If this were any year in the last five, what David West is doing would be a no brainer.
But this year, heading into a lockout followed by a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, he is taking a risk.
David West has told the New Orleans Hornets he is opting out of the final year of his $7.5 million contract and will test the free agent market, Marc Stein reports at ESPN. While he is saying all the right things about winning, this is about the money. It’s always about the money.
The question is, how much money will be out there in a new Collective Bargaining Agreement? He will get a multi-year deal now, at how much money is the gamble. While teams are interested, how much cap room teams have — especially good teams — remains to be seen. Teams mentioned as potentially making a run at him are New Jersey, Indiana, maybe Milwaukee. You can bet the Hornets will try to re-sign him as part of the “we have to keep Chris Paul happy” campaign. Others will jump in as well, but it really depends on what they can offer.
West missed the last half of last season due to a torn ACL, although he says he will be back healthy by the start of next season. Even if it takes longer than that, a lot of teams would be willing to take the risk because he is one of the better scoring power forwards in the game.
He averaged 18.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game last season, and he is one of the better pick-and-pop options in the league, hitting a very good 47 percent of his shots from 16 feet out to the arc. As the roll man in a pick and roll, he hit 52 percent of his shots and scored an impressive 1.05 points per possession (according to Synergy Sports), but of course the guy with the ball was Chris Paul, which helps. He also is effective as a spot up shooter and in the post.
But the question isn’t “can West play?” because we all know he can. The question is can and will teams offer more than $7.5 million for him?
