Robert Covington today
Covington, to this day, is still on a relatively team-friendly contract following an extension that locked him in for four years. He’s on an increasing contract where he will make less than $13 million per year through 2022, and is the fourth-highest paid player on the team.
So, we know Covington cost far less than any other player in his bracket of value on the roster. But what value is he actually producing?
It’s quite a bit of value, actually.
In the 2017-18 season, Covington was named to the first team all-defense. He placed in the top five of defensive win shares throughout the entire league in 2017-18. Covington was first in the league in total deflections in that season.
Covington is streaky from beyond the arc, but overall converted on 36.9 percent of his attempts last year and 49.7 percent of his 2-point attempts. He put up a balanced stat line of 12.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.
So far this season, he has left a lot to be desired from beyond the arc (part of that is having to face a strong defensive team in the Boston Celtics on opening night) but his defensive prowess is noticeable. He is stripping balls where he can (two steals in each of the first two games), getting deflections and covering the perimeter in a respectable manner.