With any list, there are tough choices to be made. In compiling our NBA Cornerstones countdown, we were forced to cut many worthy players. To make the Summer of Answers go down easier, we will now explain how and why some of these omissions occurred. Kevin Garnett: For starters, KG is one of my favorite players in the league, no question. Why did we leave him off the list? Quite simply, I don't think anyone--and that includes you, feisty readers--knows how to make Garnett the center of a system or functional roster. Granted, Kevin McHale is incompetent, but Danny Ainge piling superstars atop him isn't a solution. That's called a lucky shortcut, and it's kind of the opposite of "building a team."
Garnett is a fantastic talent, but he's getting on in years, has taken one big shot in his career, and just doesn't lend himself to easy answers. While it's become a Simmons-fueled cliche to call KG "the league's greatest second banana," Garnett seems to make the most sense as an upgraded Shawn Marion, or the rightful heir to Scottie Pippen. If you don't believe me, look no further than the patchwork Wolves team that made the Western Finals. It worked only because there were two ballsy vets around to step in and take charge.
Dirk Nowitzki: This one is a lot easier. This past spring had a major effect on the way I view Dirk. His MVP was great and all, but the Warriors series exposed a lot of Nowitzki's weaknesses. My selection of Melo galled a lot of readers; I know that Anthony has his problems, but he's younger, and when it comes to offense, has an iron will where Dirk is fickle. It's also worth noting that Nowitzki has now been the centerpiece of two very different teams--neither of which suffered for a lack of depth--and both have lacked that final step of determination. In fact, he was at his best when Dallas was a more balanced Big Three team. Alongside Steve Nash and Michael Finley, Dirk could put in work without being asked to do it all.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. " In fact, he was at his best when Dallas was a Big Three team."
His stats/common sense say otherwise. It's amazing how people act like Dirk's 2005-06 season never happened.
Posted at 10:16AM on Aug 30th 2007 by Rocco
2. Dirk should have been on the list as an obvious choice. Did Kobe save the Lakers franchise and give them rings or did Shaq? Shaq. Did Melo save the franchise and get them deep into the playoffs? Nope. Dirk is a cornerstone. The Mavs were a laughing stock of the league, tied with the Clippers, and are now a perennial Championship threat and have taken down the Suns, Spurs, Lakers, Jazz (in their last attempt to win it all) and had a top 3 record in the West for the last 6 years....How is that not a Cornterstone player?
Posted at 10:58AM on Aug 30th 2007 by jtkrum
3. i don't remember melo getting his team to the finals ever, let alone not get whupped in the first round. Greg Oden? wtf has he ever done other than be tall? Arenas? first round failure in THE EAST! same with howard! these guys are cornerstones over the league MVP? Dirk had a bad postseason one time and now he sucks. think back to before the GS series and see how hard you are knee jerking on him. Dirk will be fine.
Posted at 11:36AM on Aug 30th 2007 by joey
4. I can agree with all the other players but...Chris Paul? Greg Oden? Melo? I havent seen Oden in action since NCAA...it woulda helped if you would've put players that have actually had actual acccomplishments...dirks in my cornerstone of players, dont worry mavs fans!! haha
Posted at 11:41AM on Aug 30th 2007 by INTERNAL-WAR
5. Stupid, MVP now can't play. He almost won a title two years ago.
Posted at 11:41AM on Aug 30th 2007 by LB
6. Where's Chris Bosh in all this?? I'm pretty sure the Raps wouldn't trade him and mortgage their future for any of these guys!
Posted at 12:36PM on Aug 30th 2007 by dude
7. "KG not a cornerstone" Hmmm, still bitter KG went to Boston instead of LA huh?
Posted at 1:44PM on Aug 30th 2007 by DM
8. You left Kendrick Perkins off your list, which is a grievous error. Number one, he's a true center with the ability to pass, defend, and rebound. His unselfish nature makes him an easy catalyst for the offfense plus his bone crushing defense negates the other team's big men. True, the stats are still lagging behind other players on your list but let me tell you something, you're gonna hear about this kid.
