So Bill Simmons has done this thing the past few years where he ranks the best players in the NBA. These aren't just your ordinary run of the mill rankings however. There are a lot of variables considered. I spent the better part of my Sunday afternoon going through the NBA and taking notes. Players are not just judged by their statistics. Other factors included are: injury history, contract, attitude, age, etc. I went over the rosters for every NBA team and wrote down every name that caught my eye. I ended up with about 80-90 names.
There were some very tough cuts. Some guys were excluded because of attitude (Artest) some because of a bad contract (Ben Wallace, Carlos Boozer), and some because they just don't have enough experience to really tell (Monta Ellis, Paul Millsap). So while we can all agree that right now Ben Wallace, Carlos Boozer, and Ron Artest are better than Andris Biedrins and Andrew Bynum, this ranking system will not reflect that.
Before we get to the rankings, here is how they should be interpreted. If a player is rated 19th on the list all players 1-18 should be accepted in a trade for that 19th rated player. So according to my current rankings, Paul Pierce is 18th and Chauncey Billups is 19th. This means that should the Pistons be offered Pierce for Billups they should make the trade. Here we go. Hopefully this will be an annual installment on the blog.
50. Leandro Barbosa PHX (G): 24 yrs old Contract: 5 yrs/$6.5 per season.
Barbosa has really made a name for himself this season. He is still very young and can play both guard positions effectively. Barbosa averaged 18 ppg and 4apg this season in winning the sixth man of the year award. Barbosa would be rated higher but I'm a bit skeptical that he is just a product of the way Phoenix plays.
49. Tyrus Thomas CHI (F): 20 yrs old Contract: 3yrs/$4
Thomas really progressed as the season went along. He plays with tons of energy and is 6'9. It is the Bulls hope that Thomas will turn into a poor mans Kevin Garnett. Thomas will never have the post up ability of a Garnett but could be good for 20ppg and 10rpg based on his energy and size. He's also not afraid to mix it up with the opposition.
48. Andris Biedrins GS (FC): 21 yrs old Contract: 1 yr/$2.6
Biedrins is another player who broke out this season. So many guys are picked early in the NBA Draft with teams hoping they'll blossom like Biedrins did this season. Biedrins shot 60% from the field and averaged 9ppg and 9rpg picking up a lot of double-doubles over the course of the season. He is 6'11 and can keep up with the up tempo game the Warriors play, this will bode well for him in his career as more and more teams are playing that style of ball. He has almost no range but is good in the post and will get the majority of his points off of offensive rebounds.
47. Tyson Chandler NO (FC) 24 yrs old Contract: 4 yrs/$11
Chandler got a big fat pay raise a couple of years back and the Bulls didn't think he was worth it. They dumped him off on the Hornets and used that money to sign Ben Wallace. As a Pistons fan who has seen Ben Wallace Play a lot, the Bulls messed up on that one. Chandler basically does the same stuff Wallace does, but with more offense and he's much younger than Big Ben. Chandler averaged nearly 10ppg and grabbed over 12 rpg and 1.77 blocks per game. Like Wallace, he is a dreadful shooter and is rated this low because he makes way too much money for how little he scores.
46. Richard Jefferson NJ (SF) 26 yrs old Contract: 4 yrs/$14
First, I had no idea he was paid this much, yikes. Way too much money for him. Jefferson is a good player who can hit threes but can also drive to the lane and draw fouls, that's what makes him a valuable player. The problem (aside from how much he makes) is that he has a history of injuries. Should he stay healthy he can average 20ppg and 7rpg. The health is a huge issue though. He is one of those guys though that just doesn't scare me at all. If your team has a guy like Bowen, Prince, or Josh Howard, you can pretty much forget about Jefferson for the night.
45. Ben Gordon CHI (G) 24 yrs old Contract: 1yr/$4.8
First of all, if Gordon had a five year deal for $4.8 per season, he'd be much higher on this list. However, he's heading into the last year of his deal and is likely to get a pretty good raise. My main problem with Gordon is how streaky he is. He had 10 games this year where he failed to score in double digits, not what you're looking for from your starting shooting guard. However, when he's on, he's on. This past season he went for 37, 37, 40,41,34,33,48,33, and 37. So the guy can score in bunches, you just aren't ever sure which one will show up. He's also a bit short for a two guard.
