If you haven't heard by now, Kobe Bryant made some controversial comments this week about this year's Olympic team vs. the original "Dream Team" from 1992. Long story short: Bryant said his team could be the Dream Team, which for years has been known as the greatest team ever assembled. Bryant's comments drew reaction from all over, including from the Greatest Of All Time, Michael Jordan, who laughed at Bryant.
I wouldn't go as far as His Airness did. Even though this Olympic team isn't at full strength and has some obvious weaknesses, it also has some major strengths, too, and is the prohibitive favorite to win the Olympics. So how does this team stack up with the best of all time?
POINT GUARDS
'92: Magic Johnson (33), John Stockton (30)
'12: Chris Paul (27), Deron Williams (28), Russell Westbrook (23)
Advantage: '12
I know it might sound blasphemous to give the nod to three young point guards who have combined to win zero championships over two Hall of Famers, but it's true. In 1992, Magic was coming off of retirement because of his HIV diagnosis, and though Stockton was a wizard on both ends of the floor, he also didn't have to play against guys who attack the basket as well as this year's point guards. Magic and Stockton were the only two players who didn't play in all eight Olympic games in 1992, and though Magic certainly would create some matchup problems for the '12 team's smaller point guards, '12 also is versatile enough to go big and put someone like Carmelo or LeBron on Magic. I have to give the advantage to the younger, more athletic point guards from the current team.
SHOOTING GUARDS
'92: Michael Jordan (29), Clyde Drexler (30)
'12: Kobe Bryant (33), James Harden (23)
Advantage: '92
This is one of two positions where the CLEAR advantage goes to the original Dream Team. Jordan was in his prime after winning the second of his six championships, and there has never been a better player than Jordan in his prime. Drexler was no slouch either, and the two combined to average 25 points per game during the Olympics. It's highly unlikely that Kobe and Harden will pull off a similar feat. At four years older than Jordan was in '92, Kobe has logged many more minutes than MJ had and is no longer entering his prime. He's still a deadly player, even if he's not quite the same as he was three or four years ago. What he does have going for him is the greatest killer instinct since Jordan. Harden, the NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year, is an up-and-coming star, but he's not quite at the level of either Drexler or Jordan. Williams and Westbrook both could log some minutes at the two if needed, but clear advantage to '92.
SMALL FORWARDS
'92: Larry Bird (35), Scottie Pippen (26), Chris Mullin (29)
'12: LeBron James (27), Kevin Durant (23), Andre Iguodala (28)
Advantage: '12
I know it sounds crazy to go against three Hall of Famers, but are you telling me you're willing to bet against LeBron and Durant? The two best players in the world right now? Not me. Larry Legend was limping at the end of his career, and he would never play another NBA game after winning a gold medal in '92. Pippen was a truly great defender, but even he would have a hard time keeping up LeBron and Durant. Mullin was an underrated scorer (his 12.9 points per game in the Olympics were fourth on the team), but both LeBron and Iguodala are elite athletes and defenders who would have given Mullin fits. This position is probably the greatest strength of the '12 team.
POWER FORWARDS
'92: Charles Barkley (29), Karl Malone (29), Christian Laettner (21)
'12: Carmelo Anthony (28), Kevin Love (23)
Advantage: '92
Even with Laettner, who was a token selection and shouldn't have been on the Dream Team, power forward was the team's strongest position. Barkley led the team in scoring with 18 points per game, and Malone was third on the team with 13 points per game. They both were in their prime and are among the top five or six power forwards to ever play the game. Carmelo isn't really a power forward and would have a hard time matching up with those two guys physically, and it actually might be better to switch him and LeBron, who would be a better physical matchup with Barkley and Malone. What Anthony does have is the ability to be one of the best scorers on the international level. He and Durant are a lethal scoring combination, and Anthony's game is tailor-made for the international game. Love, meanwhile, is a double-double machine in the NBA who can match up with some of the bigger power forwards in the game. Is he Barkley or Malone in their prime? No, but in four years, he could be at that level.
CENTERS
'92: Patrick Ewing (29), David Robinson (26)
'12: Tyson Chandler (29), Anthony Davis (19)
Advantage: '92
Center is by far the weakest position for Team USA. With Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum out with injuries, the country's two best centers won't be at the Olympics. Chris Bosh and Blake Griffin, who are both power forwards, could also have contributed at center but are out with injuries, as well. Ewing and Robinson would have dominated Chandler and Davis. Dominated.
