The Great Debate: Franchise Youngsters

[ecuhus1981]

Imagine you are the GM/owner of a new team, and hypothetically, let's say that the first round of the expansion draft includes EVERYONE who's on a rookie-scale contract. Among these elite young NBA players, around whom would you most like to build your budding team?

[TMACFORMVP]

It comes down to Durant, Oden, Bynum and Beasley IMO.

Durant out of that group is the most proven, but Bynum and especially Oden have that ability to anchor a defense which is the main foundation to winning a championship. Beasley is kind of trick of trades, has the offense and rebounding but not the ability to anchor a defense. I think I'd put all my cards and take the risk of Oden coming back from surgery to be that dominant force on both ends that was expected when he was drafted #1 overall.

[dockingsched]

iggy and smith are about to get huge pay days, they're not on a rookie scale contract anymore.

for me the discussion starts and ends with oden/bynum.

[farzi]

Oden/Bynum
Bynum/Oden


Durant
Rose
Beasley
Gay
Smith
Iggy

[Malapropism]

Based on potential alone, Oden.

But I can see how someone would pick Bynum because he's more proven and didn't have MF.

[ponder276]

I'm torn here between Oden and Bynum. I think I'd go with Bynum, because:
a) His knee injury was a freak injury, not a wear-and-tear style (so you'd re-occurrence would be less of a problem), and his knee surgery was much more minor (quick 30 minutes surgery vs. heavy duty microfracture surgery)
b) He is more of a finesse C than Oden, and less dependent on his athleticism, so if both were to lose a bit of athleticism from their injuries, Bynum's game would suffer less (though I feel there's a good chance both will make a full recovery)
c) Is the same age as Oden (both are 20), but has proven much, much more. Oden has yet to play an NBA game, whereas last season Bynum was extremely productive in the NBA, putting up per 36 minute stats of 16.4 ppg (on 64/70 shooting), 12.7 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.6 bpg. Unlike many "per 36 minute" stats that are based on a very small number of mpg, Bynum's are actually quite applicable, as he averaged reasonably close to 36 mpg (28.8 mpg, which is a lot of minutes for a 20 year old).

[EGame]

Yeah it is either Oden or Bynum for me. It is hard to choose between the two, I think Oden has the more potential of the two, but Bynum is proven and will possibly only get better.

[HarlemHeat37]

Bynum isn't "proven"..you can't be "proven" after playing 30 games..

[Teddy KGB]

Call me insane but I would take Durant. Then again I am a huge fan of his.

Second would be Bynum. Third would be B-Easy and Oden tied.

[shawngoat23]

1. Oden


2. Durant
3. Rose
4. Beasley

5. Bynum

6. Smith
7. Iggy
8. Gay

[Wade2k6]

1. Oden
2. Durant/Beasley
3. Durant/Beasley
4. Bynum
5. Rose

Bash me if you want, but Bynum hasn't proved nearly as much as some people say. He has played 30 games where he put up like 12/10 or something like that. Not a big enough sample to call him a proven player. Saying that, I realize nobody on that list is anywhere near proven, except Durant. But, Odens ceiling is higher then Bynums, so I'd take him over Bynum. He is a C and that is one of the hardest positions to find, but you can't overlook Durant and Beasleys ability to put the ball in the basket even if they can't "anchor" a defense, that's why I'd put Beasley and Durant both over Bynum.

[DanniIce]

Durant

[BMF Jet Jaguar]

once durant fills out he'll be unstoppable

[TheSheriff]

1. Oden


2. Durant
3. Rose
4. Beasley

5. Bynum

6. Smith
7. Iggy
8. Gay

This is the best ranking.

[princeofpalace]

Oden
Durant
Beasley
Bynum
Rose

Neither Smith, Iggy or Gay are good enough to be franchise players

[TAI8]

What about Mayo, Bayless, Gordon, Al Jefferson, etc? They should be in this discussion. Anyways, for this crop of players I would take Oden. A true franchise center is the foundation for a contender.

[TdotWattz]

Couple of these guys are legit stars in the league and some of them have yet to play a game....

Looking at how i think some of them will turn out, I think Iggy will become like a Vince Carter minus the injuries and the whining....
Smith looks like he could become an undersized KG, someone better than Marion for sure
Durant like a Tracey McGrady....and Gay i cant say like who, but definetly a top 15 guy in his prime as some of th currents age...

Bynum, Oden, Beasley and Rose are some great talents but its just to hard to compare them to guys that have been in the league already.
Personall i dont think Bynum and Oden will be as good as Dwight Howard however Rose looks like he is poised to carry the PG position for the next 10 years with Deron Williams and CP3

[revprodeji]

Not having Al Jefferson on this list is ignorant.

[thegreatblaze]

^^Agree.

Al deserves to be on this list with some of the other names that are on here.

[mandurugo]

Al Jefferson isn't on his rookie contract anymore, so he doesn't fit the OP's requirements. Plus, who would pick him out of this list? The others are still unknown to a degree, I think Jefferson has shown what he can do - a dominant low post scorer and excellent rebounder, but pretty mediocre otherwise. He's a very good player, but if I was starting a franchise I would want someone better. It's not clear that any of these guys will be better than him, but they mostly still have room for growth.

That said, I'm wary of the injuries to both bynum and oden, I don't think you should pick them until they show they've recovered. Using Jefferson as a measuring stick, Bynum really has only played at his level for a short time - he's got to show he consistently be as good as he was at his brief peak to be worth choosing. Even then, would you want him as your best player?

I also don't understand the posters who say Durant is proven - what has he proven? He could still become the best, but from his first season I'm not sure it's been proven.

I would gamble on Beasley.