Offseason Boredom: Top 20 edition

Deron was just an oversight. I think I just forgot about the Jazz generally. So yeah, certainly he would be on my second ten.

And as far as the first 11 goes, I’m not sure they’re the top 11 players necessarily, I just thought they were the 11 players no one would leave out of the Top 20 (or I guess 21 here).

But yeah, Deron should be up there. No doubt.

have a lot less love for Dirk and Carmelo than other folks around here.

HA

Ginobili is certainly questionable because of his injury history, but I think I just have too much respect for his game not to include him.

As far as potential value goes, I definitely was supposed to be part of the equation but I would assign less value to it than to current, because, well, it’s speculative.

For instance, regarding Gasol and Lopez, I’d take Gasol over Lopez just because Lopez may top out at his current level or decline while Gasol is already an All-star and only 28.

I guess the idea is I consider potential to be ~ 50% as valuable as current production.

All that said, Lopez definitely has to be in the conversation. True centers with his skill level are a rare commodity these days.

They might not come up in our top however-many players list, but those are two guys that are truly scary in the clutch. Durant, Rose, Lopez, Iggy, they all have a ton of talent and potential, but guys like Pierce, Parker, and Ginobli are proven killers on the biggest stage.

but their value to the team. potential plays a factor, but if you’ve got a player like kobe, there’s no doubt that he’s one of the most valuable players of the past twenty years. he might not have much more potential that’s untapped, but his significance to his team, the NBA, and the world of basketball can’t be overlooked.

I think you just gave watdogg an aneurysm.

Even I’m from near Toronto, I don’t like Chris Bosh on the 1st tier. He might not even be in my top 20. I’d take Pau Gasol before him. I’d also take Amar’e and Al Jeff before him if they weren’t so injury prone.

and so is josh smith, but only when they want to be. LMA has potential to be another chris bosh/amaré type player, but i just don’t know if he’s all there. i don’t know if he wants it bad enough. it seems like he’s a bit too sensitive at times, being frustrated by all the attention being given to brandon roy.

and as far as josh smith is concerned, the guy is an absolute stud on defense. he’s athletic as all get out, but there are too many deficiencies in his game to call him a top 20 player. he’s not a great 3 point shooter, a terrible free throw shooter, and in general, just isn’t very consistent on the offensive end.

I think most people agree that Amar’e on his best day is better than most people’s best days. But most people also agree that he is seldom on his best day.

Amar’e’s injury history is what makes him less of a sure thing.

Damn.

I’m glad to see another list though. I kind of posted this thread with an idea for another future post, but it won’t really work unless a couple more folks post some more lists.