Clearly, the '12 team isn't at full strength, especially in the post. Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum would be on this team if healthy. LaMarcus Aldridge might have made the team, as well, and Blake Griffin was on the team ahead of Davis until he injured his knee on Wednesday. Dwyane Wade, the leading scorer on the '08 Olympic team, also is out with a knee injury. He would have been on this squad ahead of Harden.
Still, even with that many potential players sitting out, the '12 team would be competitive against the '92 squad. You can't argue what that team did. It averaged 117 points and won all eight games during the Olympics by at least 32 points and an average of 43 points. Simply put, it was total domination. But it was a different time then. Basketball wasn't a global game. The Dream Team helped to drive that, and today, nearly every team in the Olympics has multiple NBA players. Heck, even teams that fail to qualify have NBA stars (see Dirk Nowitzki and Germany). The competition today is much tougher than that '92 team had to face.
The '12 squad also has youth on its side. The average age of the '92 team was 28.8 years old, compared to just 25.9 years old this year. Only two players (33-year-old Kobe Bryant and 29-year-old Tyson Chandler) are older than 28 years old, while the '92 squad had nine players 29 years old or older. So clearly the '12 team has some advantages. But not enough.
If we were talking a gold-medal showdown between these two teams, where I had to shorten my bench and put my best players on the floor, here's what I would do:
'92 starters: Magic, Jordan, Pippen, Barkley, Ewing
'92 bench: Stockton, Drexler, Mullin, Malone, Robinson
'12 starters: Williams, Durant, Carmelo, LeBron, Chandler
'12 bench: Paul, Kobe, Harden, Iguodala, Love
The matchups would be very interesting. I would probably put LeBron on Jordan, Carmelo on Barkley and Durant on Magic. Deron Williams would be giving up a lot of size and length to Pippen, but I'd rather have him on Pippen than Jordan. The depth is where the '92 team can pull away from the '12 team. I'd take Paul over Stockton, and the Kobe/Drexler matchup would be a good one. But the frontcourt advantage goes to '92. For '12 to have any shot, I'd have to ask Chandler, Love, LeBron and Carmelo to play a lot of minutes in the post.
LeBron, Durant, Carmelo and Kobe would keep '12 in the game, but the will of Jordan and the experience of the rest of the original Dream Team would be a bit too much in the end.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
The All-Caucasian American NBA Team
My buddy and former co-worker Jeff and I have discussed this topic for several hours: If you formed an NBA team that consisted solely of white American players, would it be the worst team in the league? Yes, these are the types of things that my friends and I discuss. Not like for five minutes. But for hours. At a time.
We've debated the roster on at least three occasions, and for some reason, I got a text from Jeff today about our fictional team. For at least the second time, I sat down and went over every white NBA player to devise my team. For the sake of this argument, I limited the roster to 12 players (like the national teams in the upcoming Olympic Games).
Just to set this up and for background purposes: This isn't an all-time white NBA team. That would be too easy. There are more than 12 white Americans in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. That team would be unbelievable. (As an aside, I'd have to go with the following 12-man team: John Stockton and Bob Cousy at point guard; Pete Maravich and Jerry West at shooting guard; Larry Bird, Rick Barry and Chris Mullin at small forward; Bill Bradley, Kevin McHale and Dave Cowens at power forward; and Bill Walton and George Mikan at center. Championship!)
It also can't include so-called white guys who are foreigners or mixed players who aren't completely Caucasian. Again, talk about a pretty dang good team. Any team that features Dirk, the Gasol brothers, Andrew Bogut and Blake Griffin in the post will be competitive, no matter who the guards are. Throw in a backcourt of Nash, Steph Curry and Rubio, a shooter like Danilo Gallinari, and a couple of role players, and you can compete for an NBA title. But again, none of those guys are eligible.