In addition, he is a great interview, and a hell of a dresser. You betta ask somebody.
Posted at 2:25PM on Aug 30th 2007 by perkisabeast
9. what happened to Jason Kidd, he has only been THE most consistant point guard over the past decade. Maybe even the best point since Magic or Gary Payton in his prime.
Posted at 2:54PM on Aug 30th 2007 by myspace.complatinumjah
10. I dont agree with the full list but ther are some pretty good arguments for Dirk over Agent 0 and Oden (who has not played a game). But to the idiot who put Kendrick Perkins up there !! Do you watch basketball at all? He's not even the best on his team or any team you can pick, lets make Tyson Chandler a cornerstone to why dont we! At least he has done something relevent in his NBA career
Posted at 5:43PM on Aug 30th 2007 by Tre
11. The problem with the Mavs right now, the problem that they can't fix, is that Dirk is the MOST UNconventional and REVOLUTIONARY player in the NBA.. maybe even in NBA history.. yet he is surrounded by the most conventional team and coach imaginable.
Because Dirk is a bigman that plays like a guard you can't build a team around him in the conventional manner. For Dirk to be his best he needs a center next to him that does the things that Dirk doesn't do very well. Things a conventional bigman does. Such as be a low post scorer and shot blocker.
I've devised a little system to illustrate how the Mavs need to be constructed. Let's say that a star represents a players value.. their talent level... and let's say there are 3 colors of stars.. red, orange and yellow..
red represents the highest talent level
orange represents a moderate talent level
yellow represents an average talent level
A conventional team is built in the model of the Shaq Kobe Lakers..
Shaq-red
Kobe-red
everyone else on the Lakers more or less average -yellow
So you have a great inside player and a great outside player. This creates a dynamic that makes the sum greater than the parts. The Spurs have the same kind of dynamic.. but a tiny bit different..
Duncan-red
Manu and Parker-both would be orange stars..
This creates the same kind of dynamic of Shaq and Kobe.. but with 2 orange stars equaling Kobe's red.
You have the same thing with Shaq and Wade in Miami..
Shaq-red
Wade-red
everyone else yellow
The Mavs as currently constructed have a system like this..
CC Dampier Diop yellow
PF Dirk-RED
SF Josh very slightly orange
SG Stack very slightly orange
PG Terry very slightly orange
So not only does Dirk not have another true star around him.. he also doesn't have quality role players. These guys are scorers. You have the same kind of problem the US Dream team has. This is why teams can swarm Dirk and the Mavs are exposed as a one-man-team.
The even bigger problem though is that the talented players on the Mavs are guards.. but they aren't very good.. so when teams take Dirk out of the game they are putting the ball in these poor scorers hands.. these redundant players that do the same things Dirk does.. but much worse..
If Dirk was a conventional power forward you would want another red star perimeter player like a Kobe or Wade to complement him.. but because Dirk isn't a dominant post player this isn't correct.. so this is how Dirk needs his team built..
C RED
PF Dirk-RED
SF yellow
SG yellow
PG yellow
This is because Dirk plays more like a guard... a GREAT guard.. the most dominant guard in the league.. Dirk is a guard that can shoot over anyone and can't be guarded by 7 footers or he will blow by them.. so you have to put guards on him to prevent him from penetrating. This then turns Dirk into a dominant post players. Which is why he is doubled and tripled on the post constantly..
So because Dirk is a super-guard he is the perimeter RED star.. so to build around him properly you need the interior red star.. and everything else is wasted.. everything else is redundant.. and that's the way the Mavs are currently built. with all redundant players..
Also, if you have a dominant post player WITH Dirk, it puts a ton of pressure on the opposing bigs. It forces teams to match up with Dirk in the right way. Because the Mavs don't have a center like this it lets the opposing team off the hook. They can put bigs other places on the floor and hide them. If you have the team built properly opposing teams can't do this, they can't hide anyone.
