Oklahoma City Thunder: What does shot-blocking cost?

The Thunder would like to keep Serge Ibaka for more than just next season. But tons of speculation exists on what it costs. Ryan Weisert, a Phoenix Suns blogger (valleyofthesuns.com), went past that question. He looked at what shot-blocking costs. And we know that Ibaka is the NBA’s premier shot-blocker.

Weisert developed a study on what each measurable NBA skill costs. You can read his excellent blog here:

Here are the condensed rankings of each skill/status:

1. Face of the franchise (not every team has one; some teams have two. Weisert considers the Thunder to have two.)

2 Elite scorer (more than 25 points per game).

3. Second-tier scorer (18-25 points per game).

4. Elite rebounder (more than 9.5 per game) Weisert reports that NBA teams pay for rebounding in ways we never realized.

5. Second-tier rebounder (7.0-9.5 per game)

6. Rim protector (more than 1.5 blocks per game). Weisert says “supply and demand strikes again with this skill. A limited supply of elite shot blockers drives the price of rim protection way up.”

7. Third-tier scorer (13.5-18 points per game). Interesting. James Harden has not reached the 18-points-a-game level. By this measurement, Ibaka would cost more than Harden. Of course, contracts are mostly projections of what you will do, not necessarily what you have done.