Which NBA bigs are worth a max contract?

[LooseCannon]

Let's use this scenario.  Among power forwards and centers, which players would you be willing to sign to a max contract for five or six years if that player were a free agent after this season?  Assume that you have the cap space and the need for star big man who will be the top player on your team.

[Fafnir]

5 or 6 years cuts off quite a few of the veterans.

Dwight Howard
Blake Griffin
Pau Gasol
Chris Bosh
Andrew Bynum
LaMarcus Aldridge
Al Horford

I think that's about it off the top of my head.

[Finkelskyhook]

-Brian Scalabrine
-Johan Petro

[JSD]

5 or 6 years cuts off quite a few of the veterans.

Dwight Howard
Blake Griffin
Pau Gasol
Chris Bosh
Andrew Bynum
LaMarcus Aldridge
Al Horford

I think that's about it off the top of my head.

I'd add Amare to this list.

[StartOrien]

I'm teetering w/ Amare. Injury concerns, and he'd be 34 at the end of his contract.

Probably throw Bogut on that list too.

[Fafnir]

5 or 6 years cuts off quite a few of the veterans.

Dwight Howard
Blake Griffin
Pau Gasol
Chris Bosh
Andrew Bynum
LaMarcus Aldridge
Al Horford

I think that's about it off the top of my head.

I'd add Amare to this list.

Bogut and Amar'e fall off of my list due to injury concerns. If I was confident they'd recover and stay healthy respectively they'd be on the list.

Boguts hasn't been the same player he was last year.

[LooseCannon]

5 or 6 years cuts off quite a few of the veterans.

Dwight Howard
Blake Griffin
Pau Gasol
Chris Bosh
Andrew Bynum
LaMarcus Aldridge
Al Horford

I think that's about it off the top of my head.

I'd add Amare to this list.

Bogut and Amar'e fall off of my list due to injury concerns. If I was confident they'd recover and stay healthy respectively they'd be on the list.

But Bynum is on your list?

[Yogi]

Zach Randolph, Tyson Chandler, Nene Hilario, Kevin Love.  One can also gamble on Roy Hibbert, Deandre Jordan and McGee.

[JSD]

Zach Randolph, Tyson Chandler, Nene Hilario, Kevin Love.  One can also gamble on Roy Hibbert, Deandre Jordan and McGee.

Kevin Love, mos def. Good call.

[StartOrien]

Zach Randolph, Tyson Chandler, Nene Hilario, Kevin Love.  One can also gamble on Roy Hibbert, Deandre Jordan and McGee.

Kevin Love, mos def. Good call.

I'm not throwing a max contract at any of these players. If they're absorbing top money on your team, you don't have room for enough other talent to keep yourself truly competitive.

[Mr October]

My list is short:

Howard, Griffin, Gasol, and Bosh.

Injuries and age knock a bunch of others out. Al Horford is a nice player, but he doesn't change the game enough on either end to be worth the max.

I think the max (or near max) gets thrown around too much. Thats how you get Antoine Walker, Kenyon Martin, Raef Lafrentz, Al Jefferson, Andrei Kirilenko albatrosses on your payroll.

[Mr October]

Zach Randolph, Tyson Chandler, Nene Hilario, Kevin Love.  One can also gamble on Roy Hibbert, Deandre Jordan and McGee.

Kevin Love, mos def. Good call.

Kevin Love is a very good player. But I think he falls into the "Al Jefferson nice numbers on crap teams" pit until proven otherwise.

[GrandTheftRondo]

Dwight Howard
Lamarcus Aldridge


The end.

[PosImpos]

Honestly, it would depend on the players I already had on my team.

Players I'd give a max contract no matter what:

Bosh
Amare
Griffin
D. Howard
Pau Gasol

Players I'd give a max contract if I already had other players in place:

K. Love
LaMarcus Aldridge
Horford
Boozer
Josh Smith

[JSD]

Zach Randolph, Tyson Chandler, Nene Hilario, Kevin Love.  One can also gamble on Roy Hibbert, Deandre Jordan and McGee.

Kevin Love, mos def. Good call.

Kevin Love is a very good player. But I think he falls into the "Al Jefferson nice numbers on crap teams" pit until proven otherwise.

Rebounding is a niche skill I place above good hands around the rim. Love is a max guy in my book, but PosImpos says, he's probably an "after guys are on the team" max guy.