You're starting a NBA team, which of these players do you build your team around?

I'm old school. I build my team around a dominate BIG.

Rockets had Dream, Spurs had Robinson, Knicks had Ewing, Suns has Sir Charles, Magic/Lakers had Shaq, Jazz had Malone, etc...

LA, CP3 is good, but you are overrating him BIG TIME. He doesn't play defense and just doesn't have the talent the rest of the guys do on the list. I love the PG position and understand how important it is. Just look at the uber talent tu team that was ranked #2 preseason and shouldn't be ranked anymore. If they had a true PG getting the ball to their talent then they'd still be in the top 10.

Dude, CP3 made All-NBA 1st team D just last season, he's one of the best defensive PGs in the league. And based on talent, he's the 3rd best player in the league with Wade.

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

Dude, CP3 made All-NBA 1st team D just last season, he's one of the best defensive PGs in the league. And based on talent, he's the 3rd best player in the league with Wade.

I agree with u 100 percent LA. CP3 would be the guy I would start my francise with also. Great court vision and can penatrate the lane also. Very good defender and unselfish. He is my guy.

well my question really didnt get answered .. I think it depends on the franchise a lot but I might be looking to much into it..

If I was the lakers I would go Kevin Durant .. (more money/prestige: rather build around a top tier scorer)
if I was Oklahoma City I would go Howard (less money/prestige: I would rather begin to build around a big guy)
and If I was the Knicks I would go Chris Paul. (D'Antoni)

d wade because he has won a title and i dont know shit about basketball

GolbeZ wrote:

well my question really didnt get answered .. I think it depends on the franchise a lot but I might be looking to much into it..

If I was the lakers I would go Kevin Durant .. (more money/prestige: rather build around a top tier scorer)
if I was Oklahoma City I would go Howard (less money/prestige: I would rather begin to build around a big guy)
and If I was the Knicks I would go Chris Paul. (D'Antoni)

Bit of an overthink, but nice analysis, just simply nobody has any players, who do you start ur team with?

NoRegret wrote:

None of the Above.

If I HAD to pick one not involving the two you failed to mention, I suppose I would take Kevin Durant for his sheer scoring ability...its a tossup between him and Howard.

Yeah I agree and I picked Durant.

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

Man you need to watch CP3 more

+1. CP3 is my pick cause he is a floor general, creates shots for others while also being able to get his own shots, and he is a great defender. None of the other players on the list are as well rounded as CP3.

I picked Durant because he's a Longhorn and he's an amazing scorer that will only get better.

If Yao Ming could stay healthy I would pick him, though. I know he's not on your list but when he's healthy he's a dominant force in the middle.

Bigs03 wrote:

I picked Durant because he's a Longhorn and he's an amazing scorer that will only get better.

If Yao Ming could stay healthy I would pick him, though. I know he's not on your list but when he's healthy he's a dominant force in the middle.

And I catch shit for being a homer! HAHA!

Here is how I'd rank it

1. Dwight Howard
2. Carmelo Anthony
3. Dwayne Wade
4. Kevin Durant
5. Chris Paul

yeah Bigs is just being a homer with pick, who on Earth would pick Yao. Let's forget the injuries and just look at the fact that he is atleast 5 years older then everyone else listed in this thread. Now I get that there really aren't too many dominate big men and Yao is a great player when healthy. But come on Bigs, if you weren't from Houston his name wouldn't even enter your mind.

Dwight - Paint control and defense is huge and can limit teams more then any other way.
Durant - Uber offense player is a key factor in about 2/3s of championship teams
Paul - Rare PG talent, can score, and can dominate NBA guards
Wade - Full package preformer, but injury issues
Anthony - Offense is great but becomes one dimensional at times, especially matched against good forwards.

Howard would honestly be near the bottom of my list. Good size and defense/rebounding but if I'm building a franchise around a dude, he needs to be an alpha dog that knows how to take over a game down the stretch and Dwight ain't that guy

bobbitt15 wrote:

Howard would honestly be near the bottom of my list. Good size and defense/rebounding but if I'm building a franchise around a dude, he needs to be an alpha dog that knows how to take over a game down the stretch and Dwight ain't that guy

can you name another big man in the NBA better then Howard? How about one that even deserves to be in the conversation? A lot can be said about a dominate big man, very rare. I see your point though, but the bottom of your list? How big is this list?

