John Salmons

[Change]

This guy has to be NBA's best kept secret. I haven't seen him much this year, but definitely a guy to watch in the playoffs. All I remember of him was from 3 or 4 years playing with the sixers and dude was horrendous. He was TA like turnover after turnover with no shot what so ever. Then the kings signed him to a five year and around $25.5 million which at the time seemed a lot for a guy who averaged 7.6 ppg the previous year and lacked fundamentals. Now at year three of the contract, he has blossomed as a go to guy while averaging 18.8 ppg. It took him 6 to 7 years to hit his peak.

So is this yet a fluke year or has he improved that much? Anyone with insights please share.

[moiso]

He's not a fluke.  He's definitely improved each year, especially his shooting, which has opened up the rest of his game.  I like the Bulls trade at the deadline. Salmons and Gordon are gifted scorers and the rest of the team is far more balanced than it was previously.

[Amonkey]

I would've leaned towards a fluke if he had stayed in Sac-town.  But since the trade, he has been consistently good (in an inconsistent team) which would make me think that his skills is not due to lack of team talent but rather his own awesomness.

[Brickowski]

Salmons has improved, but he is still a very streaky player.  When he's in the zone he's unstoppable.  When he's not in the zone, he's adequate, but that's about it.

[Rondo_is_better]

Salmons and Jamal Crawford are both gifted offensive players, but I'll put down a Benjamin on the fact that no team featuring either of those players as an integral piece will ever win a ring.

[johnnyrondo]

Would have been fun to see D'Antoni coach this Bulls team. Reinsdorf is notorious for nickel and diming

[wdleehi]

He is also the type of player that gets overpayed.  (like a Crawford, Gordon, Nate Robinson...)

[Amonkey]

He is also the type of player that gets overpayed.  (like a Crawford, Gordon, Nate Robinson...)

I think he had signed a $25 million contract for 5 years.  That means that he makes something like 5 mil a year.  For a guy close to scoring 20ppg I think that is a pretty good deal.  Once he gets out of that contract he might get a big payraise.

[cordobes]

I frankly don't understand the analogy linking Salmons to Crawford. They're both ball-dominant high-usage players, but Salmons is fairly more efficient and less selfish. In fact, I still remember when he was accused of not being selfish and assertive enough, back in Philly (something he certainly corrected by now). Besides that, Salmons has always been a good defensive player. He's grossly underpaid.

As for being a fluke, just check his last season stats as a starter. This is basically the result of a big change of mentality and mind-frame and small improvements on his skill-set.