Saw this come across twitter today. We can debate the values (i.e., Olajuwon and Duncan are probably too low on the scale for my taste), but build your best squad from this rubric. $15 to spend, and you have to take one player from each category.

C- Olajuwon $1
PF- Duncan $3
SF- Lebron $5
SG- Jordan $5
PG- Frazier $1

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C- Olajuwon $1
PF- Duncan $3
SF- Lebron $5
SG- Jordan $5
PG- Frazier $1

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Tried to do something different from this list, but I got the exact same as what I'd pick as the best combo

[This message has been edited by Bunk Moreland (edited 5/28/2014 4:21p).]

PG - John Stockton ($2)
SG - Michael Jordan ($5)
SF - Kevin Durant ($2)
PF - Karl Malone ($5)
C - Hakeem Olajuwon ($1)

I want Malone & Stockton's pick & roll. Jordan and Durant to attack the rim. Hakeem for the post and defense.

No Jordan for the sake of variety

$5 - Magic
$4 - Kobe
$1 - Pippin
$3 - Duncan
$2 - Shaq

I don't think anyone is scoring on that team.

Give me Hakeem, Garnett, Lebron, Jordan, and Thomas.

Stockton ($2)
Jordan ($5)
Bird ($4)
Duncan ($3)
Olajuwon ($1)

Stockton: I like his value, and with the kind of scoring we have at 2-3 and defense at 4-5 I don't need him a scorer or defender at PG.

Jordan: Jordan

Bird: Lebron is better, but this is the financial tradeoff I had to make. I'm not giving up Jordan for any other SG, I want Stockton's passing more than Frazier's scoring, I already have the cheapest C, and no way I'm trading Duncan for Nowitzki or Garnett. Bird is super smart and a great shooter.

Duncan: Easy decision. He's the best PF ever by a comfortable margin. He can run the PnR, score, pass, and may be the best help defender ever.

Olajuwon: I love his versatility and athleticism. Great value. Anyone at C is the right choice (not true of some other positions), so his value pushes him over the top. This front court has no weaknesses on either end.

Same as Ulrich. Duncan and Hakeem would be unstoppable down low. People might underestimate Duncan's speed in his earlier years. Them two down low and Bird, Jordan, Stockton on the perimeter. All can shoot.

Only downfall would seem to be your only shutdown defender would be Jordan on the perimeter. But feeding players into TD and Hakeem neutralizes that.

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No Jordan for the sake of variety

$5 - Magic
$4 - Kobe
$1 - Pippin
$3 - Duncan
$2 - Shaq

I don't think anyone is scoring on that team.

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Except a team with Lebron and Jordan. To me, any team without those 2 is a miss.

Frazier
Jordan
Lebron
Duncan
Olajuwon

or

Stockton
Jordan
Lebron
Nowitzki He would get an open look every possession with Stockton, Jordan, and Lebron
Olajuwon


Malone is the worst value by far. Hakeem might be the best.

Duncan's the best pf on that list, but in terms of relative value overall, garnett and dirk represent the best value overall after hakeem on that list.

Garnett is a good value so I won't argue that, but Nowitzki is a worse value than Duncan or Garnett. I don't balk at people picking him because they need a shooter, but he's a one-way player whose offense isn't that much better than anyone else on the list.

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PG - John Stockton ($2)
SG - Michael Jordan ($5)
SF - Kevin Durant ($2)
PF - Karl Malone ($5)
C - Hakeem Olajuwon ($1)

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Got this as well

While Malone being the $5 amount is absurd, pairing him with Stockton is why I went with him. That and getting Durant and Hakeem cheap was nice.

I also came up with this:

Stockton
Jordan
Lebron
Dirk
Dream

And under the cap

Duncan is better but I feel like he and dream provide the same talents, and Dirk could get some crazy good looks. In a pinch if they were playing a team with a strong PF you could put Lebron on him.

Stockton
Jordan
Bird
Duncan
Hakeem

Jordan, Duncan and Hakeem are elite defenders. Stockton is good. Bird is smart, but I am giving up some defense with LeBron for Bird's basketball IQ and shooting. I want at least two three point threats, and have it with Bird and Stockton. Everyone is a great passer. Duncan and Hakeem are both elite on ball and as a help defender as well as passing, high post, low post and facing up.

That team would ooze competitiveness.

Dirk > Garnett guys....check the minny vs. dallas series years ago but since you go all NBA guys you need a reserve PF like Garnett who can do the all around stuff as he is unable to take over a game and lead a team of scrubs to a championship like Dirk did.

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Stockton ($2)
Jordan ($5)
Bird ($4)
Duncan ($3)
Olajuwon ($1)

Stockton: I like his value, and with the kind of scoring we have at 2-3 and defense at 4-5 I don't need him a scorer or defender at PG.

Jordan: Jordan

Bird: Lebron is better, but this is the financial tradeoff I had to make. I'm not giving up Jordan for any other SG, I want Stockton's passing more than Frazier's scoring, I already have the cheapest C, and no way I'm trading Duncan for Nowitzki or Garnett. Bird is super smart and a great shooter.

Duncan: Easy decision. He's the best PF ever by a comfortable margin. He can run the PnR, score, pass, and may be the best help defender ever.

