Each team and each fan site believes they have franchise players. I have been wondering for each team which player is their franchise player.. some players on teams are obvious. such as .. SA - Tim Duncan Dallas - Dirk Minnesota - KG but what about teams like Hornets - BDavis Warriors - Dunleavy Clippers - EBrand Seattle - RLewis? (they dont treat him like one) Suns - have alot of talent (who is the cornerstone?) Knicks - Marbury? Hawks - ? Wizards - Utah - Denver - Melo? what about Kmart? theres a trend .. losing teams dont seem to have that identity of who their best player is. so I thought it would be interesting to discuss.. J
There are only a handful of TRUE Franchise players in the NBA. If your team has one, you are lucky. What is ridiculous though is that EVERY team pretty much pays at least ONE guy MAX money, franchise player level money whether they are a TRUE franchise player or not. Those are ususually the teams that get into trouble.
IMO, its pretty obvious for each team: Boston - Pierce New Jersey - Kidd New York - Marbury Philadelphia - Iverson Orlando - Francis (could soon be Howard) Charlotte - Okafor Atlanta - Terry Toronto - Carter Milwaukee - Redd Chicago - one of the few that is hard, but I would say Hinrich Cleveland - James Indiana - O'Neal Detroit - another tough one .....I'd go with Hamilton Miami - Shaq Washington - Jamison Houston - T-Mac or Yao (i favor T-Mac) SA - Duncan Dallas - Dirk Memphis - Gasol New Orleans - Davis Lakers - Kobe Clippers - Brand G.S. - in the same boat as Chicago ......really can't think of one Sacramento - Webber Portland - Randolph Seattle - Lewis (apologies to Allen) Phoenix - Amare (apologies to Marion) Utah - Kirilenko Denver - Anthony Minnesota - KG
codell I dont think its as obvious. what you have done is select the best player on each team (pretty much) .. but does that mean that person is a franchise quality player? Atlanta - Terry is a franchise player? He might be a starting PG on some teams and coming off the bench on others. Is Nash? Bibby? or JWill franchise PG's? but if Terry was traded to their teams wouldnt he be most likely coming off the bench? so what im trying to determine is what qualifies a person as a franchise player? or do you think it means the teams best player? I felt "franchise" meant you are the face of the franchise. The cornerstone that the team wants to build around. Terry doesnt seem to be the cornerstone of that team.. They are not building around him with him as the focus. Or GSW - Dunleavy or JRich have been mentioned as their franchise players. Does it seem like a team is being tailored around their skills? another example - Jamison a starter (maybe franchise player for GSW) but a 6th man for a contending team. I guess my list would be alot shorter. KG Duncan Yao/Tmac Kidd Kobe Shaq Lebron seem like the only real untouchables in the league.. Shaq/Tmac only being traded because they demand it.. any thoughts. J
You asked the following: "I have been wondering for each team which player is their franchise player.." You didnt specify if they had to be held to the highest standards of "franchise quality". Therefore, I did name the players who, if there teams had to go with what they had, who they would build around.
I agree with pretty much your whole list. Just a few edits I would make. Detroit- I'd say Wallace is the franchise player. He doesn't lead them in scoring or anything, but he's their only official "all-star", and he's probably the most popular player on the team. He's what puts people in the seats, and that's a big part of who the franchise player is. Houston- Even though I know that was just your personal preference, I'd say Yao is definitely the franchise player. You have to think, if it came down to the upper management choosing between Yao and T-Mac, McGrady would probably be the one who gets traded out. Yao's too rare a find. G.S.- I just think it's Richardson. He's not on the same talent level as the other franchise players everyone's named, but he's their most marketable
codell ok then same idea.. Atlanta - unknown (you could have said Terry or SJackson then) Chicago - unknown (Kirk?) Washington - unknown GSW - JRich? Dunleavy? Seattle - Ray Allen (for now) Shard is up and coming Phoenix - Amare seems to be unanimous. wow that must stink to not know who your best player is.. or what your long term goal is. J
There does seem to be a tension between the star player and the "annointed." We had that issue last year where Francis was the star, but Yao was the guy that management was really trying to build around. I don't know what the deal will be going forward: between T-Mac and Yao, who would management choose if they had to choose one? Just because Yao got the nod over Francis doesn't mean he will trump McGrady. Other teams have the same problem. Amare seems to be the annointed in Phoenix, even though Marbury (while he was there) and Marion are probably both better than him at the moment. Orlando as well with the tension between Dwight Howard and Francis. Then there are teams with two mature guys and it isn't clear which guy was chosen. Is Seattle more committed to Lewis or Allen? Is Sac more committed to Webber or Peja? And, then there are teams that basically have no talent and have no pieces to build around. Atlanta just traded away Terry for a guy with an expiring contract. Do they have anyone to build around. Heinrich is a nice PG, but not someone to build around; so is there anyone at the epicenter in Chicago?
Allen's age has him on the market right now. Doesn't sound like a guy they want to build around. I'm also pretty convinced that (going on Paxson's comments) that Chicago wants to build around Hinrich.
I think it depends on Yao's development, and thats why I give a slight edge to McGrady. If 3 years down the road, Yao is still putting up 18/8/2 and McGrady is putting up 25/5/5, I don't think the choice would be that easy. I give the edge to McGrady now because hes much more proven as a top tier player.
