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[triboy16f]

My list

Lebron James
Kevin Durant
Derrick Rose
Chris Paul
James Harden
David Lee

Sorry but Dwight Howard is not a guy i would want to build my team around. The guy is not a leader. Lakers are horrid so far with the type of talent they have on the team. I rather have Tyson Chandler. James Harden and David Lee have passed the test so far that they can carry/lead a team. They are the mvp for their teams so far

Though i love to put Rondo on the list, there isn't enough proof that you can build a team around him alone. Pre big three era the celts weren't good and the big test to see what rondo will be made out of will be when we lose either kg or pierce in a year or so. Right now no

The last three on this list are questionable.  Chandler is definitely not a corner stone.  Lee is not really either.  Harden might be soon.

After thinking about it, i took off Chandler from the list.
David Lee no doubt about it has been GSW mvp this year. Without him, they would not be where they are at right now.

His play has taken off this year. He is a triple threat night in and night out. Points, rebounds, passing

[Smutzy#9]

Top 8 build around

Durant
Rose (Healthy)
James
Irving
Rondo
CP3
TP
davis

Durant first because he is just a freak and he is still young

I put Rose ahead of James because he has the ability to just dominate that position for the next 8 years if he comes back close to what he was. Going forward with a 23-24 year old like that would be just unreal.

James only third becuase if im starting to build around something now i think Durant and Rose have more upside for a longer period of time. If Rose doesnt come back 100% James takes #2 spot

Irving the kid is going to be a stud no doubt about it

Rondo commands the floor like a true PG should and is probably top 5 in BBIQ in the league if you ask me

CP3 is just a boss

Tony Parker gets under appreciated because he is hidden away in SA. He is a ridiculously good player

Anothony Davis just has potential to be a Tim Duncan KG style player which is saying something (No one will ever match KG's intensity and passion though.)

[triboy16f]

Are you talking about build around now or potential?

Irving has done nothing for cleveland so far. He plays or doesn't play the team is horrid.

[mgent]

1. Durant
2. James
3. Dwight
4. Irving
5. Rose
6. Wade
7. Rondo
8. Carmelo
9. Harden
10. Love
11. Griffin
12. Paul George

Don't see any blatant omissions or crazy inclusions on your list.  There are tons of different ways to go depending on the pieces around them and how soon you want to win a title (Chris Paul or even Kobe Bryant would be a much better choice in some instances than Love, Griffin, or George).

no offense, but not sure how you have Irving on the list. Cleveland is one of the worse teams in the league. A guy you can build around imo is a guy that carries the team through stats/leadership and helps them be contenders.

Its hard also if you can build on Griffin or Melo alone bc previous to this year, they only did subpar jobs in leading their teams to get somewhere. Love the same. Minny is just subpar

I think it's common sense.  Stats and leadership certainly shouldn't be the only things you're looking for to build around.  I don't see how you can leave potential out of the equation, especially in a going forward scenario....

Guys like Irving and Paul George will be all stars in their prime 5-6 years from now while Chris Paul and LeBron will be 34 and have no where near the speed that makes them so good at the moment.  Other pieces can be added, for example your best player doesn't have to be your leader.

[mgent]

Are you talking about build around now or potential?

Regardless, the future matters.  Players don't get younger.

[Smutzy#9]

Im gonna through LA in there as well.

[triboy16f]

Are you talking about build around now or potential?

Regardless, the future matters.  Players don't get younger.

It does matter but also what matters is what have you done for me today. What tests have you passed, where has your team gone.  Cleveland the last few years have just stayed bad if not regressed. Nobody has mentioned John Wall on their lists, bc its the same story

Its still very new for Davis, so i would wait a another few years before adding him on the list. Irving imo is not all that great as many think. His offensive capabilities are elite , but his defensive abilities is suspect. He gets blown by enough times by many pg's in the league.

[mgent]

Are you talking about build around now or potential?

Regardless, the future matters.  Players don't get younger.

It does matter but also what matters is what have you done for me today. What tests have you passed, where has your team gone.  Cleveland the last few years have just stayed bad if not regressed. Nobody has mentioned John Wall on their lists, bc its the same story

Its still very new for Davis, so i would wait a another few years before adding him on the list. Irving imo is not all that great as many think. His offensive capabilities are elite , but his defensive abilities is suspect. He gets blown by enough times by many pg's in the league.

I think there's a clear difference between John Wall and Kyrie Irving in terms of potential, current production, and variety of players that mix well with them.

[Celtics18]

To make it more clear, let's pretend that the league started over today and there was a draft drawn up for all the current NBA players.  So the GMs making the pick would have to consider all the things there are to consider: talent, age, potential, leadership, box office draw, etc.  Who are you going to build your team around?  What would be the draft order of the top 12?

[scaryjerry]

Are you talking about build around now or potential?

Irving has done nothing for cleveland so far. He plays or doesn't play the team is horrid.

Exactly. And rose won an MVP, led his team to best record twice, an eastern conference finale in his first 3 years...yeah he got hurt but kyrie is injury prone and done nothing.