So, it ain't easy. After much debate and deliberation, I am excited to unveil my 12-man roster for the All-Caucasian American NBA team:
POINT GUARDS
Kirk Hinrich and Luke Ridnour. OK, so we're not starting off all that hot. I actually think Hinrich is an underrated player. He's a nine-year veteran who at 31 years old still has plenty left in the tank. He has good size at 6-4 and isn't a bad defender -- and let's be honest, on a team full of white guys, we're looking for anybody who can defend. He's averaged 12.5 points and 5.4 assists during his career with Chicago, Washington and Atlanta, but he hasn't been a full-time starter in four seasons and hasn't scored more than 11.5 points in five. Ridnour, like Hinrich, is a nine-year veteran who is 31 years old. He's a little smaller at 6-2 and 175 pounds, but he's a crafty player whose career is on the upswing. He's a career 10-point and five-assist per game guy, but he's scored more points each season over the past four and averaged a career 12.1 points last season in Minnesota while sharing point guard duties with Rubio. I could make an argument that he should be this team's starter, though I'd lean toward Hinrich because of his size and defensive abilities. Having two 31-year-old point guards isn't ideal because it means there are no young legs to run with the Russell Westbrooks and Kyrie Irvings of the world, but there aren't weren't many other options. Missing the cut: Steve Nash (I'm still awaiting a ruling on my waiver request for Nash; sure, he's Canadian, but he went to college in California and is basically an American), Jimmer Fredette (The Jimmer would fill the "young legs" quota, but let's be honest -- his defense is even worse than the old guys. A rookie season in which he averaged 7.6 points isn't enough to get him on this team.), Steve Blake (Apparently, the 2003 NBA Draft was good for the white point guard. Hinrich went seventh, Ridnour 14th, and Blake 38th. Blake has been a part-time starter for most of his career, though he did have a good two-year run with Portland from 2007-09 in which he started all but three games and averaged double figures in scoring.). Note: Yes, it's sad there are only four white point guards in the NBA.
SHOOTING GUARDS
J.J. Redick and Kyle Korver. If you were building the ideal dream team, you would want players who strengths complement each other. Unfortunately, there's nothing ideal about this team, and Redick and Korver are essentially the same player. Redick, to his credit, has expanded his game, becoming more than just a spot-up shooter. His scoring average has improved every year, and for the first time in his career last year he started more than 10 games and scored a career-high 11.6 points per game. I honestly believe he's developed into a solid starter in the NBA, maybe not someone who's going to be a game-changer on a title team, but better than I think many people thought he would be. Korver, meanwhile, is an assassin off the bench. He's a career 41 percent 3-point shooter, has good length at 6-7 and adequate skills on defense, and he can make opposing wings work by his ability to move without the basketball. On this team, he'd likely be asked to do the same things he's asked to do on his real team -- play about 20 minutes per game off the bench and knock down threes. Missing the cut: Greivis Vasquez (I filed another waiver for Vasquez, the Venezualan-born shooter who attended high school in North Carolina and played collegiately at Maryland), Matt Carroll (Yes, the pickings are that slim.)
SMALL FORWARDS
Gordon Hayward and Chase Budinger. Finally, we're starting to get a little more athletic. These two young players give us some versatility on the wing and actually could play together and allow us to go big. Hayward, the 6-8, 20-year-old, former Butler star, is an emerging force for the Utah Jazz. He worked his way into the starting lineup during his second year in the league, averaging 11.8 points and showing that he's capable of putting up 20 points any night when he asserts himself. As he continues to get more comfortable and confident, he should emerge as one of the stars of the future for the Jazz. There's a chance he could be the second-best player on our all-Caucasian team. The 6-7 Budinger, who was just traded from Houston to Minnesota, is still trying to live up to his athletic potential and show he's more than just a dunker. He's perhaps the best athlete on this team and will be needed to add energy, defense and scoring off the bench. Missing the cut: Mike Dunleavy (The final cut from the squad. He's a better player than most people realize, averaging double figures for the past nine seasons. He's long and athletic at 6-9 and can shoot the 3, making 40 percent over the past two years. It really pained me not to put him on this team.), Mike Miller (Had this been five years ago, Miller would have been a lock for the starting lineup and probably the second-best player on the team. He was a lethal shooter and a very good player. Now, however, he's on the backside of his career and just doesn't have the talent level to earn a spot.), Robbie Hummel (He's a rookie from Purdue who has no ACLs left after tearing them both during his college career, but the kid has a tremendous work ethic and is going to have a successful career.), Steve Novak (Umm, he can shoot, but that's about it.), Doug McDermott (Jeff and I both agreed that we are eager to use our 2013 first-round pick on McDermott, the smooth scorer sophomore from Creighton. If he'd declared this year, there's no way he's not on this team. At 6-7, 220 pounds, he's a classic small forward who can put the ball in the basket, ranking third in the nation this past year with 23 points per game and being named a first-team All-American.), Adam Morrison (LOL! Sad thing, though, is he'd probably have been on this team had we selected it in six years ago).