A perfect example of how to build around Dirk is being done in Toronto.. Bargnani and Bosh are the exact type of dynamic that Dirk needs and has never had in his career. this is the exact dynamic I am talking about, but, actually, I feel Bosh and Bargnani are more orange than red.. but they make each other so much better they will look like much better players than they are.
CC Bosh - orangish red
PF Bargnani - orangish red
But this creates that dynamic -- inside-outside -- Just like Shaq-Wade or Duncan-Parker/Ginobli.. but it does it in an entirely new way. And really a better way IMO. Both Bargnani and Bosh will look as great as they possibly can in this dynamic.. they will make each other look as good as they possibly can and will put so much pressure on the opposing front court they will foul them out.. and create all kinds of havoc. This is why we haven't yet seen Dirk's full potential. If you don't have a team that complements your best player fully you will never see how good the player can be.
This is why Nash looks so incredible on the Suns, he couldn't have a team that complements him more perfectly, and guess which GM built both these teams, the Nash/Amare Suns and Bosh/Bargnani Raptors. The same guy. And he built both teams through the draft. Nash was a free agent but he was the crowning jewel. He also fleeced both Cuban and Isiah Thomas to build that suns team.
Now here's the biggest problem the Mavs face.. the Mavs have been trying to get this inside presence to pair with Dirk since they have had Dirk.. but Cuban is unable to. He has no pieces to trade for one, and he has been unable to get one through a trade. And because he is capped out he can't sign one as a free agent.
So now Cuban has this incredibly conventional team, and incredibly conventional coach, and an incredibly conventional system. This is WHY Dirk looked so terrible in the playoffs this season, because the team doesn't complement Dirk at all, and the system doesn't use Dirk's unique talents at all. They are just completely wasted because Avery tries to use Dirk like Tim Duncan -- offensive rebounding.. posting up constantly. Not using Dirk as a perimeter scorer and not using his shooting to spread the floor. Dirk needs to be used like Kobe or Allen Iverson, but Avery is using him like any other conventional power forward.. and it's not working.
Because Dirk is just a normal power forward if he isn't using his unique gifts.
People don't realize that a big reason Duncan, Shaq and Hakeem Olojuwan looked so good is because they all played with Robert Horry. robert Horry's ability to hit the 3 at the power forward poisition makes center and post players look their best. Robert Horry is a very poor man's Dirk Nowitzki.. so if you put a post player with Dirk.. becaus eh is so great form the perimter youa re going to make a very average post player look totally dominant.. Dirk has never played with any kind of player like this.. and it's all dirk needs.. everything else is redudndant.. wasted.. this is why Dirk has never been as good as he can be. And even playing at only 50% cpacity he still won MVP and led his team to the Finals.. that's a testament to how great he is.
Posted at 8:55PM on Aug 30th 2007 by goldengod
12. Can we get a post on why you left Bosh off the list?
Posted at 4:36AM on Aug 31st 2007 by phenyl engine rods
13. to the person calling the kendrick perkins guy an idiot, read it again and i think he was making humor of his post... so dont go around calling people names...
and this article is a joke. high school material. no real data or substance involved, just 10 guys this guy who wrote the article liked, they do this to get a rise out of all of you, obv the best player on the team wit the best record should be regarded as a cornerstone player.
Posted at 10:59AM on Aug 31st 2007 by Jacob
14. Dirk's problem isn't "heart". That's a trite answer sports writers have been touting for the last generation or so. It means nothing. So many athletes with "heart" have one flash of brillience and then a whole career without. Others, like Dirk, aparently "choke" and "wilt", etc. I don't buy it. Wade is just another gunner without Shaq. Shaq, even in his decline, is the biggest force I've ever seen play this game. Kobe can't get out of the first round without him, and we all know how good Kobe is.
