Carlos Delfino

It’s not often that a player’s three-point shooting percentage is in the same ballpark as his overall field goal percentage, but this has been the case for Delfino for the past four seasons. It’s a constant struggle for Delfino to shoot better than 40 percent from the field, yet he hasn’t shot worse than 36 percent from downtown since the 2006-07 season. After spending the past three seasons in Milwaukee, Delfino will compete with Chandler Parsons for minutes at the three in Houston. It should be a fairly even split, based on their comparable talent levels, meaning that Delfino should see close to the 28.5 minutes per game he received last season with the Bucks. In addition to his stellar three-point shooting (1.6 threes per game in 2011-12), Delfino’s other key contribution is the high steals totals he’s posted in each of the past two seasons – 1.6 steals per game in 2010-11 and 1.5 per game last season. He can’t be counted on to score in double-figures, but provides enough value in other categories to be worth a late round pick, especially in deeper leagues.

Delfino finished his second season in Milwaukee having averaged nearly identical numbers to his first. That’s actually a disappointment; before suffering a concussion, he was on pace for a career year. The Bucks also traded John Salmons and Corey Maggette to the Bobcats as part of a draft-day deal to acquire Stephen Jackson. Jackson will start at shooting guard for the Bucks, with Delfino the favorite to begin the year as the starting small forward. (Or vice-versa – it hardly matters.) Beno Udrih, acquired in the trade that sent Salmons to the Kings, will push for some minutes at shooting guard in addition to his duties as the backup point guard, which will likely keep Delfino’s playing time around the 30-minute threshold. Target him later in drafts when you’re in need of threes and steals.

Delfino just keeps getting better, turning in a career year for the Bucks last season, carrying his native Argentina in this summer's FIBA World Championships, and keeping the momentum going with a strong preseason. He'll likely be the Bucks' starting small forward on opening night, though the addition of Corey Maggette could cause some of Delfino's career-high numbers from 2009-10 to take a slight dip. Nonetheless, he'll be a cheap source of three-pointers (1.8 last season) and steals (1.1) while providing serviceable totals in nearly every category (11.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists last year).

Delfino played in Europe in 2008 after four seasons in the NBA. He should be able to help out right away with the Bucks, either at guard or the small forward position.

The Argentine averaged over 16 minutes a game with Detroit last season, scoring 5.2 PPG and adding 3.2 RPG, but he never seemed to fit in with the Pistons’ physical, defensive brand of play. Essentially a larger version of Juan Dixon, Delfino likely enters camp as the slight favorite to win a backup swingman role over Dixon and Joey Graham, but still needs to prove that he can carve out a role for himself in the NBA.

In the past, there had been a lot of grumbling from the Delfino camp that he hasn’t gotten enough playing time in Detroit. Until last April, Delfino had given no indication that he deserves the extra time. In the final two games of the regular season, however, Delfino came off the bench to score 35 points and add 13 rebounds and five steals in 56 minutes. Currently he’s in Detroit’s plans to be a regular part of the rotation, and a strong October could put him in line to play significant minutes backing up Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton.

Delfino was a late first-round draft pick in 2003 and stayed in Italy one more year, missing a chance to be a part of Detroit’s title team. Now he’s ready to back up Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. He filled the box score in Italy, averaging 13 points, six rebounds, and two steals a game, but it may be years before he ever sees numbers that good again.

Delfino will have to work out issues with his Italian team before he can even sign a contract with Detroit. The Pistons are likely to try to keep him in Europe for another season as he probably would not play much for them in 2003-04.