simmons 40 most untradeable

thacabbage · May 25, 2007

Probably my favorite sports column is Bill Simmons' annual "40 most valuable players." I could only find last year's and 2003, 2002. I couldn't find 2004 or 2005, but I recall Yao had slipped a bit after a disappointing '05 only to jump back up to #4 last year. Wade got the top spot last year. McGrady fell to 13th.

I think Lebron will probably take #1 this year with Yao possibly moving up to #3 after a dominating 25/10 regular season. It's hard to tell where McGrady would rank - he proved he's healthy again and playing well, but he's getting older relatively speaking. I could see him towards the end of the top 15...

last year - 2006
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060707

13. Tracy McGrady
Peaked as an offensive player three or four years ago -- he's not as productive or efficient as Kobe, Wade, LeBron or Arenas, and not even remotely as durable as those guys OR Pierce. Even when healthy, his back worries him enough that he settles for too many jumpers and 3s (over the past three seasons, he shot just 42 percent on the field and his FT attempts dropped significantly). On the flip side, he has played 25 career playoff games and averaged a 30-7-6. Could you win a title with T-Mac, Yao and a bunch of role players? Absolutely. That's why he's not going anywhere.

4. Yao Ming
Was making The Leap after the All-Star Break (25.7 points and 11.6 boards per game) before breaking his foot in early April. What a shame. And we forget that he's only 25 -- for instance, Shaq peaked at 28, Hakeem peaked at 30, David Robinson peaked at 29, Ewing and Moses peaked at 27, Kareem peaked with his almost unprecedented triple-whammy at age 33 (an MVP season, Finals MVP and award-winning cameo as Roger Murdock in "Airplane" in 1980), Paul Mokeski's mustache/perm combo peaked at 28, Mike Gminski's beard peaked at 29, and Shawn Bradley didn't peak as a dunking test dummy until 28. True centers take awhile. Everyone forgets this. We're getting a 28-12 from Yao one of these years. It's coming.
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wade at #1, james at #2

http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/030530 - 2003

14. Steve Francis -- Don't get me wrong: I love watching him. And he finally solved those bizarre migraine problems, which should pave the way for 10-12 more All-Star appearances. But poor Yao Ming played 82 games last season without anyone on his team figuring out A) where he likes the ball, or B) how to throw him an entry pass. Isn't that Francis's job? For God's sake, you have the next Bill Walton on your team, he's seven-&$%#%#-six, and you can't make the #$^&@# playoffs with him???? I'm riled up.

4. Tracy McGrady -- Here's my favorite T-Mac tidbit, and you can look this up on his game logs right here on America's favorite sports website, ESPN.com. Remember when everyone started to make noise about Kobe's 40-point game streak, how he could become the first person to average 40 in a month since Chamberlain? Well, T-Mac was cruising along, averaging 30 a game himself, and then he must have read one too many Kobe stories.

Here's how he finished the last week in February: 4 games, 39.5 PPG.

And here were his March numbers: 15 games, 35.9 PPG.

What a rivalry this should be ... and it's never happening as long as McGrady is trapped in Orlando. Couldn't David Stern stick a horse's head in Grant Hill's bed to get him to retire, just so Orlando could have the cap space this summer? And is the Commish losing his powers? How did the Lakers lose Game 6? How does Cleveland get LeBron? I'm starting to worry about him ... I think Barzini and Tattaglia might be ready to take some of his territory.

2. Yao Ming -- I am honored to be included in your prestigious list, and that you consider me as a taller version of Bill Walton ... I feel like a goat herder who just found an extra patch of grass, and decided to sit down to eat his lunch ...
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Duncan at #1

http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/020404 - 2002

15. Steve Francis -- Ranked No. 10 on this list last season, but this whole thing with the recurring migraines is truly scary ... if he gets a clean bill of health, he moves into the Top 12 ... along with Cuttino Mobley, he took part in my favorite segment of "The Life" of all-time (when they went down to the Houston Ferrari dealership in sweatsuits and looked at Ferraris) ... somebody needs to give them their own sitcom ... and Moochie Norris could be the wacky neighbor ... I should be running a network.

