Based on ppg, rebounds, blocks, and PER, there are plenty of centers better than Asik. But that doesn't really take into account defense. So how many centers do you think are better than Asik overall?
Here are some choices: Dwight Howard Tim Duncan Marc Gasol Andrew Bogut Joachim Noah Al Jefferson Tyson Chandler Roy Hibbert Nene Dwight Howard Nikola Pekovic Nikola Vučević Brook Lopez Anderson Varejao DeAndre Jordan
DeAndre is not better than Asik. But as for fit I would take Asik over most of the guys you listed. Player wise, I agree with everyone on that list except for Jordan
Is Asik better than.... Dwight Howard - no Tim Duncan - no Marc Gasol - equal Andrew Bogut - equal Joachim Noah - equal Al Jefferson - no Tyson Chandler - no Roy Hibbert - yes Nene - yes Nikola Pekovic - equal Nikola Vučević - yes Brook Lopez - no Anderson Varejao - yes DeAndre Jordan - yes just my opinion, but I'm an Asik fan.
Thats not the people I have listed ahead of Asik, I was just listing some centers to refresh you guys' memory.
Don't forget Earl Monroe up in Detroit (are whatever his name is)... Of course there are better centers but Asik for the money is a bargain. Would be better if we had a better backup for him though.
Dwight Howard Tim Duncan Marc Gasol Andrew Bogut Joakim Noah Al Jefferson Tyson Chandler DeAndre Jordan
Maybe 5 centers who are distinctively good. After that, it's a big muck of inconsistent players or consistently mediocre centers. League wide weaksauce talent compared to other positions.
I would rank him top 5. It is hard to compare some players like B. Lopez who is much better offensively but much worse defensively.
Based on the advanced stats that I'm looking at, here's the list: 1 Tyson Chandler 2 Joakim Noah 3 Andre Drummond 4 J.J. Hickson 5 Marc Gasol 6 Anderson Varejao 7 Nikola Vucevic 8 Tim Duncan 9 Dwight Howard 10 Tiago Splitter 11 Larry Sanders And you could make the argument for adding these dudes to the list: 11 Ed Davis 12 Nick Collison 13 Brendan Wright 14 DeAndre Jordan 15 Kosta Koufos 16 Emeka Okafor 17 Andrew Bogut 18 JaVale McGee 19 Robin Lopez However, if you factor in the fact that Asik is signed to a pretty reasonable three year, $25 mil contract and is extremely durable--two huge factors--then this would be my list: 1 Tyson Chandler 2 Joakim Noah 3 Andre Drummond (dude is a hoss!) 4 Marc Gasol 5 Nikola Vucevic 6 Tim Duncan 7 Dwight Howard 8 Larry Sanders I'd leave off Hickson because this guy is about to become exorbitantly expensive and I also don't trust that he will keep up this level of production once somebody gives him $40+ mil this summer. Obviously Varejao cannot seem to stay healthy, so I'd leave him off. I'm also leaving off Splitter because he's going to be overpaid by somebody this summer (I think he also gets $40+ mil). [If you guys don't think Hickson and Splitter both get at least $40 mil this summer, that's fine, but I completely disagree.] Based on Howard's injury issues and the massive amount of money ($100+ mil) that he's going to get this summer (along with all of his baggage), one could make the argument that he doesn't deserve to be on this list, either, but I'm not quite prepared to make that argument (it's tempting, though!). Asik provides excellent value and is a real asset, no doubt.
Dudes I've left off of my list (i.e., I'd take Asik over any of these dudes): Andrew Bogut: very expensive, obviously very injury-prone Al Jefferson: very expensive, not getting any younger, not especially efficient Roy Hibbert: very expensive, inconsistent, not especially efficient Nene Hilario: very expensive, very injury-prone Nikola Pekovic: pretty good, but will get $40+ mil this summer, significantly more $/year than Asik gets, and probably not quite as good of a player Brook Lopez: grossly overpaid, incredibly overrated, has had injury problems Chris Bosh: very expensive, mediocre rebounder, kind of a whiner, seems kind of dumb Greg Monroe: arguably more desirable due to his "upside" but not quite the player that Asik is right now DeMarcus Cousins: arguably more desirable due to his "upside" but just too much of a drama queen Andrew Bynum: very expensive, extremely injury prone, questionable maturity level Pau Gasol: insanely expensive, not getting any younger, presently injured