What Player Benefits The Most From The Lockout In Your Opinion

[Kane3387]

Now overall I don't think any player is benefitting from not having a season more then if we were finishing training camp and pre-season games right now. That being said clearly the lockout is going to benefit some players more then it would others and it won't benefit some at all either.

When I think of players it is benefitting it would be older players who played deep into the playoffs, guys rehabbing from injury, and young guys getting experience playing in other leagues that would be riding the pine in the NBA.

Guys who come to mind are Dirk and J Kidd after playing so deep in the playoffs. David West a guy coming off an injury was in danger of missing the beginning of the season. He could be 100% for FA which wasn't close to being the case in July. Maybe even a guy like Avery Bradley who gets some playing time playing against better competition then the D League offers (although there are rumors he will be cut and that league he is in might not be better then the NBDL).

At first I thought of Greg Oden. With all his injuries and surgeries, he might be able to come in Day 1 and contribute based on when the season started. Yet, then I changed my mind and chose Kendrick Perkins.
If the season does start in December/January then that would be around 18 months since he got hurt in the Finals and could come in Day 1 at almost 100% to help the Thunder compete for a title.

What player do you think is benefitting most from the lockout and why?

[Who]

I don't think Oden is expected to return until the turn of the New Year. Even then, he'll probably need the rest of the season to get himself back into game shape after sitting on the sidelines for so long.

I imagine 2012/13 will be our first chance to see what a (hopefully) healthy post-injury Oden is truly capable of.

[Who]

I think some of the players that went to Europe have benefited the most from the lockout. I'd say Kirilenko more than anyone else. His play for Russia in Eurobasket and now for CSKA is showing everyone just how dangerous he can still be if played in his proper position (undersized quick four).

[Eja117]

I wonder if possibly it helps rookies prepare for the season. Probably not

[Eja117]

Lebron benefits from everything. Who else can lose with an all star team, get locked out, then have people wondering if he can play in the NFL. Maybe he has had time to make extra commercials

[Roy H.]

I wonder if possibly it helps rookies prepare for the season. Probably not

I think it probably hurts rookies.  Between no summer league, no official communication with the team regarding conditioning, a condensed training camp, etc., I think a lot of these guys are going to be out of shape and more clueless than normal.

I'll say it helped David West the most.  He was recently given a clean bill of health.  Prior to the lockout, he would have been entering free agency while still in rehab.

[Eja117]

All true, but this is the thing....if you're a rookie you come in not really in competition with the established vets and all stars.  You're competition is other rookies and young players and those guys all lost valuable time this off season too.  A big jump can be taken between year one and two, like when Paul Pierce took the off season to switch to SG and got a lot better at ball handling and conditioned a little better. 

These rookies get an extra couple months to get in shape, watch film, work on their issues. Larry Bird, for example always felt his best practice came alone or possibly with one other guy to feed him the ball. 

I just don't think it's like football where you're trying to learn coverage and plays and some very complicated stuff. I think a rookie at SG comes in way more ready to play than say a WR or a defensive back in the NFL

[Eja117]

are there any players finishing up sentences or probation or something? Other than Delonte who got kinda screwed?

[wdleehi]

Injured players looking for a new contract. 


They will be in better shape when they give teams workouts. 

[Chris]

Brandon Roy.  No, really!  I think the amnesty clause is going to be great for his career.  Right now he has turned into Raef Lafrentz.  Very good player before his knee went bad, and still a decent player after the surgery, but went from a star to a role player...but still on a star's contract.

If he is able to just collect that money, but be cut from the Blazers, and then sign on as a vet minimum to MLE type player for a contender, where he will only be asked to be a 6th man playing 20 minutes per night, it could rejuvenate his career.  

Suddenly he goes from the guy everyone points to as the reason his franchise is screwed, to a valuable member of another franchise who may even be a bargain on his new contract.  

I would not be the least bit surprised if Roy is a candidate for 6th man of the year, playing for less than the MLE on a team like Boston, Dallas, LA, San Antonio, or Chicago.

[317]

Kobe, he was able to get that knee thing in Germany and he gets less minutes. after all he is what 8,000+ more minutes played then the next most among active players?

[StartOrien]

Brandon Roy.  No, really!  I think the amnesty clause is going to be great for his career.  Right now he has turned into Raef Lafrentz.  Very good player before his knee went bad, and still a decent player after the surgery, but went from a star to a role player...but still on a star's contract.

If he is able to just collect that money, but be cut from the Blazers, and then sign on as a vet minimum to MLE type player for a contender, where he will only be asked to be a 6th man playing 20 minutes per night, it could rejuvenate his career.  

Suddenly he goes from the guy everyone points to as the reason his franchise is screwed, to a valuable member of another franchise who may even be a bargain on his new contract.  

I would not be the least bit surprised if Roy is a candidate for 6th man of the year, playing for less than the MLE on a team like Boston, Dallas, LA, San Antonio, or Chicago.

It depends on where he is mentally. His response to the injuries were puzzling; as he seemed to become more of a selfish player when the situation clearly called him to become more of a team player.

[Chris]

Brandon Roy.  No, really!  I think the amnesty clause is going to be great for his career.  Right now he has turned into Raef Lafrentz.  Very good player before his knee went bad, and still a decent player after the surgery, but went from a star to a role player...but still on a star's contract.

If he is able to just collect that money, but be cut from the Blazers, and then sign on as a vet minimum to MLE type player for a contender, where he will only be asked to be a 6th man playing 20 minutes per night, it could rejuvenate his career.  

Suddenly he goes from the guy everyone points to as the reason his franchise is screwed, to a valuable member of another franchise who may even be a bargain on his new contract.  

I would not be the least bit surprised if Roy is a candidate for 6th man of the year, playing for less than the MLE on a team like Boston, Dallas, LA, San Antonio, or Chicago.

It depends on where he is mentally. His response to the injuries were puzzling; as he seemed to become more of a selfish player when the situation clearly called him to become more of a team player.

I agree, and that is part of the reason I think this would be good for him.  I think it will be a lot easier for him to make the mental leap he needs to, to embrace a supporting role, if he is no longer being paid like a superstar, and seen as the only real hope for the franchise. 

Right now, Portland is pretty much dead in the water, unless they can either unload his contract, or he can return to his former glory.  If you take that off his shoulders, I think he will be more likely to make that transition.

And honestly, I think he has always had the perfect skillset for a complimentary player anyways.  He did better than I thought as a star, but much like Joe Johnson, I think his skills are best utilized when he can be more of a jack of all trades, making those around him better. 

[StartOrien]

Right now, Portland is pretty much dead in the water, unless they can either unload his contract, or he can return to his former glory.  If you take that off his shoulders, I think he will be more likely to make that transition.

See, I disagree with this. I think they've got a pretty formidable back court between Camby/Oden, LMA and Crash Wallace.

And I really like the Felton move: Both because I hope it means that there'll be more willing to run, and also because I think he helps their ability to spread the floor more than Miller did.

[Who]

If they waive Roy, Portland should shift Batum to the two to play alongside G-Wallace on the wing.

It would be fun to watch those two create havoc defensively.