In today’s salary inflated NBA, a million bucks is around the lowest annual salary for active players. Having cheap, young players with potential to grow is a strategy built for success. Semaj Christon was one of the few rookies last season who played valuable rotation minutes in the playoffs and learned from the best point guard in the game, Russell Westbrook, all season long.
Christon also improved incrementally throughout the year. While his offense was mostly substandard, coach Billy Donovan usually threw him in bench-heavy lineups, deflating his overall efficiency rating. Anyone looks better playing next to Steven Adams than Joffrey Lauvergne.