Who are the top players in the NBA to build your franchise around?

[Chief]

First off, I think it is a massive mistake to ever build any franchise around a PG unless he is 6'9", can play four other positions and has a first name of Magic. And yes, that includes every PG in the NBA today.

To build a franchise, my base franchise player has to have transcendent talent, size, and be able to dominate either offensively or defensively or both.

LeBron James
Kevin Durant
Dwight Howard
Anthony Davis
Kobe Bryant
Kevin Garnett
Tim Duncan
Carmelo Anthony
Dirk Nowitzki

That's it in all of today's NBA, IMHO, and I think it can be said that KG, Dirk and TD probably are not on this list next year and Davis still has to grow before he is truly that guy. Unless you have a team with one of these guys on it, I don't see your team having a chance to win it all.

and yet the two teams that have played the best I the two western series, i.e Golden State and Memphis have none of those players.  Neither does Indiana or Chicago.

Good big men. Almost always wins in the playoffs. Unless you have Lebron.

Got to have Marc Gasol on the list. Hibbert too.

[SHAQATTACK]

First off, I think it is a massive mistake to ever build any franchise around a PG unless he is 6'9", can play four other positions and has a first name of Magic. And yes, that includes every PG in the NBA today.

To build a franchise, my base franchise player has to have transcendent talent, size, and be able to dominate either offensively or defensively or both.

LeBron James
Kevin Durant
Dwight Howard
Anthony Davis
Kobe Bryant
Kevin Garnett
Tim Duncan
Carmelo Anthony
Dirk Nowitzki

That's it in all of today's NBA, IMHO, and I think it can be said that KG, Dirk and TD probably are not on this list next year and Davis still has to grow before he is truly that guy. Unless you have a team with one of these guys on it, I don't see your team having a chance to win it all.

and yet the two teams that have played the best I the two western series, i.e Golden State and Memphis have none of those players.  Neither does Indiana or Chicago.

Good big men. Almost always wins in the playoffs. Unless you have Lebron.

Got to have Marc Gasol on the list. Hibbert too.

Yup.....110 % agree....... It so totally sad to see a Celtics team so under whelming with awful  rebounding and no defense in the paint.... save  poor old worn out KG

If we had one ...Love, Asik, Gasol, Hibbert , Chandler, Gasol , Noah .....just ONE is all I'm asking .....just ONE decent guy to play center.  NOT BRANDON BASS 

[StartOrien]

I'm always surprised to see Kevin Love considered so highly. Just not crazy about the guy - would prefer a better two way player like Al Horford over him.

[nickagneta]

When I see Kevin Love putting up 24/14 on the worst team in the league over the past 5 years, over and over again and that team never making the playoffs, I instantly put Love in the "great numbers guy on a bad team but not a guy you build a franchise around" category fairly quickly.

[CelticG1]

I'm always surprised to see Kevin Love considered so highly. Just not crazy about the guy - would prefer a better two way player like Al Horford over him.

Yeah I do but I don't get the k love love.

Like you said I prefer  a better 2 way player but people get infatuated with numbers.

Seriously not interested in K love as a franchise player. I'd prefer Rondo to him

[fairweatherfan]

I'm always surprised to see Kevin Love considered so highly. Just not crazy about the guy - would prefer a better two way player like Al Horford over him.

Yeah I do but I don't get the k love love.

Like you said I prefer  a better 2 way player but people get infatuated with numbers.

Seriously not interested in K love as a franchise player. I'd prefer Rondo to him

Thirded (or fourthed or whatever).  Love is a great fantasy player but he doesn't seem to win very much.

Of course, I also thought Harden was (a little) overrated and he seems to have proved me wrong this year, so what do I know.

[KCattheStripe]

I really love the CB Draft politcing already going on in this thread.

[StartOrien]

I really love the CB Draft politcing already going on in this thread.

I am actually considering sitting this year out. Sick of the h8rz

[Celtics18]

In no particular order:

Rondo
Paul
Westbrook
Rose
Howard
Harden
Anthony
Parker
Noah
M. Gasol
Horford
Curry
Irving
Griffin
Love
A. Davis
George
Aldridge
Josh Smith
Brook Lopez

That's my list of the top twenty guys after Durant and James.  Every name on that list has some issues that would make you give pause about thinking about making them your "franchise superstar."  They are either still very young and unproven, or they've been around long enough that the cracks are showing and reality has set in about what their respective limitations are, or some combination of those two things. 

This is why I always find it so short sighted when folks say "we have to get rid of Rondo for the opportunity to get a guy who can be a transcendent, franchise superstar."  Well, there's your list.  It's a good list of some very impressive basketball players, but Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, or Hakeem Olajuwan aren't popping out at me from among those names.

 
The good news, though, from my perspective, is that we have a guy on that list.  Is Rondo a flawed player?  Sure, but everyone on that list is.  I'm not anxious to get rid of our top twenty, flawed player just to replace him with somebody else whose game we can instead put under the microscope and pick apart until half the fan base is convinced he's a no good bum.

Personally, I'd rather keep the "no good bum" that we already have and see what he can do leading this team forward with lots of help from management.  For me, that beats spending the next 5 plus years waiting for the next Lebron James or Larry Bird to walk through that door.

And, if by some magnificent, slight of hand Danny Ainge finds a way to bring that player to the Boston Celtics, I'd rather have Rajon Rondo here to help him when he arrives.   

[biggs]

Jordan Crawford
Fab melo

[gpap]

If I had to pick my starting five dream team it would be:

PG  - Kyrie Irving.

I think in 2 years, Kyrie is going to be the best PG in the NBA plus I love PG's that can shoot
(no offense Rondo

SG - James Harden

By a landslide, Harden is the most phenomonal 2/3 combo player in the NBA.

SF - Kevin Durant

For obvious reasons

PF- Kevin Love

Rebounding machine who can also score

C - Joakim Noah

I used to hate Noah. Now I just wish the Celtics drafted him back in 2007 instead of drafting Jeff Green and then dealing him for Ray Allen, who just goes wherever the wind blows.

Noah is tough, rebounds, everything a center should do

[BleedGreen1989]

I love the people saying Noah. He's never going to be your leading scorer or anything but I think his intangibles are off the charts. He's a culture guy who almost guilts everybody else into playing hard lol

[syfy9]

My top 5 would be (in no order):

Durant
Lebron
Westbrook
Griffin
Irving

[OmarSekou]

I'm not real big on these types of lists but John Wall needs some love. I'll go on record saying he'll have a better career than Irving.

[CelticConcourse]

First off, I think it is a massive mistake to ever build any franchise around a PG unless he is 6'9", can play four other positions and has a first name of Magic. And yes, that includes every PG in the NBA today.

To build a franchise, my base franchise player has to have transcendent talent, size, and be able to dominate either offensively or defensively or both.

LeBron James
Kevin Durant
Dwight Howard
Anthony Davis
Kobe Bryant
Kevin Garnett
Tim Duncan
Carmelo Anthony
Dirk Nowitzki

That's it in all of today's NBA, IMHO, and I think it can be said that KG, Dirk and TD probably are not on this list next year and Davis still has to grow before he is truly that guy. Unless you have a team with one of these guys on it, I don't see your team having a chance to win it all.

and yet the two teams that have played the best I the two western series, i.e Golden State and Memphis have none of those players.  Neither does Indiana or Chicago.

Good big men. Almost always wins in the playoffs. Unless you have Lebron.

Got to have Marc Gasol on the list. Hibbert too.

Well then LeBron is a good big man.