Devonte Graham was angry about Most Improved. ‘Nobody knows the real definition of it.’
Charlotte Hornets point guard Devonte Graham has made peace with not winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.
But he still thinks he got ripped off, not even being among the three finalists. He’s for the NBA providing some definition to voters of what the award is.
“Obviously, I was upset about it. I’m pretty much over it now,” Graham said following the Hornets’ workout Thursday. “I just know the people who really watch and are around basketball know.”
Graham received endorsements, first from Dallas Maverick Luka Doncic, and then from Los Angeles Laker LeBron James, that he should have at least finished as a finalist. The former second-round pick jumped in scoring average from 4.7 points as a rookie to 18.2 last season.
New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram won the award. Graham finished a distant fifth in the balloting, among 100 media members. All four players ahead of him — Ingram, Bam Adebayo, Doncic and Jayson Tatum — were former lottery picks.
The NBA doesn’t define what “Most Improved” should signify. The argument for Graham would be jumping from a third-string point guard to a team’s leading scorer. Yet, just 24 of the 100 media voters included him in the 1st-2nd-3rd place system.
“I’ve seen a couple of tweets (suggesting) if you were a lottery pick you shouldn’t be available for the award,” Graham said. “Nobody knows the real definition of it.”
Mid-range fix
Graham’s ascension last season was built around excellent 3-point shooting. He was 37% from 3 and his 218 3s made were fifth in the NBA.
He became so dangerous outside the 3-point arc that opposing defenses overplayed him there, forcing him to dribble into the mid-range. That’s where he struggled, making just 27% of his attempts 3-10 feet from the basket.
Hornets coach James Borrego says there are two ways to address that: To extend his range farther outside the arc, and to create more variety in his game off the dribble in multiple directions.
“What we’re focused on with him is the mid-range (jump shot), the floater and all the way to the rim,” Borrego said last week. “All those finishes: Left foot, right foot, left hand, right hand.”
Graham said he’s worked with the coaches this summer particularly on how to defeat teams constantly switching on defense as a way to cut him off.
“Trying to get better at it off the pick-and-rolls: A lot of off-the-dribble and stationary,” Graham said. “Definitely a lot more pick-and-roll and late-shot clock middies (i.e. jump shots.)“
Contract extension?
Graham said he is receptive to talking to the Hornets about a contract extension when he becomes eligible for that after the NBA season concludes.
His current contract is a bargain for the Hornets; he is scheduled to make just $1.66 million next season, and even that isn’t guaranteed. Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak said in the spring he is open to talking with Graham’s representatives about an extension.
Under NBA rules (and this is somewhat contingent on next season’s salary cap), the Hornets can offer him roughly $50 million over four years, according to ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks.
Such a contract would be a shared risk by Graham and the Hornets: He would give up restricted free agency after the 2020-21 season and the Hornets would give up about $10 million in salary-cap space.
Such a deal would be similar to the four-year, $48 million contract Kemba Walker signed with the Hornets in 2015; Walker gave up some potential upside value for financial security. With Graham originally signing for about $4 million over three years, it’s something worth considering if offered.
This story was originally published September 24, 2020 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Devonte Graham was angry about Most Improved. ‘Nobody knows the real definition of it.’."
