Garnett/Durant vs Luka/Shaq

[durantbird]

Which dou you'd prefer to build around?

[Colbinii]

At this point easily Garnett/Durant until I see more from Luka moving forward.

Durant gets to make the claim and take the glory of "his team" while KG gets focus even more on defense than he did in Boston.

[BenoUdrihFTL]

Not sure you could maximize both Luka and Shaq if you paired them together. Not the case with Garnett/Durant who, aside from being a seamless fit, are also more era-resilient imo. Might be easier to build around Luka/Shaq today as there's no shortage of cost-efficient 3/D type wings whereas you'd ideally want to add a capable primary playmaker to the Kevins (those are typically a bit more expensive and scarce). But I'd still opt for Garnett/Durant and figure out the rest

[No-more-rings]

KG and Durant seem to be the safer pick as of now.

[G35]

I don't think KG and Durant would get along.....

[cupcakesnake]

KDKG is basically the most scalable, easy to play with duo of all-time. On top of that you're getting one of the best scorers ever and one of the best defenders ever. You could probably slide in any combination of players around them: gunning guards, plodding rim-protecting centers, non-shooters with other skills... KDKG makes any of those things work.

Shaq and Luka is a more awkward fit as they both do their best work inside the paint. But you're getting 2 of the most physically punishing scorers ever, and Shaq never struggled to pair with ball-dominant wings. Luka, I'd argue is worse off-ball than Kobe or Wade were though. Kobe was an extremely dynamic off-ball pull-up guy, and Wade was a strong cutter. Luka we haven't seen as much from. He's also had his struggles as a shooter. This is going to be a very bad free-throw shooting team. The high-end scoring/playmaking value here beats KDKG though. One might fit together easier, but Luka/Shaq might just out-talent them. Team thicc vs. the Slendermen.

[Texas Chuck]

The theory guys will all take KG/KD because it just seems perfect.

But Shaq was so incredibly dominant and Luka certainly appears capable of filling that Kobe/Wade perimeter sidekick role just fine.

I'll be the guy who takes Shaq and feels really really good about it. I'm almost certainly winning a handful of titles and maybe more if Shaq finds Luka the human more palatable than Kobe the human.

KD/KG is a lot more maybe to it. I will be a really good team for a long time if they stay together, but I'm less confident about the championship ceiling.

[Colbinii]

The theory guys will all take KG/KD because it just seems perfect.

But Shaq was so incredibly dominant and Luka certainly appears capable of filling that Kobe/Wade perimeter sidekick role just fine.

I'll be the guy who takes Shaq and feels really really good about it. I'm almost certainly winning a handful of titles and maybe more if Shaq finds Luka the human more palatable than Kobe the human.

KD/KG is a lot more maybe to it. I will be a really good team for a long time if they stay together, but I'm less confident about the championship ceiling.

Durant is Signifciantly better than Pierce/Allen from 2008-2010.

Weird to say you don't see championship caliber...

[Texas Chuck]

The theory guys will all take KG/KD because it just seems perfect.

But Shaq was so incredibly dominant and Luka certainly appears capable of filling that Kobe/Wade perimeter sidekick role just fine.

I'll be the guy who takes Shaq and feels really really good about it. I'm almost certainly winning a handful of titles and maybe more if Shaq finds Luka the human more palatable than Kobe the human.

KD/KG is a lot more maybe to it. I will be a really good team for a long time if they stay together, but I'm less confident about the championship ceiling.

Durant is Signifciantly better than Pierce/Allen from 2008-2010.

Weird to say you don't see championship caliber...

Here in Texas we say: Stay Weird Austin. So I'll stay weird I guess.

I just think Shaq showed he was just utterly unstoppable for a period of time that makes championships super easy to envision. With KD/KG I'd expect to win 55+ every year, but feel less certain that duo is a lock to win 4 series a year over and over again.

I mean I'm not saying I don't want KD/KG. Just saying I want Shaq more. I'd feel the same way if it were Duncan/Luka or Kareem/Luka or Bird/Luka or Lebron/Luka. I just think Shaq is a significantly better player than KG and while KD is clearly better than what we've seen from Luka yet that difference isn't enough for me to choose them. Especially since its likely Luka will continue to improve. Most players are at their best 4 years older than Luka currently is.

[Colbinii]

The theory guys will all take KG/KD because it just seems perfect.

But Shaq was so incredibly dominant and Luka certainly appears capable of filling that Kobe/Wade perimeter sidekick role just fine.

I'll be the guy who takes Shaq and feels really really good about it. I'm almost certainly winning a handful of titles and maybe more if Shaq finds Luka the human more palatable than Kobe the human.

KD/KG is a lot more maybe to it. I will be a really good team for a long time if they stay together, but I'm less confident about the championship ceiling.

Durant is Signifciantly better than Pierce/Allen from 2008-2010.

Weird to say you don't see championship caliber...

Here in Texas we say: Stay Weird Austin. So I'll stay weird I guess.

I just think Shaq showed he was just utterly unstoppable for a period of time that makes championships super easy to envision. With KD/KG I'd expect to win 55+ every year, but feel less certain that duo is a lock to win 4 series a year over and over again.

