As NBA GMs finalise their free-agency movements, Dante, Delly and others battle it out in the Las Vegas heat and Patty Mills and Aron Baynes show off the Larry O’Brien Trophy, we take a look at ten young NBA players who are primed to take their games to another level in the 2014/15 season.
I followed two key rules to create this list: all players must be under 25 and there must be no All-Star appearances among them.
Without further ado, your 2014/15 NBA breakout candidates…
Markieff Morris (Phoenix Suns)
In his third professional season, ‘Keef’ Morris made major strides last year and the arrow continues to point straight up for the 24-year-old Phoenix Sun. Markieff – not to be confused with his identical twin brother and teammate Marcus – provided instant offense off the bench for the high-octane Suns; dropping almost 14 points per game at close to 50% shooting across the ’13/14 season. All that while averaging less than 27 minutes on the floor.
Morris’ impressive efforts saw him receive votes in both the Sixth Man and Most Improved Player polling and yet, surprisingly, he remains somewhat under-the-radar for the casual fan.
Not for long.
With Channing Frye recently signing a 4-year $32 million contract with the Orlando Magic, the door is wide open for Markieff Morris to step into a major role this year as the number one power forward on the Phoenix roster. The 6’10” Morris has a dynamic inside-outside offensive game, although his consistency from long-range will need to further improve in order to fully fill Frye’s size 18s in the pick-and-pop with the exciting Phoenix backcourt. Word out of Arizona is that Keef has been working hard over the summer thus far on improving that consistency.
Look for Markieff Morris – the twin wearing number 11 – to heat up even further in the Valley of the Sun next season.
Jared Sullinger (Boston Celtics)
Could Jared Sullinger become the Kevin Love of the East? Indiana Pacers big man Roy Hibbert thinks so.
“He’s just gotta keep working,” Hibbert commented late last year after playing Sullinger and the Celtics. “He could be like the Kevin Love of the East. It’s his second year… it’s gonna be a long process but he could be a pretty good player in this league.”
Ok, so Kevin Love’s 26 & 12 type-of-game might be setting the bar a little high for Sullinger but the 22-year-old did show some signs last year that suggest he’s ready to make a big impact on the league this coming season.
The Celts snatched Sullinger up at pick 21 of the 2012 Draft after back issues scared a lot of other teams away from the top 10 talent. Finally free of the pain, Sully averaged 13.3 points and 8.1 rebounds in 74 games last season; increasing his playing time significantly under new coach Brad Stevens.
Even with Kris Humphries out of the picture, Sully’s playing time will likely hover somewhere just south of 30 minutes per game next season. Nonetheless, with word coming out of Boston that the big fella is working hard on his conditioning and his game, I’m predicting continued improvement and a big year ahead.
Jonas Valančiūnas (Toronto Raptors)
After dominating the 2013 Vegas Summer League, Valančiūnas (pronounced vah-lahn-CHEW-nahs) was on everybody’s breakout list heading into last season. Unfortunately, the big Lithuanian only showed marginal improvement throughout much of the year, finishing with averages of 11.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
Nonetheless, Valančiūnas did show some encouraging signs late in the regular season and early in the Raptors’ first round playoff series against Brooklyn. In April, JV increased his output to 16.8 points and 11 boards per game before kicking off his first ever playoff series with three consecutive double-doubles. He was a massive match-up problem for the Nets, dominating to the tune of 17 and 18 in Game 1 and 15 and 14 in Game 2 before fading out somewhat as the series went the distance.
With another year of development under his belt, Valančiūnas is ready to take his game to the next level. He’s still only 22 but he already scores at a tremendous clip from the field (53%), knocks down his free throws (76%), possesses an effective low-post game, is an accomplished post defender and is not afraid to throw his body around under the basket.
Sir Charles may not be able to pronounce his name…
And he’s no Gene Kelly…
But Jonas Valančiūnas is primed for a season that will vault him into the upper echelon of NBA centers.
