Sep 28, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks center
(11) poses for a photo during Media Day at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
JaVale McGee
JaVale McGee is currently a reserve center with the Dallas Mavericks. Towering at 7’0″, he has the right dimensions for the game. But basketball is more than towering over your opponent. Now in his eighth season, McGee has filled a reserve role with most teams, with his most productive season coming in the 2011-2012 season when he was traded from the Washington Wizards to the Denver Nuggets.
McGee never quite caught on in his one year with Philadelphia. He came from the Nuggets in a salary dump move that also yielded the first round pick of the Oklahoma City Thunder, a pick that is currently protected in rounds 1-15. From the moment he arrived, he was completely out of place. The acquisition was solely a salary dump for Denver, and a draft pick up for the Sixers. As far as what McGee contributed to the team, not even the ever optimistic head coach of the 76ers, Brett Brown, had anything positive to say:
#Sixers Brown: 'I would prefer not to comment' on type of player JaVale McGee is.
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) February 19, 2015
And so, the Sixers merely had a player on their roster to round out the team. There was no interest in retaining him, and his role with the Dallas Mavericks, though fewer minutes, seems to have worked out well as his points per game has jumped from 3.0 to 4.3.
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