Olajuwon: I love his versatility and athleticism. Great value. Anyone at C is the right choice (not true of some other positions), so his value pushes him over the top. This front court has no weaknesses on either end.

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it's hard to pass up magic (I'd take him + Jordan over Bron + Jordan) but this is the line-up I'd take over all others

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Dirk > Garnett guys....check the minny vs. dallas series years ago but since you go all NBA guys you need a reserve PF like Garnett who can do the all around stuff as he is unable to take over a game and lead a team of scrubs to a championship like Dirk did.

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If your team already has Hakeem, Jordan and LeBron, are you really looking for a PF that can take over, or are you looking for a PF that can actually play defense?

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it's hard to pass up magic (I'd take him + Jordan over Bron + Jordan) but this is the line-up I'd take over all others

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I would probably take Bron over Magic just because Bron is a much better defender and much better shooter.

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Stockton
Jordan
Bird
Duncan
Hakeem

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this was my team on yesterday's general board thread.

Either it's because we're young and we underrate the old centers, or they severely underrated Dream on this.

You think Hakeem should be higher than 5th all time as a center?It would be hard to argue that Hakeem had a better career than Shaq, even though Hakeem is easily the more talented player.

I haven't seen many people argue that Russell, Wilt and KAJ aren't the top 3 all-time. Now if you want to compare them to how they would face in their prime, I think Shaq and Hakeem would both kick the butts of those old guys. But most judge them based on how they did against their contemporaries. Shaq gets a bonus there because the age of centers was ending as he entered the league.

I think having Duncan ranked behind Malone and Barkley is a worse slight.

He's correctly ranked, but there's something like a 1-5% difference in performance or ability or whatever from player to player at C. Abdul-Jabbar is not worth 5x as much as Olajuwon. Ergo, Olajuwon is a great value and a lot of teams will end up with him. On the other hand, at SG Jordan towers above the rest. You've got 15 dollars to spend, and there's no better way to spend a dollar on that list than the difference between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. At PF, you're actually getting the best player for only $3, so that's a no brainer. I started with those three decisions and then filled in. If I hadn't been able to get James or Bird at SF, I would have had to rethink things by dropping to Frazier at PG and/or Garnett at PF.

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It would be hard to argue that Hakeem had a better career than Shaq, even though Hakeem is easily the more talented player.

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Exactly, it's all about how you want to qualify someone's greatness. Could go either way. This is a fun discussion.

Make "fantasy leagues" where you have to place competitive bids for these players and you'll get some interesting results. I think you'd see C tighten up to maybe a $1 difference from top to bottom, Duncan move to the top of the list, and Jordan actually separate from the other SGs.

Most would say Robinson is a more talented player than Shaq, and he clearly didn't have as good a career as Shaq. I think Robinson and KAJ are the only players to lead the league in scoring, rebounds and blocks. I think they are the only two players to lead the league in 3 of the 5 categories.

Magic
Jordan
Pippen
Duncan
Olajuwon

Have fun scoring

Frazier
MJ
LBJ
Dirk
Shaq

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I think having Duncan ranked behind Malone and Barkley is a worse slight.

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I would definitely have Duncan ahead of Barkley. I don't think it's a slight to be behind Malone. Personally I think Malone is the best PF of all-time but I think the case for Duncan is just as strong.

Frazier
Jordan
Lebron
Duncan
Hakeem

This is really too easy in my mind. Duncan and Hakeem are highly undervalued which allow you to take both Lebron and MJ (probably the best two players of all time when looking at both ends of the floor and definitely the best of their generation) and you still get a solid big PG and winner in Frazier to distribute.

This gives you amazing offense, amazing defense, a team willing to pass, guys that can drive and shoot, good rebounders, championship pedigrees , great length and the greatest player of all time including the top three players at their respected positions (SG, SF, PF). It is a no brainer to me. The only weakness is perhaps the three ball, but Jordan and Lebron are adequate there. I don't know enough about frazier to know how he shot the ball, but with the other four it really doesn't matter.

By the way not having seen Frazier play, I would gladly take a PG not on the list, such as Chris Paul, Tony Parker, Gary Payton, etc and be just as good.

[This message has been edited by GatorAg03 (edited 5/29/2014 11:02a).]

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I would definitely have Duncan ahead of Barkley. I don't think it's a slight to be behind Malone. Personally I think Malone is the best PF of all-time but I think the case for Duncan is just as strong.

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I just don't see how there is any logical argument for Malone being better than Duncan. He played his entire career with a top 4 all-time point guard and won nothing. He shouldn't have won either of his MVPs.

Malone used to have a claim on longevity that you couldn't really rival, but Duncan did get All-NBA 1st Team in his 16th season (after playing a full four years of college ball.) Malone's last 1st team was in his 14th season.

Plus Malone was never a great defender, while Duncan has spent his entire career as one of the best in the league. Four rings, three Finals MVPs. The choice is pretty obvious, unless all you look at is total points scored.

Stockton
MJ
Durant
Timmy
Wilt

Can I play Durant at PF?

PG: Stockton
SG: Jordan
SF/PF: Lebron
SF/PF: Durant
C: Hakeem

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I just don't see how there is any logical argument for Malone being better than Duncan.

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Of course you don't, you're a Spurs fan.

Also, an informed basketball fan that has seen each player play multiple times in person.

Then again, you come back with your pithy comment and not any actual supporting data.