It's hard to blame writers when they're not used to great leaders in the NBA... Great Leader (if he doesn't need to worry about some bitch-vets "feelings") Dame Good Leader LBJ Duncan (with Pops) Not a Leader or Bad Leader Westbrook Durant Davis Boogie Dirk GS dudes .... Dame is really a leader on the level of Bird, Magic, MJ, and those guys are rare.
Davis is my dream scenario for a year or two from now once he realizes how useless that Pelican team and management are, and declares that he wants out. Did he take a 3rd year player option in his contract? I'll trade NO our whole team to pair Davis with Dame. Neil has a history of trading the farm for NO's superstar fwiw.
It's close, but if I could only have one.....I would lean towards the shooter with the best handles. That is why Dame is more valuable than Davis and Steph is more valuable than both.
What's your reasoning for leaving Duncan and Dirk out of the Great Leader category? I agree with the overall message, but those two have me puzzled.
Michael Jordan's Bulls went 110-136 in his first three seasons. It wasn't until they landed PIP and Horace via the draft that they started to win even with the GOAT on the team. The question was... who would you rather build your team around? Anthony Davis is the same age (22) as Lillard (now 25) was his rookie year. Baring debilitating injury, he's probably got 10 years of at least All Star level play ahead of him. Dame is great, but a great big is more valuable because of supply and demand... especially 3 years younger. STOMP
Neither Dirk nor Duncan have strong enough personalities for that category. Dallas seems to rotate their entire roster every other year, so that counts against him.
The Pelicans' problems start at the top - not in the locker-room. Look at the line-up they have put around AD and try to make sense of it.
Uh... They're not flamboyant, but they most definitely have leadership personalities. Just watch guys huddle around them all game. And Dallas' constantly evolving roster should count for Dirk's leadership status, not against it. That team is constantly better than it looks like it should be, and Dirk has to be a huge reason why.
