SBNation's Tom Ziller looks at Basketball-Reference statistics to examine players who've significantly outperformed their contracts this season. Not surprisingly, Chandler Parsons, in the middle of a four-year, $3.63MM contract that runs through 2015, rates highly. Many of the other players Ziller mentions are either minimum-salary signees or former first-round picks still on their rookie-scale deals. There's more on a few players who could be the next to sign rookie contracts and other news from around the Association, as we share here:
- Jordan Hill was expected to be out for the season with a hip injury, but doctors have told him there's a slim chance he could return in late April or early May, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Either way, the Lakers will get to keep the $1.78MM disabled player exception the league granted them, even though they don't intend to use it.
- The Jazz haven't decided whether to re-sign Travis Leslie, whose 10-day contract expires Wednesday night, but coach Tyrone Corbin likes what he's seen so far from the swingman, notes Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Stephon Marbury, who played for the Chinese league's Beijing Ducks this season, will serve as an assistant coach for Beijing's entry in the China National Games this year, reports Jon Pastuszek of NiuBBall.com.
- HoopsWorld and Chris Mannix of SI.com examine key NBA draft prospects in the NCAA tournament. Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld checks in with a list of prospects on teams likely to make early tournament exits.
- Coach Lawrence Frank is back with the Pistons after missing the past six games to be with his wife, who's recovering from "major surgery," as MLive's David Mayo details.
- John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer believes the Sixers should go after Al Jefferson rather than Andrew Bynum in free agency this summer, though it might take an inflated contract to make it happen. Yesterday, I argued a max deal could be in play for Jefferson.