Avery Bradley (Boston Celtics)Last year, in his fourth season as a pro, Avery Bradley demonstrated that his future is bright as a starting guard in The Association. With that in mind, it came as no surprise when the Celtics announced earlier this week their re-signing of Bradley, a restricted free agent, to a new multi-year deal believed to be worth $32 million over 4 years.
“We see Avery as a key part of our chase of Banner 18,” Said Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. “He keeps getting better and is still far from his ceiling. We’re ecstatic to have him back.”
Bradley’s scoring jumped from 9.2 to 14.9 points per game last season on the back of increased aggressiveness off the dribble and improved perimeter shooting; knocking down over a three per game at a long-range clip of close to 40%.
For mine, Bradley is set to take another leap over the next 12 months. He remains one of the game’s premier perimeter defenders, has a terrific work ethic over the summer months and is locked and loaded as Boston’s starting SG for the foreseeable future, despite the arrival of talented rookies Marcus Smart (PG/SG) and James Young (SG/SF).
Danny Ainge said it when he said it; Avery Bradley just “keeps getting better.”
Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets)
After an inconsistent first half of the year, The Manimal caught the scent around the All-Star break last season. From that point on Kenneth Faried ran wild across the NBA, averaging 18.8 points and 10.1 rebounds at an efficient 55% from the floor and an improved 70% from the foul line; demonstrating the energy, athleticism and skill-set that has many predicting future stardom for the 24-year-old out of Morehead State.
Since being drafted 22nd overall in 2011, Faried’s big smile, big hair and massive enthusiasm for the game have made him a fan favourite in the Mile High City.
“That’s what I love to do – have fun and play basketball,” The Manimal said after dropping 34 and 13 on New Orleans late last season. “When it’s that exciting and that much fun you have no worries, really. You just think about winning.”
Faried’s impressive late-season play has seen him gain a spot on the recently announced USA Basketball training camp roster; a list of nineteen names that includes All-Star power forwards Kevin Love, Anthony Davis and Blake Griffin.
Whether he makes the final World Cup team or not, the upcoming Team USA training camp will be an invaluable learning experience for the Denver Nuggets building block, as he learns more about the game from some of the NBA’s absolute elite.
Here’s the bottom line for Faried: ’14/15 will be year four – time to put it all together – so prepare yourself for a full year of dominance from The Manimal next season.
Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards)
Faried’s not the only member of the Team USA squad destined for a breakout in ‘14/15, with Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal set to take the leap from good to very, very good next season.
As an NBA sophomore, Beal turned heads last season averaging 17 points per game and teaming with All-Star point guard John Wall to form one of the league’s most dynamic young backcourts.
The Real Beal continued his impressive play in the playoffs, helping the Wiz advance past Chicago and push Indiana to a 6th game.
Beal is still only 21 years old but he has a mature head on his shoulders and a new veteran mentor in Paul Pierce to guide him towards the next level.
He is still developing, which is a scary thought, and I’m warning you right now: don’t be shocked to see Bradley Beal checking in off the bench for the East on February 15 next year.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
YAHN-iss Ah-deh-toh-KOON-boh. The Alphabet. The Greek Freak. Call him what you like. As long as you recognise his game, the 19 year-old Milwaukee Buck doesn’t really mind.
Antetokounmpo is a special talent. When he was drafted out of the Greek 2nd Division last year as an 18 year-old, Giannis was 6’9”. He’s now 6’11” (and still growing!) and word out of the Bucks camp is that new head coach Jason Kidd intends to have him handling the ball at times this coming season.
“We’ll see how the roster shakes out, but we’re not afraid to play him at the point,” Kidd told Scott Cooper-Howard of NBA.com this week.
Holy smokes! Are we on the cusp of seeing the NBA’s first 7-foot point guard?
