Assessing value on the Orlando Magic roster: Introduction and Role Players
Channing Frye
When the Magic signed Channing Frye last summer, he became the highest profile (and highest paid) free agent. The Magic expected him to come in, spread the floor and help mentor the young players in a more supporting role.
Frye delivered some on the offensive end, but came woefully short on defense. His offense was not enough to make up for his defense and he quickly became too much of a liability.
There were also issues on how the Magic used Channing Frye as they reverted him to too much of a catch-and-shoot option and really did not move him around or take advantage of all of his skills.
It would be easy to look at Frye’s first year in Orlando and immediately say he was overpaid. That would probably be right:
Ordered by Salary
| Player | Salary | PER | $/PER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Hill | 9,000,000 | 16.2 | 555,555.56 |
| Trevor Ariza | 8,579,089 | 12.7 | 675,518.82 |
| Ryan Anderson | 8,491,500 | 15.6 | 544,326.92 |
| Channing Frye | 8,175,476 | 9.5 | 860,576.42 |
| Taj Gibson | 8,000,000 | 16.1 | 496,894.41 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 7,974,482 | 19.2 | 415,337.60 |
| Ersan Ilyasova | 7,900,000 | 16.8 | 470,238.10 |
Ordered by PER
| Player | Salary | PER | $/PER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robbie Hummel | 880,000 | 9.7 | 90,721.65 |
| Chris Johnson | 107,674 | 9.7 | 11,100.41 |
| Joe Ingles | 507,336 | 9.6 | 52,847.50 |
| Channing Frye | 8,175,476 | 9.5 | 860,576.42 |
| Pero Antic | 1,250,000 | 9.5 | 131,578.95 |
| Elton Brand | 2,000,000 | 9.4 | 212,765.96 |
| JaKarr Sampson | 507,336 | 9.4 | 53,971.91 |
Frye is getting paid like a rotation player but is producing like an end of the bench guy or a surprisingly productive player on a minimum contract. It is not a good spot for Frye or the Magic. He simply did not produce to his value and it is painfully obvious even from this rudimentary message.
If Frye is going to continue to produce at a $/PER of $860,576.42, his PER would be expected to be something pretty crazy. Frye simply did not produce last year commensurate to any type of salary measure.
So how does Frye fix this? What is an appropriate value for him? What are reasonable expectations?
The first thing to realize is Frye’s salary for the 2016 season decreases to $7.8 million. At that level, Frye’s production level does pull down to $821,850.42. That is still unacceptable for his salary.
If Frye were to play at his career PER of 13.3, then Frye’s value is a little more acceptable at $587,036.02. That gets him into Ryan Anderson’s ballpark.
The question is at 32 years old: Can Frye reach that production again? Can he improve?
The short answer is that he can certainly improve some again if the Magic change the way they use him. He clearly was not used as effectively as he was in Phoenix and it limited his production. The Magic, in other words, did not use him the way they paid for him.
But getting Frye to play at the level that he played in Phoenix might be too much of a stretch to ask. The Magic certainly should get more from him.
The Verdict: Overpaid
Next: Dewayne Dedmon