POWER FORWARDS
Kevin Love, Ryan Anderson and Kris Humphries. Let's talk about Love, who is our only legitimate franchise-caliber player. He has to basically average a 30-20 every night for us to be competitive, but that's OK because he's used to pulling that kind of duty for a franchise without much talent in Minnesota. It's no exaggeration that Love might be the best U.S. post player, regardless of color, and he'll be a major force during the Olympics. He's slimmed down, gotten in better shape and expanded his game. He's a scoring threat in the post and on the perimeter, and he just eats rebounds for lunch. The two-time All-Star averaged career highs last year with 26 points and 13.3 rebounds, and at just 23 years old, he hasn't even hit his prime yet. Anderson, the 6-10 stretch combo forward who is headed to New Orleans next year, also is coming off a career year in which he averaged 16 points and 7.7 rebounds for Orlando, shooting 39 percent from three and being named the league's Most Improved Player. He can play minutes at both forward positions, again allowing this team to go big and create matchup problems. Humphries, meanwhile, will have one role -- grabbing garbage rebounds, like he has done for the Nets the past two seasons. Believe it or not, power forward is the white man's deepest position, as there is no shortage of stocky, physical guys who are willing to fill a role and collect a paycheck. Missed the cut: Chris "Birdman" Anderson (I thought long and hard about putting Birdman as the 12th man, just to sit on the bench, look weird and hype up his teammates and the crowd. In the end, though, I just didn't think he was suited for what we were trying to do.), Nick Collison (You have to have role players, and Collison is the ultimate one. He's willing to do the dirty work, make his teammates better and isn't at all interested in personal glory. I'm asking Humphries to fill that role and hoping he's up for the task.), Tyler Hansbrough (Every now and then, you need a guy who doesn't mind diving on the floor for loose balls or throwing an "inadvertant" elbow into his opponent's nose. I wish I could clone Hansbrough's work ethic, but his skill level doesn't match up.)
CENTERS
Chris Kaman, David Lee and Spencer Hawes. Kaman might have forfeited his right to play on this team when he acquired dual-citizenship in Germany and played in the 2008 Olympics, but we're just going to pretend that never happened. Although it seems he's been around forever, Kaman is only 30 and still a productive player. He averaged 13.1 points and 7.7 rebounds this past season in New Orleans despite the team trying to trade him. Just two seasons ago, he aveaged 18.5 points and 9.3 rebounds for the Clippers, and we're hoping he has something like that left in him. Playing next to Kevin Love will only help. Lee, meanwhile, really is a power forward masquerading as a center, but power forward clearly is our deepest position, and I felt like he could help us out at center. He's only 6-9 and 240 pounds, so bigger centers will give him problems defensively, but he scores and rebounds so well that he's bound to make an impact. Hawes is an emerging big man who brings plenty of size at 7-1. His production dropped off slightly over the past two seasons in Philadelphia, but he can score some in the paint and will play tough, physical defense. Missed the cut: Brad Miller (The former all-star and U.S. national team player is at the end of his career at 36 years old, and he's not even a productive pro anymore. He deserves an honorable mention, though.), Cole Aldrich (The 6-11 big man hasn't played much during his two seasons with Oklahoma City, but scouts are encouraged that he has a productive future ahead of him.), Meyers Leonard, Tyler Zeller, Miles Plumlee (I'll take the three rookies in globo: The future of this team looks bright. Leonard and Zeller are lanky, skilled players who can score and rebound, while if Plumlee's skills ever catch up with his athleticism, watch out.)
We've debated the roster on at least three occasions, and for some reason, I got a text from Jeff today about our fictional team. For at least the second time, I sat down and went over every white NBA player to devise my team. For the sake of this argument, I limited the roster to 12 players (like the national teams in the upcoming Olympic Games).
Just to set this up and for background purposes: This isn't an all-time white NBA team. That would be too easy. There are more than 12 white Americans in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. That team would be unbelievable. (As an aside, I'd have to go with the following 12-man team: John Stockton and Bob Cousy at point guard; Pete Maravich and Jerry West at shooting guard; Larry Bird, Rick Barry and Chris Mullin at small forward; Bill Bradley, Kevin McHale and Dave Cowens at power forward; and Bill Walton and George Mikan at center. Championship!)
