Jeremy Lamb

Jeremy Lamb
SG - 6’5, 185lbs - 26 years old - 6 years of experience

Lamb was Kemba Walker’s only pressure release valve in the backcourt, and he was a good one. With Marco Belinelli out of the way, it was Lamb who became the sixth man and the other backcourt scorer, and he delivered with a consistent overall campaign.

Often times, considering the Hornets’ slow pace in the half court (the pace was high overall, but the halfcourt had a knack of getting stodgy), lack of quality reserve point guard play and general lack of offensive weapons, Lamb was asked to create shots and space with his own handle in isolation. And he was pretty good at that. He is jump-shot heavy, certainly, but a steady diet of crossovers leading to a steady diet of threes and pull-up mid-rangers gave some balance to a Hornets roster that otherwise lacked for it. A better decision maker as a veteran than he was as a youngster, Lamb was a versatile, important and all-around player. He even took some time on the ball in a primary ball-handling role, too.

As with Kemba, though, his importance to the team is belied by his contract situation. Lamb’s contract is soon up and he is on a team that might struggle to renew it. He would obviously not have the value of Kemba, yet if he is to be traded this summer, he should command some good value as a rental with usable Bird rights to a team looking for an above-replacement level wing and some scoring. Somewhere like his former team in Oklahoma City, for example. Yet if is left to the deadline, Lamb either becomes a buyout candidate or a tough one to re-sign, unless big savings are made elsewhere. It would be a shame to lose him, but to keep him won’t be easy given the situation.

Player Plan: One year and $7,488,372 remaining. Extension eligible, and it’s worth an ask.

Jeremy Lamb
SG, 6’5, 185lbs, 25 years old, 5 years of experience

Lamb had a career year off the bench, and continued his pattern of incremental improvements year on year, recording his fifth consecutive increase in PER. His outside shot is yet to develop, yet Lamb has become an elite mid-range player (having previously not been one at all), able to create looks off the dribble with his athleticism, length and scoring instincts. He also gets to the rim better than perhaps any other player on the team except Walker. Tailed off a bit down the stretch of the season, but so did everyone. As solid as Belinelli was and as needed as shooting is, with the salary cap picture stretched, it may well be worth moving him for the same sort of value he was brought in for, if possible, and expanding Lamb’s role. He has earned it.

Player Plan: Two years and $14,488,372 remaining. Proving he is worthy of that and more, but that’s a problem for down the road.

Pick 12: Recent years have seen remarkably few quality shooting guards taken, but this year bucks that trend. Houston takes Jeremy Lamb at 12, when he probably should have gone at 8. Or 4, considering he's better than Dion Waiters in all facets of the game.

Apart for one more airing for the phrase "fine young man," every single aspect of Lamb's breakdown is saved for his offensive game, yet this ignores his defense; when he's in the right mind to play it, as he was more regularly in 2010, Lamb can be a highly effectively two way player. Combine that with Courtney Lee, solid in all aspects of the game, and Houston have a solid tandem at the two guard spot.