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Wade is only 2 years older than Melo.
James, Howard, Paul, Durant, Rose, Griffin, Wall, Williams and Anthony. Who's number ten? Would you argue with any of the top 9? Would you leave the top 9 as is, but change the order? Keep in mind, this isn't about ranking these players at the moment. It's about their potential and value.
Number ten: If Bynum and Oden didn't have such major injuries, it would be between them. But considering their recent past and how it could impact their future, it's between Rondo and Westbrook.
As far as the order, the top two and last two are no brainers. It's the middle five that are tougher. Particularly the four between Paul and Williams, because with them we won't have a clearer picture for a few years.
I'm putting Paul third because even though his explosiveness isn't all the way back, he's still 2nd in PER (1st much of the season) and 1st in win shares. If he ever get's back to where he was, I can't see those other guys being better than him.
Wade is only 2 years older than Melo.
Most of those players are not young assests anymore. You have consider age and potential. Let's face it lebron, Paul, williams, melo, and Howard are who they are and they probably won't get any better than this.
Tyreke Evans.
gotta say steph curry. if onyl he was on a good team
Kevin Love is leading the league in rebounding, which is astounding pretty much everybody. I'd put him on the list.
And I think Westbrook should be on the list, and ahead of John Wall.
Sorry, I meant to say that both Rondo and Westbrook whould be ahead of John Wall.
Jrue Holiday. he's not old enough to drink yet.
Roddy
Nicolas Batuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum.
LOL Paul anybody that is damaged goods (no offense he is playing wel considering he is not as explosive) should not be top 5 on this list.
howard is still improving so I would say he belongs but as others have pointed out many are past the point of "young" at least in the number of seasons. When you consider the truly young (relative) assets:
1. howard/Durant
2. Rose
3. Blake (almost took 2nd)
4. Rondo
5. Westbrook
6. Wall
7. Love
Thing is tough to judge but my guess is if you take hometown bias if you had rose and i offered you durant (or Dwight) you would take Kevin ... Unless you had a top 5 PG already. I put rose over Blake because of the knee issue otherwise I might take Blake 2nd to Durant. Durant has to be the choice for me because even though I enjoy watching the highlights of Rose and Blake Durant's game looks like it will "age" the best. He will always have a high release point and soft touch ...without athleticism, Blake and rose (westbrook too) will be good but not grear they rely on it a great deal TBH ...
Monta mother ing Ellis should be in the top 10 I think. But it could be because he's my favorite player to watch.
Last edited by mardigan; 01-24-2011 at 06:35 PM.
boobwah is an untapped goldmine. i pity the other teams.
You mean untapped potential.
DMC, the line had to be drawn somewhere. Wade is within' a year of turning 30. At this point, he should no longer be looked at as a young player. The same goes for Stoudemire, who turns 29 this year. Those two are now middle aged players.
For those claiming that "James and Howard, etc." aren't young anymore, that's ridiculous. Just because they're established superstars and no longer up and coming, doesn't mean they're not young. I know they're middle aged (or at least close) in terms of mileage, but they're 26 and 25.
The obvious one I forgot about who merits mention for the tenth spot is Bosh. I'm not saying I'd pick him, but the guy was 5th in PER last season. I know it's not the end all be all, but when Westbrook was there this season, people couldn't stop singing his praises. The same goes for Love, who's not quite in the top five.
Love is another one, but he's just so limited athletically from a defensive standpoint. You've got to at least have the potential to be decent defensively. People will say "what about Anthony?". But in the right environment, he at least has the physical tools to be a decent defender. Love doesn't.
KillaKobe, I get what you're saying with Paul. But I couldn't not have him third at this point. Not when he's not even all the way back explosive wise, yet is still 2nd in PER (1st for much of the season) and 1st in win shares. He's only 26. I'm willing to give him another season to see if he can get his explosiveness all the way back (or at least close) and resume being the 23/11/5 guy he was pre-injury.
If he can't get back to that level, then combined with the obvious improvements Durant, Rose, Griffin and Wall (among others) will make in that time, obviously I'd have to re-evaluate his ranking. But right now, I'm still giving him the benefit of the doubt.
Last edited by TD 21; 01-26-2011 at 12:28 AM.
This...I think to be considered "young" in the NBA a player should probably be 23 or under.
Kevin Durant
Blake Griffin
Derrick Rose
Kevin Love
Tyreke Evans
Stephen Curry
Danilo Gallinari
Russell Westbrook
John Wall
Eric Gordon
Good list. like the inclusion of Gallinari but it seems the nuggs arent very interested in him in a Melo deal ...and I dont see why. yes he sucks on defense but he has one of those 80's style Kiki vandeweghe type games and is a great shooter with a surprising first step with a soft touch around the basket. No way I trade Melo without getting him in the deal. even if Nuggs dont love him pretty sure you could flip him to someone else who does ...