7. Tracy McGrady -- Hold on.

6. Paul Pierce -- Here's the best argument in this entire column: McGrady vs. Pierce. Let's break it down:

McGrady is 18 months younger ... Pierce is a better all-around offensive player, mainly because he's fearless going to the basket ... they're even defensively, although McGrady could be a Pippen-caliber defensive player if he wanted it badly enough ... Pierce has a terrible habit of making dumb fouls and getting into foul trouble ... McGrady has a terrible habit of mailing in certain games and refusing to break a sweat ... Pierce never takes a night off ... McGrady is slightly more unstoppable when he's on ... Pierce is more durable (he hasn't had a major injury yet, other than nearly getting stabbed to death before last season) ... McGrady suffers from those chronic back problems, always a red flag ...

Pierce gets major points because his teammates like him and respond to him when he's feeling it ... you couldn't say the same about McGrady ... McGrady has a smidgeon more athletic ability, but Pierce works harder on his offensive game and plays with more passion ... McGrady gives me the feeling that he's happy being "The Guy Who Could Be The Best Guy In The League If He Wanted To" ... Pierce gives me the feeling that he wants to be "The Guy Who Became The Best Player In The League Because He Wanted It Badly Enough" ... there's a difference ... and yes, this is all subject to change ... right now, I'm going with The Truth.
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I couldn't find any of the others through search.

Ziggy · May 25, 2007

Its funny to see Francis on those old lists. But he should still be on it. Because that contract is most definitely untradeable.

krnxsnoopy · May 25, 2007

Yao 2006 and Tmac 2002

Whoops I just wet myself..

Dr of Dunk · May 25, 2007

krnxsnoopy said:

Yao 2006 and Tmac 2002

Whoops I just wet myself..
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I think I like the 2003 TMac more...

SamFisher · May 25, 2007

thacabbage said:

Probably my favorite sports column is Bill Simmons' annual "40 most valuable players."
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you need to read more sports columns...

baller4life315 · May 25, 2007

SamFisher said:

you need to read more sports columns...
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I agree with him also. It's not that Bill Simmons is some informed basketball wizard or anything, but his ability to crack jokes and trash every single player in the league is ridiculous. This annual column has me in tears everytime I read it.

thacabbage · May 25, 2007

Ziggy said:

Its funny to see Francis on those old lists. But he should still be on it. Because that contract is most definitely untradeable.
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I could probably write a thesis on Francis' career. It's funny to think that people were raving about this guy 7 years ago maybe even more than they do now about Chris Paul. We're talking about a point guard in his second year almost leading his team to the playoffs and arguably considered the 2nd best point guard in the league after Kidd (Payton was declining). All he had to do was get the turnovers under control, learn the basics of playing point guard in the NBA, and he was Isiah Thomas in the making. Fast forward to now and the guy is about to be bought out.

Ziggy · May 26, 2007

thacabbage said:

I could probably write a thesis on Francis' career. It's funny to think that people were raving about this guy 7 years ago maybe even more than they do now about Chris Paul. We're talking about a point guard in his second year almost leading his team to the playoffs and arguably considered the 2nd best point guard in the league after Kidd (Payton was declining). All he had to do was get the turnovers under control, learn the basics of playing point guard in the NBA, and he was Isiah Thomas in the making. Fast forward to now and the guy is about to be bought out.
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It really is weird. He had the horrible year with Van Gundy but statistically thrived in Orlando for awhile. I remember him posting some exorbitant triple double his rookie year, something like 25, 17, 14. What happened?

pgabriel · May 26, 2007

Before his decline Steve was always an enigma. He was a point guard who was always a threat for a tripple double, yet rarely logged more than 10 assists. same with his scoring, he could average twenty but rarely would have what you would consider high scoring games. yet he was still inconsistent. and still at one point he was a top twenty player in the league, deserving of a max contract at the time.

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simmons 40 most untradeable

thacabbage Contributing Member

Ziggy QUEEN ANON

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Dr of Dunk Clutch Crew

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thacabbage Contributing Member

Ziggy QUEEN ANON

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