What they really mean is Frye will cause a mismatch because he provides no offense. Although, I could see him flourishing in Phoenix, where he can shoot freely and often without worrying about the ramifications of missing.
He looked pretty damn good his rookies year - until the injury. [video=youtube;voGZv5ZEVs0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voGZv5ZEVs0[/video] BNM
He's a lousy player: a tall shooting guard who can't shoot very well offensively and a marshmallow defensively. It makes perfect sense that he'd look good in the offseason, when intensity and defense are much lower than the regular NBA season. Ed O.
I know you don't like Frye as a player, but I think you overstate your case against him. Yes, last season's performance from Frye was a big disappointment - especially after the way he finished the 07-08 season (16.2 PPG, 10.2 RPG on 0.661 FG% over the last five games as a starter). In four seasons in the NBA, Frye has had two productive seasons (his rookie year with an outstanding PER of 18.1 - same rookie PER as Greg Oden and a full point higher than LaMarcus Aldridge's rookie PER, and his 1st year in Portland with a PER of 14.8 - 4th highest on the team and quite solid for a bench player). He's also had two awful seasons, his second season in NY and last season in Portland - in both of those seasons he was coming off an injury. His first season in Portland, he had the second highest TRB% on the team behind only Joel, and in spite of the two awful seasons, he still has a higher career TRB% than LaMarcus Aldridge. Frye also has an identical career DRtg (108) to Aldridge) and is a better FT shooter. I'm not saying Frye is as good as Aldridge (not even close), but when healthy and given consistent minutes, he can be a productive player. He had a lousy season last year, but given he's also had two productive seasons, I'm not ready to label him a lousy player. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how he looks during the regular season this year. I don't think he'll have a monster season, but I do expect his PER to return to the 14 - 15 range that it was his 1st year in Portland. Which for an inexpensive, back-up big man, is more than acceptable (and far from lousy). If he's anywhere close to a 15 PER in significant minutes, he'll be a steal at what Phoenix is paying him (less than 35% of the league average salary). BNM