JamStone, have you lost your damn mind? Gallinari's not even in the discussion. Love, Evans, Curry, Gallinari and Westbrook over Wall? Wall has best player on a good team potential (maybe championship team; remains to be seen), none of those other guys have that. At least one of them, Gallinari, doesn't even have best player on a bad team potential.
John Wall has been okay. How has his play translated to winning games? The Wizards are 13-31. They're on pace for 24 wins. They won 26 games last year. Putting up pretty good numbers on a horrible team doesn't do much for me. I need to see his play impact the win column for me to move him up. Wall has the potential to be a very good player. I'll reserve judgment until he starts making enough impact to win games. I thought he'd make a bigger difference than he has.
Gallinari has an intangible quality that I think can mean really good things for the NBA to market. His international/European appeal in New York city can mean really great things if he becomes more than just a "good" player. If he can get anywhere close to Peja/Dirk caliber play in a city like New York for a team like the Knicks, he can really be a huge asset for the NBA not only by his performance on the court but his international appeal to help promote the NBA. I look at that as being a very big "asset" for the NBA.
I'm not talking about now, I'm talking about his value. Who has more long term potential? Would the Wizards even consider for a second trading Wall for Gallinari? That type of thing.
You need to see impact in the win column? Then what's the defensive liability Love doing at number four? Unlike Wall, who's been in and out of the lineup and hasn't even played a half of a season yet, Love's in his third season on the Timberwolves and they have an even worse record than the Wizards.
And what impact in the win column has the erratic, vastly overrated Gallinari made? The Knicks are barely over .500 and the main reasons they are, are Stoudemire, Felton and Chandler. I get the marketing aspect of it, but even in the event Gallinari reaches anywhere close to Stojakovic/Nowitzki caliber (which is highly unlikely), he still doesn't even come close to having the marketing potential of Wall.
There's a difference between "putting up pretty good numbers on a horrible team" and having the upside to be the best player on a good team. If you were as knowledgeable as you think you are, you'd be able to tell the difference. Wait two years and Wall will probably be having the type of season Rose is having now and be considered amongst the top players in the game.
Kevin Love is putting up 21.4 PPG and 15.6 RPG. Both Wall and Love are on bad teams. Love is the more impressive player right now. Kevin Love is leading the league in rebounding. Come on now.
Gallinari being an "asset" to the NBA, as I explained, has as much to do with his international appeal and the fact he plays for the Knicks in New York as it does with his performance. I don't even hear about Wall anymore. He has a nice assists average. But he's been underwhelming for the most part. He's shooting 40% from the field. Even if you take the games he's missed into consideration, the Wizards are still 10-22 in games he's played in. Still on pace for just 26 wins. I disagree Wall has more marketing potential than Gallinari if Gallinari becomes a star. If Gallinari becomes a star on the Knicks, he has the potential to be big for the NBA.
Wall can move up when he proves he can make more of a difference. He's supposed to be a franchise point guard. I expected more out of him, even this early in his NBA career. I'll wait two years for that season Wall will have that's like Rose, and then he can move up.
Gallo is one of the most overrated prospects in the NBA, tbh, which is what usually happens when a player plays for the Knicks..he's one of the worst defenders in the NBA, and he can't create offense on a consistent basis..he's an amazing shooter, he has the potential to be a #3 option on a good team, maybe, but he doesn't have the potential to be a star player IMO..I don't think he belongs with most of the names that have been listed..
I'll rank them by 25 years old and under:
1- Dwight Howard(25?)
2- Kevin Durant
3- Derrick Rose
4- Blake Griffin
5- Kevin Love
6- Russell Westbrook
7- Rajon Rondo
8- Tyreke Evans
9- Eric Gordon
10- Stephen Curry
Curry, Eric Gordon,john wall,
I said nothing about who the more impressive player is right now. There's no question it's Love, but that had nothing to do with what I was asking or saying.
It's funny though, everyone will tell you that they value defense, but Love can't guard his own shadow yet everyone's on the band wagon. Love is a very good player, but there's no way he can be the best player on a good team. Heck, he can't even drag this Timberwolves team to something resembling respectability. So how can he be a top five young asset? No talk about his defense or his inability to lead his team to respectability, everyone's caught up in the gaudy numbers. Wonder why . . .
Wall should be higher on your list. A lot of you seem to be missing the point of this thread. This is about potential, not who's having the best season or is playing the best at the moment. Would anyone take the future of Love, Evans, Gordon, Curry, etc. over Wall's? Those guys have All-Star potential, he's got Hall-of-Fame potential.
As far as Gallinari, as I and Harlem said, he has no business even being mentioned amongst any of these players. Never mind the first tier, there's too many second tier players that rank ahead of him for him to even deserve mention.
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