Great post..TP...
Dominique Wilkins
Pat Ewing
Karl Malone
John Stockton
Charles Barkley
My top 5
And I would put all of them ahead of Westbrook...but he might make the Top 10.
why Wilkins
I know you had him in Greece at the end of his career, but prime 'Nique seemed to like a guy you could plug and play much easier, even though he was a ball spender, below average long range shooter (different era alert), and was not a defensive force. Westbrook fits that desription.
But, IMO, Westbrook deprives his teams overall teamwork, teammates belief in each other. I value that a lot. If he is without the ball he is worse than say, Shane Larkin. He is not willing to move then at all, set a screen or space the floor. And you can't have a great team without that. You can have a good team, in the 40-50 win range, but about 12 teams in the league can repeat or surpass that result each year.
Also Nique's best teammates were Kevin Willis,
old Moses Malone and guys like Doc rivers and Eddie Johnson. No Durant, Harden or Paul Georges level of player there.
In a vacuum, athletic wing vs athletic guard?
I'd take a wing any day. Due to size and defensive versatility potential.
Just like McHale once said on Open court coaches edition: "Big skill beats small skill - anytime!"