list the number one players to build a contender around

[Mr October]

Which players are worthy of being considered good enough to be the best player on a contender?

Obviously Lebron James and Kevin Durant are the ideal players to build around. But other best players on a contender have included:

Tony Parker on the 2013 Spurs, perhaps you could argue 36 year old Tim Duncan in his place.
Dirk Nowitzki led his team to the 2011 title at age 33.
Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, pre injured Dwight Howard (2009) and a young Wade (2006) have all led their teams to the finals. Rasheed Wallace was probably the best player on the Pistons in 2004 and 2005.

This year the Indiana Pacers are considered strong contenders for the title behind the leadership of Paul George.

If you were to build a team right now, who else is worthy of being the best player on a contender?

 (It could be for a 1 year title run, or a young player capable of being the best player on a contender within a few years.)

[Mr October]

I was thinking about this mostly due to the Kevin Love chatter around the NBA.

I don't think a team can contend for a title (as in at least put up a big fight in the finals), with Love as your best player. He doesn't play enough defense. He has yet to lead a team into the playoffs.

I would take Chris Bosh over Love if i were building a team to win a title within the next year or two. Other power forward i would take over Love include Aldridge and Griffin.

[slamtheking]

tough call.  the way the teams are set up now, I think you need 3 all-star caliber players to win it all.  The only players I think that are good enough that they could put their teams over the top with less talent are Lebron and Durant and even then, they need at least one really good all-star with them.

[Mr October]

These are my guys

James, durant, Parker, George are already in based in this season and last.

Aldridge
Howard - he is still the best center in the nba.
Chris Paul
Griffin
Bosh
Westbrook - if he comes back just as healthy and explosive before the injuries,
Harden
Anthony Davis
Marc Gasol

And then my more controversial picks:

Demarcus Cousins - he just needs to be on a well run team, with good teammates.
Carmelo Anthony - his scoring ability is so high, that i can forgive the defense
John Wall - not just a scorer. He plays defense and looks like a leader.

[BigAlTheFuture]

Besides Bron and Durant, Anthony Davis tops my list if we're talking about building a team.

[manl_lui]

Tier 1 - LeBron, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Dwight Howard, James Harden, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose (Healthy)

Tier 2 - Rondo, Westbrook, Damian Lilard, Irving, Aldridge, Anthony Davis, Griffin, Bosh, Wade, Anthony, Horford, Kevin Love

Tier 3 - Cousins, John Wall, Michael Carter Williams (I swear this guy will be a superstar one day, probably will be a tier 1 player in about 5 years).

[Mr October]

tough call.  the way the teams are set up now, I think you need 3 all-star caliber players to win it all.  The only players I think that are good enough that they could put their teams over the top with less talent are Lebron and Durant and even then, they need at least one really good all-star with them.

The new more punishing luxury tax is probably going to have a big effect on how deep each team can be constructed, including their willingness to pay that 3rd guy. And yeah for the foreseeable 4-5 years the finals should be dominated by James and durant.

But even James and durant need that 3rd guy. James has Wade and Bosh. durant has Westbrook and Ibaka. If Westbrook doesn't come back in the playoffs, i think OKC will get bounced in the second round.

[Mr October]

Besides Bron and Durant, Anthony Davis tops my list if we're talking about building a team.

Only 3 teams can build around those 3 players. Odds are the celtics will not be able to get them on their team. Who else can they build a contender around?

[jaketwice]

I don't think you build a contender around anyone other than a center, or a HOF wing. I can't recall too many contenders built around PGs or PFs (although one notable example from 2008 does come to mind). Stockton and Malone, Amare and Nash - those were all flawed teams. ...Duncan is a center, I don't care what he says.

Marc Gasol is good, but I don't know if I would build a team around him. ...I think Tyson Chandler, as a defensive anchor (see B. Wallace circa 2004) is an interesting choice.

[Mr October]

Tier 1 - LeBron, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Dwight Howard, James Harden, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose (Healthy)

Tier 2 - Rondo, Westbrook, Damian Lilard, Irving, Aldridge, Anthony Davis, Griffin, Bosh, Wade, Anthony, Horford, Kevin Love

Tier 3 - Cousins, John Wall, Michael Carter Williams (I swear this guy will be a superstar one day, probably will be a tier 1 player in about 5 years).

thanks for the big list. It's fun to try to think outside the box i terms of which players a team can build a team around.

