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What if all players were available in the draft?



http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/sports/basketball/nba/golden_state_warriors/7380350.htm

Here's our game. Suppose you threw every player on Planet Earth into a
pool. Everyone is available, nobody has a contract, and a draft is
held today. Here's one person's mock draft, picks No. 1 through No.
13.

&#8226; TEAM I: Shaquille O'Neal. He is the most dominant player in
the game. If you have him on your team, along with a passable
assemblage of role players, you have an elite team.

&#8226; TEAM II: Tim Duncan. The game's best pure basketball player.
If you have him on your team, along with a passable assemblage of role
players, you have an elite team -- or what you already have in San
Antonio.

&#8226; TEAM III: Kobe Bryant. This assumes Bryant will beat his rape
charge. Which most teams would do if they were fortunate enough to be
selecting No. 3. Say what you want, Bryant is still the best perimeter
player in the league.

&#8226; TEAM IV: Yao Ming. Players selected below Yao might be better
than him today. But no player has a wider gap between how good he is
now and how good he will be in five years.

&#8226; TEAM V: Kevin Garnett. As great as Garnett is, there is a
dropoff between Duncan and him -- both considered power forwards.
Duncan has proven he can get it done with an ordinary supporting cast.
Garnett hasn't.

&#8226; TEAM VI: Jason Kidd. Has there ever been a player who has
averaged as few points (14.8 ppg., for career) and yet made as big of
an impact? Nobody below him on this list could have lifted his team to
back-to-back Finals appearances.

&#8226; TEAM VII: LeBron James. He's got a long way to go. But
remember, potential makes you a lottery pick these days.

&#8226; TEAM VIII: Tracy McGrady. He has slipped a few of spots
because ... well, how good can he be if Orlando has just one win in
the Eastern Conference? Then again, McGrady's supporting cast would
get blown out by Michael Jordan's supporting cast of the late 1980s.

&#8226; TEAM IX: Dirk Nowitzki. Ideally, Nowitzki would subtly change
his game, from perimeter to post-up. Still, he is a problem matchup
every time Dallas plays.

&#8226; TEAM X: Allen Iverson. Maybe the most explosive player in the
game. All he needs is a little help.

&#8226; TEAM XI: Baron Davis. He used to be good. This year, he's
better than he's ever been. When was the last time you saw a guy, with
his team down one in the final moments, drive and dunk for the
game-winner with time running out?

&#8226; TEAM XII: Stephon Marbury. Without Marbury, the Suns are a
bottom-10 team. The problem in Phoenix isn't Marbury, it's his two
teammates -- Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion -- neither of whom can
create anything on their own.

&#8226; TEAM XIII: Chris Webber. He just squeaked onto this list,
edging teammate Peja Stojakovic, not to mention Indiana's Jermaine
O'Neal, Boston's Paul Pierce and Houston's Steve Francis. When Webber
is healthy, he can elevate a team. He just needs to be healthy more.



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