Name: Stephen Graham
Position: SG/SF
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 215 lbs
Birth Date: June 11, 1982 (Age: 28)
Birthplace: Wilmington, DE
Number: 26
Drafted: Undrafted
Experience: 5 years
Contract: $992k
On Offense:
Nothing on paper about Stephen Graham’s offense jumps out at you, but his number are fairly solid for the purposes of bench depth. He primarily is a jump shooter (64 percent of total field goal attempts were jumpers according to 82games). His True Shooting of 55% last season placed him 18th overall for SFs (that’s one spot ahead of Carmelo Anthony FYI). Nets fans already saw Graham’s shooting abilities benefit the team when he sank a three-pointer at the buzzer in a preseason game against the Sixers. However, like Kris Humphries, Graham is a black hole on offense. His assist ratio of 7.0 ranked him 60 out of 62 qualifying SFs, according to ESPN’s John Hollinger.
On Defense:
Hollinger describes Graham’s defense as “mediocre” but saw of his on court/off court numbers from 82games say otherwise. Opposing SFs put up a PER (Player Efficiency Rating) of 12.6 when Graham was on the court, well below league average. Opposing SGs had a PER of 13.4 when Graham was matched up. Meanwhile, Charlotte, a very good defensive team, allowed 100.4 points per 100 possessions when Graham was on the court versus 105 points per 100 possessions when he was on the bench. I think it might be a little presumptuous to call Graham a defensive stopper, but he’s not a liability, and he may end up like Trenton Hassell with a little more offense.
Miscellaneous:
Graham is another undrafted player on the Nets roster. He got his professional start with the Sioux Falls Skyforce in 2005 and played in the 2006 CBA All-Star game.
Comment:
Graham was a late addition to the Nets roster. I thought very little of the signing when it was announced, but he apparently has played himself into Avery Johnson’s rotation, or at least ahead of the younger Damion James. As I alluded to earlier, Graham could be useful in the Trenton Hassell role, though if he ends up getting major minutes this season, there’s bigger problems with the health of the roster. a
