After joining what looked like the perfect team for him, Jimmer Fredette is now being waived by the San Antonio Spurs.
Jimmer Fredette’s NBA career has been a disappointment after he was such a standout in college. He averaged 28.9 points per game during his final year with Brigham Young University in the 2010-11 season, and hasn’t even replicated a fraction of that success as a pro. After his playing time dropped to just 10.2 minutes per game with the New Orleans Pelicans last season, and his points per game reached a career low 3.6, he seemed to have a chance to improve with the San Antonio Spurs.
With an organization so renowned for team play and ball movement, under the leadership of a coach like Gregg Popovich, Fredette couldn’t have asked for more. But before even making it to the regular season, he’s been cut again.
Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports broke the news:
Fredette’s best chance of staying on the team would have been through his three point shooting. Which, despite the lack of success in other areas of his game, has remained solid after making 38.1 percent of his threes over the first four years of his career. That being said, the Spurs already made 36.7 percent of their three point attempts to rank 6th in the league last season, so another shooter who does little else is hardly that valuable.
Furthermore, with a plethora of talented guards from veteran champions such as Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, to younger guys like Patty Mills, Danny Green, and offseason addition Ray McCallum, the Spurs are set when it comes to perimeter shooters.
Besides, Fredette wouldn’t have offered much to a team looking to contend for a championship anyway. As a point guard, he’s not displayed the ability to run an offense effectively or set up teammates, and instead relies on his catch-and-shoot accuracy to make any kind of impact.
If another team is lacking perimeter shooting, though, a three point marksman always has some value even if they can’t do anything else.
With that in mind, don’t rule out the possibility of Fredette finding a team just yet. There are still plenty of organizations that could benefit from adding someone with a 38.1 percent three point stroke to play a few minutes each night.