I mean I'm not saying I don't want KD/KG. Just saying I want Shaq more. I'd feel the same way if it were Duncan/Luka or Kareem/Luka or Bird/Luka or Lebron/Luka. I just think Shaq is a significantly better player than KG and while KD is clearly better than what we've seen from Luka yet that difference isn't enough for me to choose them. Especially since its likely Luka will continue to improve. Most players are at their best 4 years older than Luka currently is.

Stay Illogical Austin!

[Texas Chuck]

Durant is Signifciantly better than Pierce/Allen from 2008-2010.

Weird to say you don't see championship caliber...

Here in Texas we say: Stay Weird Austin. So I'll stay weird I guess.

I just think Shaq showed he was just utterly unstoppable for a period of time that makes championships super easy to envision. With KD/KG I'd expect to win 55+ every year, but feel less certain that duo is a lock to win 4 series a year over and over again.

I mean I'm not saying I don't want KD/KG. Just saying I want Shaq more. I'd feel the same way if it were Duncan/Luka or Kareem/Luka or Bird/Luka or Lebron/Luka. I just think Shaq is a significantly better player than KG and while KD is clearly better than what we've seen from Luka yet that difference isn't enough for me to choose them. Especially since its likely Luka will continue to improve. Most players are at their best 4 years older than Luka currently is.

Stay Illogical Austin!

Gotcha. You didn't want to actually discuss this, you just want to insult me because I picked not-KG. Seems lame, but alright, whatever. I'm at least defending my selection.

[Colbinii]

Here in Texas we say: Stay Weird Austin. So I'll stay weird I guess.

I just think Shaq showed he was just utterly unstoppable for a period of time that makes championships super easy to envision. With KD/KG I'd expect to win 55+ every year, but feel less certain that duo is a lock to win 4 series a year over and over again.

I mean I'm not saying I don't want KD/KG. Just saying I want Shaq more. I'd feel the same way if it were Duncan/Luka or Kareem/Luka or Bird/Luka or Lebron/Luka. I just think Shaq is a significantly better player than KG and while KD is clearly better than what we've seen from Luka yet that difference isn't enough for me to choose them. Especially since its likely Luka will continue to improve. Most players are at their best 4 years older than Luka currently is.

Stay Illogical Austin!

Gotcha. You didn't want to actually discuss this, you just want to insult me because I picked not-KG. Seems lame, but alright, whatever. I'm at least defending my selection.

Saying KG-Durant isn't a Championship Ceiling is an illogical statement...

[Colbinii]

1) I see a KG/Durant fit providing signifciantly more potential for a team to add a playmaker of any caliber [elite, secondary or 3rd level] and maximizing that players potential and impact compared to Luka/Shaq.

2) The spacing providing by Durant/KG is significantly more than a Luka/Shaq duo.

3) The defensive floor and ceiling is significantly higher with a KG led team compared to Luka/Shaq duo.

[Im Your Father]

I worry that Shaq and Luka both have a propensity to get out of shape.

Seems like a duo that would be inclined to take its foot off the gas after a championship or two.

[Texas Chuck]

Sticking to substance if we can.....

I'd say normally you want to provide spacing for your stars, not asking your stars to provide spacing for your role players. No question KD and KG are much better spacers than Shaq/Luka, but that seems like not a primary concern. I'm going to put 3&D guys around either duo and feel confident I can create the space for Shaq and Luka just fine. Luka has played with rim running centers who don't space and created great offense and neither Kobe nor Wade were even as effective from range as Luka already is.

Defense is obviously an edge to KG/KD. No disputing that. Just like offense is an obvious edge to the other duo.

[LAL1947]

First 10 years of their careers... I'll take Luka-Shaq and voted for them.

After the first 10 years though, the KG-KD duo can take advantage of Shaq becoming a fat, lazy behemoth... just like the Duncan-Parker-Manu trio did.

[cupcakesnake]

Either of these duos is winning multiple championships if they're together for a decade. Too low a bar for pairing all-time talents. It's a question of which is better than the other.

[PaulieWal]

First 10 years of their careers... I'll take Luka-Shaq and voted for them.

After the first 10 years though, the KG-KD duo can take advantage of Shaq becoming a fat, lazy behemoth... just like the Duncan-Parker-Manu trio did.

Warned for unnecessary baiting and derailing. We all get it at this point, you think Duncan is overrated.

[Colbinii]

Either of these duos is winning multiple championships if they're together for a decade. Too low a bar for pairing all-time talents. It's a question of which is better than the other.

How about KG/Pierce vs Shaq/Vince?

We do have people here thinking KG/Durant would struggle to be Championship Caliber--which is bizarre to me considering how close Shaq/KG are viewed in an all-time sense in comparison to Doncic/Durant.

[Jaivl]

We do have people here thinking KG/Durant would struggle to be Championship Caliber

Do we? Where?

After the first 10 years though, the KG-KD duo can take advantage of Shaq becoming a fat, lazy behemoth... just like the Duncan-Parker-Manu trio did.

Sometimes it's tiring as hell, but gotta say, some mornings you just get me. Have to applaud the commitment.