As Kevin Durant and LeBron James duke it out in the MVP race and the J.R. Smith circus tours America, it got me thinking:
Who's leading the LVP race so far?
In this edition of Per Diem, we'll take stock in the race for the least valuable player so far this season. Just like in the MVP race, we're not considering the contract status. For the purposes of this list, we're interested in identifying the players who have hurt their team's chances to win most. In essence, we're not looking at the 15th man on the roster. After all, you can't lose if you don't play.
Taking into consideration every player's traditional numbers and advance metrics including on-court/off-court data, here is one man's ranking of the least valuable players in the league so far.
And the "winners" are …
LVP: Kendrick Perkins, Oklahoma City Thunder
Give the guy a Nobel Peace Prize, because his leadership must be that transformative. Otherwise, there is no way he could convince an NBA coach to give him 20 minutes a night in 2014. Alas, Scott Brooks can't shake his Perkins addiction. With Perkins, every shred of tangible evidence points to "not an NBA player."
Perkins
Get this: He currently has more turnovers (53) than made baskets (4
. And then there's the fact that he fouls five times as often as he blocks a shot.
If he does positive things outside the box score, it doesn't show on the scoreboard; the Thunder are 9.2 points per 100 possessions worse with him on the floor, according to NBA.com. That is especially amazing considering he plays almost exclusively (683 of his 690 minutes) with Kevin Durant. Even the MVP favorite can't hide his futility. Perkins ranks last in Estimated Wins Added (minus-1.5) and second-to-last in WARP (minus-1.
. It's hard to imagine a player more unintentionally destructive.
Second place: Anthony Bennett, Cleveland Cavaliers
Please, just send him to the D-League already. This isn't about pity; it's about rehabilitation. You know what's worse for his confidence than a demotion? Sticking with the status quo.
Bennett
With an obscenely bad 1.1 PER and a subterranean 31.9 percent true shooting percentage, this is the worst rookie season for a top pick by a country mile. The guy is shooting 14-for-78 (18 percent) outside five feet and ranks dead last in win shares (minus-0.9).
For someone with conditioning issues, why nail him to the bench when he could work himself into shape in the D-League without the spotlight? Keeping him on the big-league roster reeks of cognitive dissonance by a desperate organization trying to save face. The sleep apnea, shoulder soreness and asthma issues are real, but so is the potential damage to his career and the Cavs' chances at relevance. He might not boast the number of minutes as the rest of the names here, but his play is too toxic to leave him off.
Third place: Ben McLemore, Sacramento Kings.
Maybe it's completely meaningless and utterly arbitrary, but ever since LeBron James posterized him in Miami on Dec. 20, here are the rook's averages over those 12 games: 21.0 minutes, 4.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 31.7 percent shooting from the floor, 32.1 percent from downtown and 0.7 free throw attempts.
McLemore
The worst part? He has 35 fouls and one steal over that span. That's horrendous for an athlete like him.
You probably haven't heard more about McLemore's demise because the most of the top 10 in the 2013 draft (with the exception of No. 9 pick Trey Burke) has been a train wreck. But McLemore's minus-0.4 PER this month illustrates how bad it's gotten, and he's now in danger of dropping out of the rotation after losing his starting spot earlier this month.
He's still just 20 years old, but we could be waiting a while for his athleticism to translate onto the NBA level.
Fourth place: Tayshaun Prince, Memphis Grizzlies
Meet the least valuable player in the league so far -- according to WARP. The 33-year-old has been a tire fire this season as the Grizzlies' starting small forward, posting a minus-1.9 WARP, which means that he's cost the Grizzlies two wins compared to a guy at the end of the bench.
Prince
For a team like the Grizzlies in the thick of the race, those two wins could be the difference between a playoff spot and the lottery.
Now that Prince has oddly abandoned the 3-point line for a team that is starving for treys, his value as an offensive player has just about vanished. He's not a shot creator and he ranks dead last in catch-and-shoot efficiency among the 82 players with at least 100 plays, according to Synergy. His solid defense keeps him from appearing higher on the list, but even that is waning as he ages. Recent free agent signee James Johnson could be starting before long.
Fifth place: J.R. Smith, New York Knicks
The issue isn't if the Knicks should bench Smith. The real question is, why didn't it happen sooner? By benching Smith now after juvenile antics, the Knicks are conveniently trying to distract fans from the actual culprit: he can't score.
Smith
Among the 98 players with a usage rate north of 20 percent and at least 750 minutes played, Smith ranks dead last in true shooting percentage (45.5 percent). The only thing more poisonous than a player who can't score is one that thinks he can.
With knee issues sapping his mobility, he should be reduced to a catch-and-shoot weapon, but the problem is that he believes he's Steve Nash, not Steve Novak. On-court/off-court data from NBA.com suggests that the Knicks are better off on both ends of the floor without him, confirming what our eyes tell us.
Dishonorable mentions:
Mayo
O.J. Mayo, Milwaukee Bucks: Mayo's numbers don't scream LVP on the surface, as he's posted a lukewarm 11.7 PER with an above-average 37.9 percent conversion rate from downtown. But then you realize that the Bucks have been outscored by 15.5 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor and just 1.7 points per 100 possessions with him on the bench. In other words, the Bucks aren't a tanking team with Mayo.
Hinrich
Kirk Hinrich, Chicago Bulls: Not many players can make D.J. Augustin look like an All-Star by comparison. Enter Hinrich. The guy is shooting 29 percent over his last 14 games, ever since the Bulls thumped the Miami Heat by 20 points in early December. He can't get into the paint and can't create enough separation to open up passing lanes so he's just brutal to watch run an offense at this stage in his career. Among players with at least 30 minutes per game, Hinrich owns the worst PER at 9.1. I can't believe I'm saying this, but, more Augustin, please.
Zeller
Cody Zeller, Charlotte Bobcats: Remember when people thought he was the next LaMarcus Aldridge? Let's pump the brakes on that. Zeller has been atrocious as a shooter, converting just 26 percent of his 87 midrange jumpers this season. He has yet to make a 3-pointer, despite the hype that he was the best stretch 4 in the draft. It's early, but the No. 4 pick has been a mess on both ends of the floor.
Green
Willie Green, Los Angeles Clippers: If it weren't for his longtime pal Chris Paul, Green may be out of the league. He can knock down a corner 3 every once in a while, but other than that, he's a liability on the offensive end. The Clippers' starting lineup with J.J. Redick has scored 109.4 points per 100 possessions this season, per NBA.com. With Green? 97.7 points per 100 possessions. It's hard to make an offense that stars Paul and Blake Griffin look mediocre, but Green works wonders.
Fisher
Derek Fisher, Oklahoma City Thunder: Like the guy ranked No. 1 on this list, his leadership qualities must outweigh his on-court contributions, which makes you wonder why he doesn't just put on a three-piece suit and join the coaching staff already. He's woefully inefficient with a 50.1 percent true shooting percentage, but unlike other players on this list, he knows his limits for the most part. At 39, he's washed up like a beached whale.
