Mid-Season Review Part 3: Rookie of the Year- What will become of this year's class?

For those who thought Derrick Williams may have been a better pick than Kyrie Irving...you were wrong.

Note: With teams now approaching the 33-game, we will be taking this week to do a mid-season review. Stay tuned for analysis of the standings, MVP, ROY, DPOY, MIP, 6^th Man and more.

            What is the true value of a rookie? As we approach the mid-point of the season this question becomes more and more relevant.  There are some players who will be stars, future number one options and leaders of their respective teams. There are others who will become second or third scoring options. Some players will wind up as career role players and a majority of each rookie class has a short stint of three or four years in the league.

Rookie Rankings Update (2/6)- The Role of Role Players

The Spurs knew what they were doing when they traded with the Pacers to get Kawhi Leonard.

            We’re not even halfway through the season and we know the Rookie of the Year award is going to Kyrie Irving or Ricky Rubio. I don’t say that to make the ROY race sound bland. Up to this point it hasn’t been and I expect Irving and Rubio to continue to entertain fans with their elite talents and the prospect of leading their teams to a playoff spot in their respective conferences. But this week I am more intrigued by a different grouping of players. These aren’t players who have a shot at winning the ROY. They most likely will not win an MVP down the road. At best they might wind up with a couple of All-Star selections, a Most-Improved Player or 6^th-man award. Injuries aside, they will be guaranteed a lengthy NBA career. These are the players that help teams win championships; these are role players.

Rookie Rankings Update (1/16): Year of the Point Guard

Rubio (right) is edging out Irving (center) for this year's ROY.

            Six. That’s how many point guards cracked this weeks Top Ten Rookie Rankings. Last week’s rankings praised the first impressions of Ricky Rubio, but neglected to highlight the overall play of all of the point guards in this year’s rookie class. That’s why I am declaring this year’s class as The Year of the Point Guard. But as of right now, despite the overall dominance of these rookie point guards, the Rookie of the Year award has clearly become a two-man race between Ricky Rubio and Kyrie Irving.