Lillard, Irving and love haven't shown enough defense for me to target them as a number one guy. They get burned pretty easily. In the playoffs, if healthy, i think Rondo can do more damage with his 2 way game than these players. And i dont think rondo is good enough to be a number one. At least Lilllard will get a chance to up his game in the post season. Irving and love are still on the lottery bus. I hope to see what they can do in the playoffs someday.

Carmelo Anthony's defense i can forgive a little, as he doesn't get routinely burned like those other players. He is also so great as a scorer that he can hold his own against the other elite small forwards. He has a history of giving even Lebron James fits.

And then i haven't seen enough of MCW yet.

[LooseCannon]

Here's a simpler question.  Who is the worst player that you think can be the best player on a contender?

[Mr October]

Here's a simpler question.  Who is the worst player that you think can be the best player on a contender?

TP. That is a cleaner angle!

History has shown that Tim Duncan at age 36 or Tony Parker were the best players on last year's Spurs team that almost win the whole thing. They were both probably top 15 players in the nba last year. Perhaps Parker was thought of as higher.

Demarcus cousins is probably the worst number 1 right now, as he is still learning how to be a consistent force while playing for one of the worst organizations in the NBA.

[Mr October]

I don't think you build a contender around anyone other than a center, or a HOF wing. I can't recall too many contenders built around PGs or PFs (although one notable example from 2008 does come to mind). Stockton and Malone, Amare and Nash - those were all flawed teams. ...Duncan is a center, I don't care what he says.

Marc Gasol is good, but I don't know if I would build a team around him. ...I think Tyson Chandler, as a defensive anchor (see B. Wallace circa 2004) is an interesting choice.

I am going to pile on your idea of the importance of a center and wing. Taking things a step further, i think a team that spends 18 million per year or more on a point guard is probably crippling their franchise's chances of building a contender. The exception would be if you already have a number one like Durant on your team.

There are so many elite level point guards in today's hand-check-free NBA. At least 1 out of every 3 teams have one ranging from Chris Paul to Eric Bledsoe. The other third of the league still has high quality guys ranging from Kyle Lowrie to George Hill.

Star level point guards are no where near as rare as elite wings and centers. And with those hand check rules in place, there is only so much these elite point guards can do on the defensive end.

If you can get one of those elite wings or centers, a Mario Chalmers is good enough at point guard.

[tstorey_97]

Auerbach...long ago, figured he needed a center. He had success with KOOZ, Sharman et al, but, he wanted to anchor the defense with a center. The league was not about "offense through defense." It was about 8 passes and a set shot. Auerbach traded two of his top players to get the #1 pick and got Russell.

Russell crushed it on defense and was quite effective offensively.

Then, Auerbach needed another defensive minded center. As the story was told, Red flew to Tallahassee to watch Cowens play a game and left after the first quarter. The other GM's were puzzled....did he like him or not? Cowens averaged 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Seminoles and was an animal on the boards.

To those of you who don't think high draft picks after lousy seasons aren't important? 1969/70 season 34-48 out of playoffs...fourth overall pick Dave Cowens 7 time all star 2 NBA titles....yea, Red would never put a shi&*y team on the floor to get a high pick....uh...huh.

In the 1980 draft Auerbach had the number one pick, he traded it to the Warriors for 9 time all star and 4 NBA title winner Robert Parish adding him to Bird/McHale.

Ainge learned from Red. He needs a defensive center who can score. Suggesting that he will do anything else is fine, but, why not use the winning formula? It worked with Garnett?

The issue with focusing on "one player" is that it is a team sport. On the wrong team, all of the above hall of famers are just really good players with great stats.
 
I don't know if K Love or Cousins or whomever is the answer, but, if they were on a team with another two top players? Why wouldn't they be even better players?

He will spend the majority of his assets on the center and no one will know the "plan" until it is fully in motion.

[D.o.s.]

Here's a simpler question.  Who is the worst player that you think can be the best player on a contender?

TP. That is a cleaner angle!

History has shown that Tim Duncan at age 36 or Tony Parker were the best players on last year's Spurs team that almost win the whole thing. They were both probably top 15 players in the nba last year. Perhaps Parker was thought of as higher.

Demarcus cousins is probably the worst number 1 right now, as he is still learning how to be a consistent force while playing for one of the worst organizations in the NBA.

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