apr 30, 2011 1:42 PM MST via mobile reply actions
Wasn't Lawal projected to be a late first round pick?
I’d like to see what he can do when he comes back.
Grant Hill: where making MVPs look like wannabes happens.
Lawal
is actually rated, talent-wise, higher than all but the top 18 picks in this year’s draft. And last year he was ranked in the low-first range too. He dropped because he has no particular wow skill.
Blogging Suns Basketball at Bright Side of the Sun
hello all
i’ve really missed following the suns. it’s just sort of an “emptiness” thing. i miss following the boxscores, reading all your game thread comments, hoping for nash to win the assists title, and watching channing frye and marcin gortat develop greatly as basketball players. even though i [and every one else here] am missing all of that, im still reading all the posts that come up here. but i am SO optimistic for next season. we add a decent PF (david west, josh smith) and shooting guard (kevin martin, demar derozan), and i swear to god that we will have similar, if not more success than last year. we will have a better frye, ab will be healthy and provide tons of scoring and energy off the bench, nash will be rested, gortat will be more polished (no pun intended), and we will be back to our old form again. just wanted to say this for the sake of saying something
"I'm gonna f*ckin punch one of these muthaf*uckas in the face!"
-Steve Nash
ya the suns sucking has...well...sucked, but shit happens
Just ask PtR
"Maybe I’m old school," Nash said, "but I signed a contract to play here and I want to honor it. I feel like I owe it to my teammates and the city and everybody to keep battling until they tell me it’s time to go." STEVE (God of Basketball) NASH
i agree with u about warrick
But why is everyone calling for Lou to comeback? I mean we shouldn’t have traded him in the first place cause he fit last years team perfect. But this isn’t last years team, this team is full of different players with different skillsets then last years amazing roster. Lou is a solid hustle player and a good backup to a star like amare or josh smith, but we don’t have a star anymore. Instead of focusing on bringing back an “underachieving hustle player” that you yourself said our roster is full of, let’s focus on bringing in that starting 4 we so desperately need, and then have our rookie gani lawal, who is said to be a Lou type hustle/scrappy player, but more offensively polished and a better athlete, develop into our backup 4. People seem to forget about lawal due to his lack of playing time from his injury, but I watched him in college and the guy can ball! He out scored and out rebounded fellow teamates derrick favors in college and favors was the #3 pick in the draft. Lawal is already better then Lou, so why bring him back when we don’t need him?
by iamorng on Apr 30, 2011 11:59 PM MST via mobile reply actions
Great point ...
… the same one that Alex made in the comments to the previous Warrick article. Lou fit nicely on a 2nd string that made good use of his energy but didn’t need his scoring. The Suns have a totally different (and inferior) second string now, one that could really use some scoring, and one that would really highlight Lou’s several limitations. I wish him well but I don’t really wish him back.
by BenchSplinters on May 1, 2011 1:00 AM MST up reply actions
Lawal is already better then Lou, so why bring him back when we don’t need him?
That’s likely what the FO thought last summer as well. Unfortunately, Lawal’s mental game wasn’t there yet. He had no idea how to maximize his skills or how to play team defense. None of the front-line Suns played good team or individual defense the first few months of the season, so who was Lawal going to emulate? And then blowing out his knee was particularly unfortunate – he could have gotten some free minutes in the final month when Frye was hurt.
Blogging Suns Basketball at Bright Side of the Sun
I totally agree with you, by the way
this article was about filling a role – the ‘con’ on Warrick. I’m really big on Lawal, in the backup PF role specifically. I don’t see future star here, but I do see a more-talented Lou type. And I do believe that’s what Kerr saw when he drafted Lawal – a bigger Lou with a better upside than 4 and 4 on 15 minutes.
Blogging Suns Basketball at Bright Side of the Sun
What about as a small forward?
Hak looks like a SF to me. I know we already have 400 (+/- 399) of those, but at 6’9" and 215 (dripping wet) he looks to me like a SF. I’m not sure I’d want him in that role, but he might be less of a negative on D, and his post game might be more valuable posting up Ginobli than Dejuan Blair.
I know that is a stretch, a massive stretch, but just a thought!
nah he doesn't have the handles
he’d be a liability then on both ends
"You need to get real!"
by MJ5 on May 1, 2011 1:50 AM MST up reply actions
thats really Hakim’s problem. He’s a small forward body with a power forward’s game.
Blogging Suns Basketball at Bright Side of the Sun
Because
Warrick:
1. can’t dribble
2. has a fair but not good midrange shot (no arc and never shoots it contested)
3. has crummy hands
4. plays HORRIBLE defense
a. is always way out of position
b. is slow to react laterally
c. spaces out and loses focus*
I agree Warrick has a SF body but the best you could say about Warrick at that position is that he might be able to shoot over the guy defending him, but on every other score he strikes out badly. If he can’t guard a 60 square foot space near the hoop he certainly isn’t going to be able to cover the rest of the forecourt. It would be a license to kill for whoever he guarded.
- Warrick plays with the least intensity of anyone on the team. When he retires I bet someone will be able to refine his blood and create a marketable drug to treat OCD with the extract.
by BenchSplinters on May 1, 2011 10:30 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
This is some of the most beautiful formatting I've seen here on BSOTS
And I agree with all of it.
Re-sign BAMF.
I dont get why some hate on hak so much
No hes not the best pf,and we could use an upgrade but at 4.25 mil and less than 20 min a game we could have had a less viable option.
Lover,Poet,Suns fan,All around damn good guy.
Who's less viable than Hak?
Not being argumentative, just curious.
I’ll bet anybody you can name who’s less effective for the price has already been named in recent weeks as a player we must pursue in the off-season. :)
New York, the other Planet Orange.
by suns68 on May 1, 2011 12:59 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
"I dont get why some hate on hak so much"
Because I’ve watched him play. Watch what he does when he doesn’t have the ball (on either offense or defense) and you’ll learn to hate him too.
by BenchSplinters on May 1, 2011 12:59 PM MST up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bright Side Of The Sun
Related FanShots on Bright Side Of The Sun
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Friend Us On Facebook
SBNation.com Recent Stories
In Association With
Follow us on Twitter
