Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE
ESPN.com and the TrueHoop Network are currently ranking every player in the NBA – a tradition that began just this past season. The rankings are being counted down (from 500 to 1) on ESPN’s NBA Twitter page; and were determined by a panel of 104 experts who gave each player a rating between 0 and 10.
Most recently, Philadelphia’s faithful learned the fate of newly acquired shooting guard, Jason Richardson.
The eleven year pro enters the list at 121st – a drop of forty-two spots from the previous year (dropped from 5.91 [out of 10] to 5.13). Richardson is positioned slightly better than Eric Bledsoe, and, slightly worse than Kendrick Perkins.
In terms of Philadelphia’s rankings from the previous year, Richardson’s current rank is higher than that of both Lou Williams and Evan Turner; however, both of those two will be ranked better than Richardson this season.
The ranking of 121st pans out to be the best possible 5th option for an NBA team – a projection that should sit well in Philadelphia, as Turner, Spencer Hawes, Thaddeus Young, Jrue Holiday, and Andrew Bynum have all yet to be named.
This past season, Richardson saw a career low in minutes per game – leading to career lows in both points and rebounds per contest.
The 76ers have Richardson signed on for three seasons, with the third season granting a player option. All three years are for around six million per – a startling fact that will have fans begging for an increase in production from his previous year.
Look for Richardson to start alongside Holiday in the back-court. He will be able to provide a solid scoring option, and could certainly help mentor Philadelphia’s cast of young guards.
- Dave Hilts
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