Who Deserves the Rookie of the Year?

The answer may surprise you

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The 2016 NBA Draft was one of the weakest classes we have seen since the dreadful 2013 crop. It was seen mostly as a two man draft — as in, only two players had a significant amount of both star potential and transferrable skills that could help accelerate their development.

Those two players were Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram. As most people predicted before the draft, those two players were selected with the first two picks by the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers. Ironically enough, the two players in the “two person draft” are not going to win the Rookie of the Year this season.

Ben Simmons hasn’t played a single game thanks to a foot injury before the season. Brandon Ingram has faced his fair share of struggles, due to the fact that he is nowhere near being able to keep up with the physicality of the NBA yet. This shows in his 453rd ranking in Real Plus-Minus out of 455 NBA players.

So who deserves to get the award? Joel Embiid, the third year rookie qualifies because this year has been his first taste of action after sitting out for two seasons. Embiid would be the overwhelming favorite for the award if it weren’t for the fact that he’s only played 31 games, and won’t play again until next year.

In reality, it comes down to four players: Dario Saric, Jaylen Brown, Malcolm Brogdon, and Yogi Ferrell. This has been the weakest rookie class in recent memory, so this is a tough choice.

Behind the Buck Pass

Malcolm Brogdon

Brogdon was the dark horse in this race after being selected 36th overall by the Bucks. The second round pick was expected to be a fringe rotation player — not a potential starter. Brogdon is currently averaging about 10 points, 4 assists, and three rebounds per game. In recent years this wouldn’t have been close to enough to win rookie of the year, but this season is different.

The Bucks aren’t a very good team this year, which is probably the reason for Brogdon’s opportunity to play 25 minutes a night. Milwaukee relies heavily on Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the “Greek Freak” can only take them so far. Brogdon plays point guard for the Bucks very well, and has hit threes for them at a decent rate. His defensive versatility — the thing that got him drafted — is what allowed him to gain minutes in the rotation and make a name for himself.

Brogdon is a good choice for the award, but I’m going to have to go a different way. He has come out of nowhere but hasn’t made a substantial impact on his team’s winning ability. Brogdon has simply made the most out of his team’s lack of point guard depth.

FanSided

Yogi Ferrell

Ferrell is another unexpected player that finds himself in the ROY race. After signing on with the Brooklyn Nets, the undrafted rookie was waived after 10 games. The Dallas Mavericks then picked him up and gave him significant minutes off the bench. Ferrell made the most out of that opportunity, and now plays about 30 minutes a game with Dallas.

Ferrell has put up 12.4 points per game since joining the Mavs, which led to the team releasing starter Deron Williams to free up more minutes for the Indiana alum. Ferrell is extremely quick and has the heart of a lion. I imagine he will be in the NBA for a long time as a spark bench player.

He doesn’t deserve the ROY award though, as he has not played in enough games to be under consideration. He’s only been apart of 27 games so far, and won’t have anywhere near the other rookies once the season is over. For that, I can’t say Ferrell deserves the award.

CSN Philly

Dario Saric

The second-leading scorer among rookies this season with 11.6 a contest, Saric has come on nicely after Embiid went down. He’s the only legitimate weapon left on Philadelphia now that Ersan Ilyasova is gone and Simmons is injured along with Embiid.

Saric could win the award if you look at the fact that he leads rookies in scoring and has improved his game significantly over the course of the season. However, Saric does not deserve the award because his numbers don’t seem to determine his team’s overall success. His numbers are inflated because his team simply does not have any other options.

Normally, the success of a rookie’s team does not matter in who wins the award. This season and in the next two years, a rookie’s contributions to a winning team will have to be taken into account — thanks to the Boston Celtics.

Hardwood Houdini

Jaylen Brown

This is the player that deserves the Rookie of the Year Award. Jaylen Brown, the third overall pick in a “two person” draft has come on huge for the second seeded Celtics team. Once Avery Bradley got injured, Brown stepped into the starting lineup and showed off his superstar potential. In the month of February, Brown averaged 10 points and 4 rebounds on a WINNING basketball team.

Brown will be an impact player for the Celtics while they head towards a deep playoff run. This type of experience will help Brown develop much faster than Simmons or Ingram, the two players taken before him. Giving rookies’ meaningful minutes is the best way of developing them. This is a luxury the Celtics will have if they decide to keep their draft picks.

Brown might not get the award due to old voting criteria, but there is no doubt that he is the most deserving player after the Embiid injury. No rookie in the conversation can compare to the kind of basketball Brown is asked to play on a nightly basis.