When I was in middle school, the Players Tribune released a mini docuseries called Rookie/Vet. It highlighted the impact of NBA veteran & champion Tyson Chandler's mentorship on Devin Booker during Booker’s first 3 NBA seasons.
NBA teams have often prioritized signing a “veteran presence” to help mentor their younger players. I have wondered how to measure the success of teams who do sign veterans compared to teams who do not. With Chandler, the Suns did not improve as they went from 23 to 24 to 21 wins. However, Booker’s ppg average increased every year from 13.8 to 22.1 to 24.9.
It would take an extensive statistical analysis to determine whether veterans like Chandler actually impacted the teams they played for. Not only would you have to evaluate their impact during their time with the team, but you would also have to consider whether their presence helped the team achieve success even after they have left. Potentially, without Chandler, Booker wouldn’t have been able to reach the finals in 2021 or the success he continues to have years later.
There are 2 different kinds of veteran players; veterans on bad teams that are there to mentor younger players (think Chandler), and there are veterans that are on good teams to exemplify leadership and winning culture (think Udonis Haslem).
Thus, I have created a chart of current NBA players over the age of 33 with 10 years of experience that I predict will not play much this year or who just seem really old. I did not include players that are contributing players like Lebron James, Paul George, or James Harden. Neither did I include players like Klay Thompson, Dennis Schroder or Andre Drummond who play a consistent role. Let's see how each of these teams with veteran players perform this season.
At the same time, there are teams that do not have old rotational players or veterans on their team. I have created a secondary chart of teams without a veteran presence of 33 years or older and without an aging star like Lebron James, Paul George, and James Harden .
Most notably, the Nets, Jazz, and Grizzlies all have only 1 player over 30 each. There are good teams and bad teams that do not happen to have an aging star and do not think it is worth the roster spot to have an older veteran on their team. By adding a veteran, you are missing out on signing a young player with potential such as an undrafted player like Austin Reaves, Alex Caruso, or Naz Reid.
I think a lot of the decision-making process of having a veteran presence on your team is situational: depending on if your team has open roster spots and who is available to sign. Then, there are teams like the Heat who always seem to sign veterans.
If you were a GM, would you prioritize signing a veteran to your team?
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