OUSOONERSOU wrote:

bobbitt15 wrote:

Howard would honestly be near the bottom of my list. Good size and defense/rebounding but if I'm building a franchise around a dude, he needs to be an alpha dog that knows how to take over a game down the stretch and Dwight ain't that guy

can you name another big man in the NBA better then Howard? How about one that even deserves to be in the conversation? A lot can be said about a dominate big man, very rare. I see your point though, but the bottom of your list? How big is this list?

I'm just talking about the guys in this poll

To be fair Bigs says if Yao could stay healthy, and when 100% healthy Yao is the best center in the league, Dwight is a great athlete and good on D, but he's got nothing on Yao's offensive game.

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

To be fair Bigs says if Yao could stay healthy, and when 100% healthy Yao is the best center in the league, Dwight is a great athlete and good on D, but he's got nothing on Yao's offensive game.

LA that is like saying Chuck Liddell would be the best LHW in the world if he could just stop getting knocked out lol. Injuries are a big part of peoples legacys.

But that was the way he siad it

angry yao ming

To everyone who dogged my Yao comment. LA pointed it out, WHEN HE'S HEALTHY, he's the best center in the NBA and the most dominant offensive big man in the NBA period. Also, he's a great defensive player because of his height alone. He will get facialed every so often by a hotshot guard but for the most part they don't have a lot of success taking it to the rack on Yao.

Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to put together a healthy season since 04-05. Last Year looked great until he broke his foot in the playoffs, that fucking hurt me personally big time!!!

Anyway, there's a reason why the Rockets have been a great defensive team over the past 5 or 6 years and it's because of Yao. This season all of a sudden they suck on defense and it's no coincidence that Yao isn't there. They still have Battier and their defense sucks. When Yao comes back (fingers crossed) next season they will once again be a top 5 defensive team in the NBA. With Yao's post play and Kevin Martin's perimeter play the Rockets will be back to winning 50+ games every year and contending for the title.

OUSOONERSOU wrote:

bobbitt15 wrote:

Howard would honestly be near the bottom of my list. Good size and defense/rebounding but if I'm building a franchise around a dude, he needs to be an alpha dog that knows how to take over a game down the stretch and Dwight ain't that guy

can you name another big man in the NBA better then Howard? How about one that even deserves to be in the conversation? A lot can be said about a dominate big man, very rare. I see your point though, but the bottom of your list? How big is this list?

When healthy, I would pick Yao over Howard 10 out of 10 times. Howard is a great rebounder but that's all he's got on Yao. Oh, he'll beat Yao in a dunk contest every time also but go ahead, look at Yao and Howard head to head in their careers. Yao dominated him on the regular, it's not even close. If you think Howard belongs on this list over Yao just look at this page highlighting the dominance of Yao Ming over Dwight Howard.

http://www.orlandopinstripedpost.com/2009/4/7/826294/the-important-question-regarding

I stand by my comment, I'd start a team with Yao if he were healthy. Also, the comment Sooner made about his age compared to others on this list? Yao's game should age well. He doesn't depend on athleticism as much as guys like Hakeem, Howard, Stoudamire, or others. He's more of a Tim Duncan type. A big fundamental. If they can successfully repair his foot he should be able to put up solid numbers across the board well into his 30s.

I'm just saying from a GM stand point, Yao being 5 years older then everyone else on the list. Combine that with big men having more wear and tear and Yao just isn't the smart pick. I would take Howard 10 out of 10 times. I know you have decent reasoning but you are obviously being biased. That isn't an insult, it's just the truth. Sign of a true fan, I'm not hating I'm just saying. I don't see any reason to pick a healthy Yao over any player on this list if they are also healthy...again we are talking about STARTING a team. In my mind that means the long run. In 5 years every player listed will be a whole level above Yao.

Throw out the starting an NBA team for a minute.

When 100% healthy, Yao vs. Howard

Yao's game is just better than Howard's especially ofensively, if you told me I'd have both guys at 100% for a series, I'd take Yao, what he did vs. the Lakers compared to Howard is like night and day.