44. Zach Randolph POR (PF) 25 yrs old Contract: 4 yrs/$16
There are two HUGE red flags here. He's way overpaid and he's a total nut. Randolph has had numerous run ins with the law and was part of that Jail Blazer culture of the early 2000's. That being said, he is one of the true great, back to the basket, scorers in the NBA. Every time I see the Blazers on TV I am amazed at how good he is inside. This past season he put up 23ppg and 10rpg. Not all guys can do that. Not only does he score inside, he can hit the 18 footer as well. He is a tough matchup for every team he goes against, he's just a little too crazy to put on most teams.
43. LaMarcus Aldridge POR (PF) 21 yrs old Contract: 3 yrs/$4.5
Aldridge is what makes Randolph expendable for the Blazers. The Blazers put together a great draft last summer and Aldridge is a huge piece of that. He is 6'10 and can get it done inside. Big men like him almost always get even better inside and they mature in the league. While he finished the season with modest numbers he was huge in March averaging 15ppg, 8rpg, and almost 2bpg. Blazer fans have reasons to be excited for the future thanks to players like him.
42. Mehmet Okur UTAH (FC) 27 yrs old Contract: 3 yrs/$8.5
When Okur left the Pistons a few years back I didn't mind, I thought he got too much money. However, that deal doesn't look too bad right now. $8.5 per season for a guy who averaged 18/7 this past season isn't too bad. Especially when he can run the floor, score in the post and hit threes. However, he is awful on defense. Being awful on defense is even harder to cover when you're a playing center or power forward. Guys like Tim Duncan and Amare Stoudemire can really light up Okur. That being said, he seems to have a found a good situation in Utah.
41. Brandon Roy POR (GF) 22 yrs old Contract: 3yrs/$3.5
Roy won rookie of the year this past season in a landslide despite appearing in only 57 games due to injury. It's too early to say if he has an injury problem but it's something to keep an eye on. Before last year's draft he was considered the one "can't miss" guy. For some reason those can't miss guys always drop in favor of bigger risks. Roy will never be a LeBron James or anyone like that, but he could be good for 18/6/6 for the next 12 years. The biggest indicator for success with Roy is that he can shoot. He shot a very respectable 46% in his rookie year, most guards struggle with shooting early in their careers.
Okay, that's it for today. I will give the next 10 entries on the list over the course of the week. I hope you enjoy the list, please feel free to comment if you take offense to any of this.
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4 comments:
I like the concept of these rankings, which take into consideration some important things that ESPN doesn't discuss in their evaluations, for example, attitude, and value for the money.
Based on that criteria, I do disagree with Zach Randolph being ranked so high-- or even in the top 50 at all. I know Chicago has looked at him as a trade possibility (the MSU connection with Skiles), and according to some articles I have read, Randolph can be had for next to nothing-- because of his bad contract, and his cancerous attitude and selfish play.
Nevertheless, Chicago did not go after him-- despite the fact that they desperately need an inside scorer, and despite the fact that they could probably have had him in exchange for a role player like Nocioni.
He is too much of a risk-- he seems to be a bit of a thug (though he is talented), and teams don't seem to be taking chances on thugs like they used to 5-10 years ago, no matter how much potential they might have.
Just look at Darius Miles and Stromile Swift-- they were supposed to be superstars by now! Does anyone know who either of them are even playing for, now?
I really don't think they could have gotten Randolph for Nocioni. There would need to be more offered on the Bulls side just to make the money work. The Bulls also went after Gasol but wouldn't give up Deng so they couldn't get him. I do agree that Randolph is a huge risk but he is also very talented. I would argue he's a more dominant player than Gasol. I think Miles is still wit Portland but was injured all year and Swift is with Memphis. Both have been major disappointments.
what about the tigers sweeping the cardinals? what was the difference between that series and the world series? i guess hitting had a lot to do with it. i look forward to an analysis.
I really don't think it was anymore than a team getting hot at the right time. The Cardinals were bad all year last year but pulled it together right on time. The Tigers on the other hand were good all year long and picked an awful time to play poorly. Even after that series, you'd be hard pressed to find people outside of St. Louis who would say the Cardinals were the better team. They also lost a fair amount of pitching after last season, they are not the same team this year.
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