The seven footer, properly managed, should still be quite helpful.
Rasho Nesterovic, as reported by the Toronto Star, appears to be heading toward Toronto, a city he has already spent two seasons in. Although he is now 33 years old, a close look at what Nesterovic has done in the past few seasons suggests that this was a very smart move by the Raptors.
Nesterovic's per game averages for points, blocks, and rebounds are all on a decline at this point in his career mainly because, in his last two seasons, he has only been used as a starter sparingly. Last year with Indiana, Nesterovic started just 19 games, the lowest number of starts in his career, while appearing in 70 overall. With that his playing time per game decreased significantly, also to a career low.
His 6.8 points per game, his 0.5 blocks per game, and his 3.4 boards per game from last year were all below career averages but, reportedly, Nesterovic is only going to be getting about $2 million for the 2009-10 season (with Toronto in the past he was paid almost $8 million per season). Even though he will likely be playing reduced minutes with Toronto when compared to his last stint there, a look, not just at his points per game averages but his points per minute averages proves that when he is on the court he is very effective.
Last year for example, Nesterovic only played about 17 minutes per game but with that limited playing time he still contributed quite significantly. For every 48 minutes of court time that Nesterovic logged on the season he averaged over 18 points, about 1.5 blocks, and about 9.5 boards. As a substitute or even as an alternate starter, Nesterovic is a smart acquisition and it's nice to see the Raptors making an attempt at competing in what looks like a tough conference.
The guys in the NBA that are 7 feet tall and over don't show signs of age as early as the short guys do. The reason for that is because aging affects speed quite drastically and so point guards, who rely on quickness much more than the guys on the block, start to lose their edge in their early thirties as young guards start flooding in each year. Guys like Nesterovic are never that quick to begin with - the strength of their game is their size and, while you do lose muscle mass with age, your height doesn't shrink.
Expect Nesterovic to play sparingly but to be effective when he is playing.
However, even with Nesterovic, the Raptors would remain an afterthought in the NBA futures market behind several other teams. If you wanted to bet on them, then the best price our staff found was with Blue Square who offer odds of +15000 (150/1) and maybe that is worth a small bet just due to the fact that the return on a winning bet would be huge (but would also require tons of luck to happen).
Go to Blue Square to bet on NBA futures.