Antetoko….. The Greek Freak has been tearing it up at the Las Vegas Summer League this past week, displaying his all-court game against mostly older, but inferior opponents. Against Utah on Tuesday (Australian time), he handled the ball for considerable stretches, notching up 15 points, 4 boards, 5 dimes and 3 steals in an impressive display of his star potential.
He’s still raw, but Antetokounmpo has a bright future ahead of him and will no doubt be stuffing NBA stat sheets and keeping us entertained for a long, long time.
Tim Hardaway Jr. (New York Knicks)
Son of a gun Tim Hardaway Jr. was one of the few bright spots for the New York Knicks last season.
Selected 24th overall in last year’s Draft, THJ appeared in all but one of the Knicks’ 82 games during his rookie campaign, averaging a shade over 10 points per game in an inconsistent role off the bench.
He turned heads across the globe with his game-high 36 in the Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend, when he engaged in an entertaining mano-a-mano battle with Cavs SG Dion Waiters.
This week Hardaway Jr. has been doin’ work at the NBA Summer League in Vegas where he has put up 20.7 points a game and has knocked down three triples in each of his three games thus far, at close to 40% shooting from downtown.
With Mike Woodson out and Derek Fisher in as the head coach of the Knicks, Hardaway Jr. has a chance to gain a more consistent role in his second year. The former Michigan star can certainly fill it up from beyond-the-arc and, with an improved off-the-dribble game, he is ready turn even more heads in ’14/15.
Terrence Jones (Houston Rockets)
‘Phew.’ That was the sound emanating from Rockets power forward Terrence Jones last week when both Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony decided to re-sign with their respective teams instead of coming to Houston. Jones, who started 71 games last season for the Rockets, was staring down the barrel of a much-reduced role. Instead, with Houston GM Daryl Morey failing to land any of the big free-agency fish, Jones is looking to further develop his game while starting next to dominant center Dwight Howard.
In his 2012/13 rookie season, Jones spent long stretches of time in the D-League but he made significant strides last year as a starter and even showed flashes of potential to become an elite scorer at the NBA level. He scored 20-or-more points on 11 occasions, dropped 36 on Milwaukee in January, 30 on Utah in March and 33 on the Los Angeles Lakers in April. Sure, none of the Bucks, Jazz or Lakers were defensive powerhouses last season but Jones is talented and those buckets sure as hell didn’t score themselves.
“He’s got enough skill that he can put the ball on the floor, he can make shots, he can drive, he can finish, he can pass,” Houston coach Kevin McHale said of Jones last season. “He’s a very versatile player.”
It’s on the defensive end where Jones will need to show improvement if he’s to take his game to the next level. LaMarcus Aldridge took him to school (and gave him Saturday detention!) in the first two games of the Western Conference Semis last season, dropping back-to-back 40 bombs on the 22-year-old Jones. It was a very public outing of his defensive flaws.
If Jones can make some strides on the defensive end, he may well break-out offensively this season as a key part of Houston’s high-octane offensive system.
Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons)Drummond represents the third player on this list who will be involved in the Team USA training camp in Vegas later this month.
Drummond is an athletic phenomenon; possessing a remarkable combination of size, length, strength, speed, agility, athleticism and power.
In many respects Drummond ‘broke out’ last year during his second pro season, teaming up with Greg Monroe and Josh Smith to form an imposing frontline in Detroit. He ranked second in the NBA in rebounding (13.2), tenth in blocks (1.6), second in the NBA for double-doubles (57), second in shooting percentage and second among qualified centers in steals (1.25).
Nonetheless, this is only the beginning for Andre Drummond, and the sky is the limit for this talented 20-year-old. Stan Van Gundy is still working the phones in the Detroit front office and one of Smith or Monroe may very well be moved in the next little while - a move which would make Drummond a larger focus of the Pistons’ offense moving forward.
Either way, look for ‘Dre to be an All-Star this year and to be in the All-NBA conversation come season’s end.
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