Assessing Channing Frye’s value

Channing Frye has often been scapegoated and ridiculed for his contract and his lack of production. Do player comparisons match this narrative?

When it was announced the Orlando Magic had signed Channing Frye to a four-year, $32-million contract in the summer of 2014, many people were shocked. Frye had come off of a strong stint in Phoenix, but he was 31 years old at the time and was about to receive a heavy salary for a rebuilding team.

In his first season with the Magic, Frye was heavily underwhelming, and the critics of the signing increased drastically.

Although the Magic likely would not have used the additional cap space anyway (they were still below the salary floor), it appeared as if the signing was a waste for the organization in its first year.

However, Frye has been fairly productive this season and has contributed way more than people expected.

He is shooting about 40 percent from three, and the Magic are a better team with him on the court than off.

The team was rejuvenated when he was added to the starting lineup, and he helped them achieve their 19-13 record heading into January.

Their offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) with him on the court is 105.7, which is much greater than their team average of 101.3.

The Magic defense has taken a huge hit in the past month, but their defensive rating with Frye on the court is 101.5, which is, again, better than their team average of 103.2.

He is also currently ranked fifth out of all power forwards in ESPN’s Real Plus Minus, a stat that measures a player’s overall impact while attempting to control for teammates and opponents.

It can be argued he has had a fairly strong season overall.

However, his role has depleted lately, and the Magic’s net rating with him on the floor in January was -12.6. He only plays 17.5 minutes per game, and that number was down to 15.3 in January.

While his overall stats still look better than expected, it seems he has fallen out of favor with coach Scott Skiles.

It is also rumored that the Magic may be looking to trade Frye, so now is a good time to evaluate his value in the league.

Next: Fyre compared to the league