Only a few players can carry a team to a championship and literally will their mates to win it all. Jordan, sure. Dancan, I put him up there. Hakeen, for a few years. I mean, there are a few we've seen. Bird's an easy answer. Dirk's not this type of player. But he IS damn good and right the right teamates, he's as good a foundation as anyone out there. My opinion - he needs a good point gaurd to feed him the ball and the Mavs are golden. Terry is a shoot first gaurd. Harris is a racer, defender. Neither, seemingly, knows the first thing about ball movement. Unless you have a low-post force, like Duncan or Shaq, a good point is crucial to a championship team (we'll ignore Jordan's exception). Dirk is not a low post player. The Mavs trade for Kidd (hell...I'd even give up Howard and Harris) and they win the title. No contest. But with shootfirsters running the point? Dirk will never have a chance.
Posted at 12:14PM on Aug 31st 2007 by Tommy
15. Good argument against KG (Is there a sarcasm button somewhere?)! You admitted McHale is incompetent and he's the only GM KG has ever had!! So how can you definitively say that KG is not a cornerstone??
Just watch this year, when KG turns in a monster performance and wins MVP.
Posted at 3:57PM on Aug 31st 2007 by Tom
16. DRT, you are missing the point.. the point I was making isn't that Dirk isn't the kind of player you can build around.. the point is you can't build around him conventionally.. but he is as easy to build around as any other player.. you just have to do it the opposite of what you normally would. It also doesn't mean that Dirk isn't as good as a conventional player.. he is just as good if not better because team don't know how to deal with him and his team if constructed properly.
Jusst like with a conventional bigman you need to put a good perimeter player with them.. with Dirk you need to put a good inside player with him... nOT great.. just GOOD. Dirk has never had anyone remotely good. He has always had guards playing with him that are redundant.. and then people expect Dirk to do what a conventional bigman does.. and by himself too.
Posted at 4:57PM on Aug 31st 2007 by goldengod
17. goldengod is right on. Big men are at a premium and so all these talented big men from overseas and event eh youngs guys coming up now with all the skills of a guard are goign to be forced to become classic post players in the NBA. This is the exact same thign that happened to Garrnett. KG came into the League and every GM was in awe of his perimiter skills. He was a 7ft small forward. KG even wanted to be listed as 6' 12" so he wouldn't be considered a 7 footer and therefore made into a center, but that is more or less exactly what happened. That is why both guys are off the list. KG was to be the revolution. Then Dirk was to be the revolution. If your over 6'9" you will be made to play conventional lowpost basketball in the NBA. All I can say is Kevin Durant better pray PJ Carlesimo doesn't try and sell him on the advantages of small ball with KD running the 4. That is why the Blazers took Oden by the way, theres no ambiguity about how to play Greg, he's a pure center. The Blazers have enough trouble the last 3 years finding a place to play the 6'9" Travis Outlaw, and last year they finally found minutes for him... at the 4. The problem really is that there are so few great low post players, that NBA teams try to manufacture them from really talented players who happen to be tall. And Dirk and KG are teh two biggest casualties of this.
Posted at 6:40AM on Sep 3rd 2007 by DRT`
18. Dirk belongs -- there aren't a lot of 7 footers who have to create ALL of their own shots the way Dirk does, no thanks to Avery's lack of offensive imagination and Jason Terry's sorry impersonation of a point guard. Dirk even had to lead his team in assists in a significant number of their playoff games -- check it.
Posted at 4:45PM on Sep 6th 2007 by NScott
19. if anyone is interested, I found this page that has up to date T-Wolves news feeds
http://www.mysportsscoop.com/timberwolves/
Posted at 2:51PM on Sep 10th 2007 by Z
20. Oden and Howard over Yao Ming?
yao is only 26 and still improving.
"People don't realize that a big reason Duncan, Shaq and Hakeem Olojuwan looked so good is because they all played with Robert Horry."
HAHA are you joking? that's a ridiculous statement. completely ignorant.
Posted at 3:08PM on Sep 10th 2007 by ironman_v2