Re: Kawhi,
If we're trying to match a wing defender with a better offensive player, I'm tempted to go Pippen over Kawhi. We have less granular data for Pippen, there's more uncertainty with rating defense generally, and peak defense Kawhi was a beast, so there's definitely an argument for peak Kawhi. But there's also an argument that Pippen was the better defender at his peak (or at least not much worse).... and Pippen had significantly better health, and a longer defensive prime than Kawhi (who had a major drop off in after ~2016).
Kawhi's definitely the better offensive player at his offensive peak, largely driven by his clear scoring advantage, but that also came later after his defense had waned, and is less of an advantage if we're pairing them with a more offensive-oriented player.
I'd rather Pippen + Magic or Pippen + Bird or Pippen + Durant among player with similar height to Pippen (or I suppose Nash/CP3 if we're okay mixing much shorter players). Personally, I'd probably go Pippen + Magic or Pippen + Durant since I think their style of offense matches better with Pippen's body type than Bird. Magic is obviously the better offensive player than Durant, but I think Pippen's starting point as a better playmaker is higher than his starting point as a scorer, which might be reason to choose Durant depending on which way you're leaning.
Re: Big body + small skill,
there's a variety of ways to consider player hybrid. In one version, you add the players' skills regardless of how physically realistic it is. In another, you also have to consider whether it's physically realistic for a player to gain the skills of both. This is apparent in the classic example of making a hybrid from Shaq + Curry. If this is your hybrid, are you saying a 300+ pound man gains the hand-eye coordination (and perhaps the practice?) to shoot like Curry, or are you also saying he's fast enough, agile enough, and has enough endurance to run around perimeter screens and cut off-ball like Curry?
The latter isn't really physically possible, but if you include considerations for what's physically possible, that might limit how additive the skill is. Part of what makes Curry so dangerous is his shooting combined with his off-ball play, while Shaq with Curry's hand-eye coordination would only really be able to play as a spot-up big or pick and pop big. Still super additive, still an unstoppable player, but not nearly as good as the totally unrealistic player who had Curry's shooting, Curry's handle, Curry's off-ball activity and exterior gravity, with Shaq's athleticism and rim pressure and interior gravity.
A similar idea applies to motor, which often isn't considered with player hybrids. A player would need the motor to fully maximize their added sills on offense/defense, and some players don't have the motor to go all-out on defense while carrying the larger load on offense (e.g. Kawhi). You'd still gain skills of course, and the hybrid would still be better, they just wouldn't be fully maximized compared to a player who also had the motor to sustain the added offense/defense.
For players like Russell + Nash or Ben Wallace + CP3 or Dennis + Nash, how does the added height affect the security of their dribble, for example? Taller players tend to have less secure dribbles, in part because the ball has to bounce higher before reaching their hand, which gives time for defenders to swipe. Do the players dribble exactly like CP3 and Nash would, in which case do they then have less secure handles? Do they use CP3/Nash's hand eye coordination to adapt to the style of handle that better suits bigs, and in which case how well are they at adapting? Does their face-up game pair well with the bigger bodies? When CP3 or Nash are snaking around screens in the midrange, how well do the bigger bodies of Russell or Wallace hold up under those additional agility requirements? There's similar factor for Scottie + Miller: playing like Miller requires more agility, and I'm not sure a physically-realistic version of Pippen's body could move with the same agility as Miller (but since this is a thought experiment for fun anyway, this might not matter to some people).
When trying to be physically realistic, I try to match players within a similar range of heights/body types, or at least try to consider how well the skills of Player B would pair with the body of Player A. For the taller centers like Russell or Ben Wallace, I'd probably prefer adding Bird or Magic or Dirk or Jokic's offense, since those play styles are more catered to having a larger body than Nash/CP3. I might prefer Russell+Magic > Russell + Nash, given that I think Magic's offensive style is more suitable to Russell's body type (plus I prefer Magic's offense > Nash's anyway, so it's a win-win).
Personally,
while I"m not sure if it's the best possible hybrid under 6'10 without Jordan/LeBron/Curry, I'd be most excited to see a player like Draymond + Bird. It might be the most scalable player ever. Bird had a great defensive mind and a ton of toughness. He was a great defensive rebounder, and provided good help defense. But he didn't have the body to fully maximize his mind, without the horizontal foot speed, and he didn't quite have the length + verticality to be the best rim protector at his position. Draymond fills those gaps physically.
On offense, his biggest limitation was probably either his handle or his lack of rim pressure. Draymond doesn't have the best handle of someone his size, but it's still pretty good -- I think the hybrid would have a better handle, which would help Bird's versatility on-ball and might also slightly help when he's driving to the basket.
Overall, the biggest limitation for Bird was his health. He was injured in nearly every odd-numbered playoff year. His cumulative injuries also reduced his defense as he aged, and generally hurt his longevity. Draymond's not the picture of perfect durability and longevity (Bird + Malone would absolutely be better from that front), but it's still a clear boost to Bird's health and thus his longevity. The added durability from Draymond with Bird's free throw shooting might also mean the hybrid are more comfortable taking contact at the rim to get free throws, which could slightly help both of their weaknesses in rim scoring. Plus the combined IQ from those two might just make the smartest player ever.
Like I said, not sure whether it's the best possible hybrid or not, but it might be the one I want to see the most.