It also can't include so-called white guys who are foreigners or mixed players who aren't completely Caucasian. Again, talk about a pretty dang good team. Any team that features Dirk, the Gasol brothers, Andrew Bogut and Blake Griffin in the post will be competitive, no matter who the guards are. Throw in a backcourt of Nash, Steph Curry and Rubio, a shooter like Danilo Gallinari, and a couple of role players, and you can compete for an NBA title. But again, none of those guys are eligible.
So, it ain't easy. After much debate and deliberation, I am excited to unveil my 12-man roster for the All-Caucasian American NBA team:
POINT GUARDS
Kirk Hinrich and Luke Ridnour. OK, so we're not starting off all that hot. I actually think Hinrich is an underrated player. He's a nine-year veteran who at 31 years old still has plenty left in the tank. He has good size at 6-4 and isn't a bad defender -- and let's be honest, on a team full of white guys, we're looking for anybody who can defend. He's averaged 12.5 points and 5.4 assists during his career with Chicago, Washington and Atlanta, but he hasn't been a full-time starter in four seasons and hasn't scored more than 11.5 points in five. Ridnour, like Hinrich, is a nine-year veteran who is 31 years old. He's a little smaller at 6-2 and 175 pounds, but he's a crafty player whose career is on the upswing. He's a career 10-point and five-assist per game guy, but he's scored more points each season over the past four and averaged a career 12.1 points last season in Minnesota while sharing point guard duties with Rubio. I could make an argument that he should be this team's starter, though I'd lean toward Hinrich because of his size and defensive abilities. Having two 31-year-old point guards isn't ideal because it means there are no young legs to run with the Russell Westbrooks and Kyrie Irvings of the world, but there aren't weren't many other options. Missing the cut: Steve Nash (I'm still awaiting a ruling on my waiver request for Nash; sure, he's Canadian, but he went to college in California and is basically an American), Jimmer Fredette (The Jimmer would fill the "young legs" quota, but let's be honest -- his defense is even worse than the old guys. A rookie season in which he averaged 7.6 points isn't enough to get him on this team.), Steve Blake (Apparently, the 2003 NBA Draft was good for the white point guard. Hinrich went seventh, Ridnour 14th, and Blake 38th. Blake has been a part-time starter for most of his career, though he did have a good two-year run with Portland from 2007-09 in which he started all but three games and averaged double figures in scoring.). Note: Yes, it's sad there are only four white point guards in the NBA.
SHOOTING GUARDS
J.J. Redick and Kyle Korver. If you were building the ideal dream team, you would want players who strengths complement each other. Unfortunately, there's nothing ideal about this team, and Redick and Korver are essentially the same player. Redick, to his credit, has expanded his game, becoming more than just a spot-up shooter. His scoring average has improved every year, and for the first time in his career last year he started more than 10 games and scored a career-high 11.6 points per game. I honestly believe he's developed into a solid starter in the NBA, maybe not someone who's going to be a game-changer on a title team, but better than I think many people thought he would be. Korver, meanwhile, is an assassin off the bench. He's a career 41 percent 3-point shooter, has good length at 6-7 and adequate skills on defense, and he can make opposing wings work by his ability to move without the basketball. On this team, he'd likely be asked to do the same things he's asked to do on his real team -- play about 20 minutes per game off the bench and knock down threes. Missing the cut: Greivis Vasquez (I filed another waiver for Vasquez, the Venezualan-born shooter who attended high school in North Carolina and played collegiately at Maryland), Matt Carroll (Yes, the pickings are that slim.)
SMALL FORWARDS
Gordon Hayward and Chase Budinger. Finally, we're starting to get a little more athletic. These two young players give us some versatility on the wing and actually could play together and allow us to go big. Hayward, the 6-8, 20-year-old, former Butler star, is an emerging force for the Utah Jazz. He worked his way into the starting lineup during his second year in the league, averaging 11.8 points and showing that he's capable of putting up 20 points any night when he asserts himself. As he continues to get more comfortable and confident, he should emerge as one of the stars of the future for the Jazz. There's a chance he could be the second-best player on our all-Caucasian team. The 6-7 Budinger, who was just traded from Houston to Minnesota, is still trying to live up to his athletic potential and show he's more than just a dunker. He's perhaps the best athlete on this team and will be needed to add energy, defense and scoring off the bench. Missing the cut: Mike Dunleavy (The final cut from the squad. He's a better player than most people realize, averaging double figures for the past nine seasons. He's long and athletic at 6-9 and can shoot the 3, making 40 percent over the past two years. It really pained me not to put him on this team.), Mike Miller (Had this been five years ago, Miller would have been a lock for the starting lineup and probably the second-best player on the team. He was a lethal shooter and a very good player. Now, however, he's on the backside of his career and just doesn't have the talent level to earn a spot.), Robbie Hummel (He's a rookie from Purdue who has no ACLs left after tearing them both during his college career, but the kid has a tremendous work ethic and is going to have a successful career.), Steve Novak (Umm, he can shoot, but that's about it.), Doug McDermott (Jeff and I both agreed that we are eager to use our 2013 first-round pick on McDermott, the smooth scorer sophomore from Creighton. If he'd declared this year, there's no way he's not on this team. At 6-7, 220 pounds, he's a classic small forward who can put the ball in the basket, ranking third in the nation this past year with 23 points per game and being named a first-team All-American.), Adam Morrison (LOL! Sad thing, though, is he'd probably have been on this team had we selected it in six years ago).