[Who]

To make it more clear, let's pretend that the league started over today and there was a draft drawn up for all the current NBA players.  So the GMs making the pick would have to consider all the things there are to consider: talent, age, potential, leadership, box office draw, etc.  Who are you going to build your team around?  What would be the draft order of the top 12?

LeBron and Durant, one and two.

Dwight Howard is a very tough one with his back injury. That would probably scare me enough to leave him back a few slots. More around 10th place instead of top three.

I wouldn't select any of the older players like Duncan, Garnett, Dirk or Kobe. I prefer to build around bigs than guards. So I'd be inclined to take them early and PGs afterwards.

I will go with Anthony Davis at #3. Maybe Blake Griffin at #4. Oh, Carmelo #5. Then I'd have a run on guards. Only one high level two guard, James Harden. The rest are point guards. Kyrie Irving. Rajon Rondo. Chris Paul. Maybe Westbrook.

And Kevin Love in there somewhere. Probably behind the first four guards but ahead of Westbrook (decision making as PG). I don't like building around point guards so Harden is near the top of that grouping.

That leaves Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard competing for the final spot. Not sure who's injury scares me more right now. Maybe they're competing with Westbrook too. Final two slots up for grabs. Westbrook isn't really a player I'd like to build around. More of a number two than a number one due to his bad decision making and high usage at PG.

#1 - LeBron James
#2 - Kevin Durant
#3 - Anthony Davis
#4 - Blake Griffin
#5 - Carmelo Anthony
#6 - Kyrie Irving
#7 - James Harden
#8 - Chris Paul
#9 - Kevin Love
#10 - Rajon Rondo
#11 - Russell Westbrook
#12 - Derrick Rose

[clover]

I'm bold--I'd put Drummond in there too.

[KGs Knee]

To make it more clear, let's pretend that the league started over today and there was a draft drawn up for all the current NBA players.  So the GMs making the pick would have to consider all the things there are to consider: talent, age, potential, leadership, box office draw, etc.  Who are you going to build your team around?  What would be the draft order of the top 12?

If it was a pure draft, I'd go:

Lebron
Durant
Paul
Melo (no, not OUR Melo)

After that, it'd be a run on bigs

Howard
M.Gasol
Griffin
Love
Alrdidge
Davis
Drummond
Cousins
Monroe

After that, then you'd see Rondo and the other PGs/SGs.  Maybe one or two get taken admist the bigs.  Unless you're getting one of the top 4, you have to take a big.  A good/great PG is nothing without a good/great big.  Right now there are more quality PG than bigs.  The more scarce commodity gets taken first.

Note: If "playoff" Rondo was a seperate player, he'd be taken with the top 4.  Regular season Rondo coasts (due to his body, he has to), so he loses value.

[mgent]

To make it more clear, let's pretend that the league started over today and there was a draft drawn up for all the current NBA players.  So the GMs making the pick would have to consider all the things there are to consider: talent, age, potential, leadership, box office draw, etc.  Who are you going to build your team around?  What would be the draft order of the top 12?

LeBron and Durant, one and two.

Dwight Howard is a very tough one with his back injury. That would probably scare me enough to leave him back a few slots. More around 10th place instead of top three.

I wouldn't select any of the older players like Duncan, Garnett, Dirk or Kobe. I prefer to build around bigs than guards. So I'd be inclined to take them early and PGs afterwards.

I will go with Anthony Davis at #3. Maybe Blake Griffin at #4. Oh, Carmelo #5. Then I'd have a run on guards. Only one high level two guard, James Harden. The rest are point guards. Kyrie Irving. Rajon Rondo. Chris Paul. Maybe Westbrook.

And Kevin Love in there somewhere. Probably behind the first four guards but ahead of Westbrook (decision making as PG). I don't like building around point guards so Harden is near the top of that grouping.

That leaves Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard competing for the final spot. Not sure who's injury scares me more right now. Maybe they're competing with Westbrook too. Final two slots up for grabs. Westbrook isn't really a player I'd like to build around. More of a number two than a number one due to his bad decision making and high usage at PG.

#1 - LeBron James
#2 - Kevin Durant
#3 - Anthony Davis
#4 - Blake Griffin
#5 - Carmelo Anthony
#6 - Kyrie Irving
#7 - James Harden
#8 - Chris Paul
#9 - Kevin Love
#10 - Rajon Rondo
#11 - Russell Westbrook
#12 - Derrick Rose

Westbrook over Rose?  Ouch.  Injury or not I'd be more worried about my main guy shooting under 42% from the field in 3 out of 5 seasons.  That's not even considering he's always been the second best player on his team (with an amazing shot creator in Harden), compared to Rose, who has always commanded the full attention away from his group of role players that can't take an 8 seed to 7 games.

Despite being similar scorers, definitely give me the guy that will endlessly take it to the rim over the guy that shoots more long 2s.  And I don't see how anybody could take Westbrook based simply on the fact that Rose destroys him in late game situations, when it really counts.