I've been hearing talk about some of the second-tier free agent centers, such asBismack BiyomboandIan Mahinmithat theTrail Blazerscould be targeting and it got me thinking...are these guys actually any better than guys we already have (such asMason PlumleeandEd Davis)?
Here's the advanced stat numbers for 2015-16:
| Player | Season | Age | G | PER | BPM | VORP |
| Mason Plumlee | 2015-16 | 25 | 82 | 17.2 | 2.8 | 2.5 |
| Ed Davis | 2015-16 | 26 | 81 | 18.7 | 3.3 | 2.3 |
| Ian Mahinmi | 2015-16 | 29 | 71 | 16.6 | 2.4 | 2 |
| Bismack Biyombo | 2015-16 | 23 | 82 | 14.9 | -0.1 | 0.9 |
PER = Player Efficiency Rating: a measure of per-minute production standardized such that the league average is 15.
BPM = A box score estimate of the points per 100 possessions a player contributed above a league-average player, translated to an average team.
VORP = Value Over Replacement Player: A box score estimate of the points per 100 TEAM possessions that a player contributed above a replacement-level (-2.0) player, translated to an average team and prorated to an 82-game season.
Bottom Line
By all measures above, the players we already have (Plumlee, Davis), are actually better than the second-tier free agent centers we've been talking about. If it comes to that, we'd be better off putting our money elsewhere.