POWER FORWARDS
Kevin Love, Ryan Anderson and Kris Humphries. Let's talk about Love, who is our only legitimate franchise-caliber player. He has to basically average a 30-20 every night for us to be competitive, but that's OK because he's used to pulling that kind of duty for a franchise without much talent in Minnesota. It's no exaggeration that Love might be the best U.S. post player, regardless of color, and he'll be a major force during the Olympics. He's slimmed down, gotten in better shape and expanded his game. He's a scoring threat in the post and on the perimeter, and he just eats rebounds for lunch. The two-time All-Star averaged career highs last year with 26 points and 13.3 rebounds, and at just 23 years old, he hasn't even hit his prime yet. Anderson, the 6-10 stretch combo forward who is headed to New Orleans next year, also is coming off a career year in which he averaged 16 points and 7.7 rebounds for Orlando, shooting 39 percent from three and being named the league's Most Improved Player. He can play minutes at both forward positions, again allowing this team to go big and create matchup problems. Humphries, meanwhile, will have one role -- grabbing garbage rebounds, like he has done for the Nets the past two seasons. Believe it or not, power forward is the white man's deepest position, as there is no shortage of stocky, physical guys who are willing to fill a role and collect a paycheck. Missed the cut: Chris "Birdman" Anderson (I thought long and hard about putting Birdman as the 12th man, just to sit on the bench, look weird and hype up his teammates and the crowd. In the end, though, I just didn't think he was suited for what we were trying to do.), Nick Collison (You have to have role players, and Collison is the ultimate one. He's willing to do the dirty work, make his teammates better and isn't at all interested in personal glory. I'm asking Humphries to fill that role and hoping he's up for the task.), Tyler Hansbrough (Every now and then, you need a guy who doesn't mind diving on the floor for loose balls or throwing an "inadvertant" elbow into his opponent's nose. I wish I could clone Hansbrough's work ethic, but his skill level doesn't match up.)
CENTERS
Chris Kaman, David Lee and Spencer Hawes. Kaman might have forfeited his right to play on this team when he acquired dual-citizenship in Germany and played in the 2008 Olympics, but we're just going to pretend that never happened. Although it seems he's been around forever, Kaman is only 30 and still a productive player. He averaged 13.1 points and 7.7 rebounds this past season in New Orleans despite the team trying to trade him. Just two seasons ago, he aveaged 18.5 points and 9.3 rebounds for the Clippers, and we're hoping he has something like that left in him. Playing next to Kevin Love will only help. Lee, meanwhile, really is a power forward masquerading as a center, but power forward clearly is our deepest position, and I felt like he could help us out at center. He's only 6-9 and 240 pounds, so bigger centers will give him problems defensively, but he scores and rebounds so well that he's bound to make an impact. Hawes is an emerging big man who brings plenty of size at 7-1. His production dropped off slightly over the past two seasons in Philadelphia, but he can score some in the paint and will play tough, physical defense. Missed the cut: Brad Miller (The former all-star and U.S. national team player is at the end of his career at 36 years old, and he's not even a productive pro anymore. He deserves an honorable mention, though.), Cole Aldrich (The 6-11 big man hasn't played much during his two seasons with Oklahoma City, but scouts are encouraged that he has a productive future ahead of him.), Meyers Leonard, Tyler Zeller, Miles Plumlee (I'll take the three rookies in globo: The future of this team looks bright. Leonard and Zeller are lanky, skilled players who can score and rebound, while if Plumlee's skills ever catch up with his athleticism, watch out.)
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