Delonte West, despite his notoriety for being a problem player, something that can surely be attributed to his bipolar disorder, remains an important potential signee for many NBA teams. At 29, he’s still young enough to be a good long-term investment, and his reputation as an excellent two-way player has not been marred even by his off-kilter antics. He played 45 minutes a night as a Cavalier alongside Lebron James when they took on the Orlando Magic in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals. As an eight-year player, he has made it to the playoffs, and in many cases was an important X-factor for teams, in six of those seasons.
After getting kicked off various teams and working at a furniture store, West is now playing in the D-League for the Texas Legends. In his debut he posted a tepid 10 points (on 4 of 15 shooting), four rebounds, five assists and six turnovers, but it was the first professional basketball game he’s played all year. Team scouts understand that, and it’s the primary reason why the New York Knicks and other NBA teams are keeping Delonte on their radar.
As a player who was averaging near-career numbers last year with Dallas (9.6 PPG, 3.2 APG, 2.3 RPG, 1.3 STLPG, as well as 46.1% field goal shooting and 88.6% from free-throws), he would be of discernible help to any team. Not to mention that he could be a cheap pick-up for any Fantasy team owner.
The Knicks remain the top prospects in a Delonte West chase namely because their point guards Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton have been playing mediocre basketball as of late. But given West’s history of behavioral problems and in-game rust, they’ve not yet become realistic suitors.
Doc Rivers, the Boston Celtics’ usually diplomatic coach, also suggested his team might need a player of West’s abilities on their roster. He said, “One thing I love about Delonte is his toughness. But the other thing you don’t like is that he does get injured a lot. So you’re worried about that as well, beside the other stuff.” Considering that he made those comments in the middle of February might indicate that the Celtics decided against claiming Delonte. But without a real point guard to fill in for Rondo, the Celtics might be one of many teams who decide to gamble on the troubled guard.
For the Celtics, it would be the third time they did.
