Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 8:00 am  |  246 responses

Top 50: Chris Paul, no. 4

The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players.

by Khalid Salaam

Two years ago I started referring to Chris Paul as ‘The Definition.’ I wasn’t really feeling CP3 as a nickname (it makes me think of that corny gold-plated droid in the Star Wars movies) and I Chris Paulwanted to capture the essence of his game. So ‘The Definition’ was born. As in, he’s the definition of what you want in a point guard. It hasn’t really stuck, though. And his overall buzz has been on mute all offseason after that horrendous, hoc-spit of game the Hornets played to close out their First Round playoff series against Denver last spring.

In last postseason’s 5-game series loss to Denver, his assist numbers were still respectable (10.4) but his scoring was down 6 points from the regular season and he averaged damn near 5 turnovers, which nearly doubled his regular season numbers. Point blank, neither he nor the Hornets played well and their outlook for the ’09-10 season isn’t looking that hot either. This is a team with supreme limitations both on the court and financially, and their offseason moves (they drafted UCLA guard Darren Collison and traded Tyson Chandler for Emeka Okafor) don’t inspire much hope.

Paul’s too good for the Hornets to be terrible, and they’ll be solid for years to come, routinely winning between 48 and 54 games every season. The variable will always come down to coaching and the play of his teammates — his output won’t wane. We haven’t even seen his best yet; this is only his fifth season coming up. He’ll have a 27, 15, 5 and 3 year one of these seasons and grab an MVP trophy or two. Believe that.

But championship contender status will evade him and New Orleans until they improve their roster. For a competitor like Paul, this can’t be good, and if I was in charge of an NBA team I’d throw everything I could at the Hornets brass in trade offers (the Blazers can give them like seven players and Microsoft stock, what are they waiting for?) just to see what would happen. Still, it’s hard to trade a guy like Paul.

For a lot of the guys in the SLAMonline Top 50, uproars have been waged about spot location, true value legitimacy, etc. But I doubt if much can be argued in regards to Paul. I mean, c’mon, you give this guy a real NBA roster, and it’s gonna equal multiple championships. His combination of fire, skill, intellect, athleticism and leadership is ridiculous. There isn’t more you could ever ask for.

Notes
• Rankings are based solely on projected ’09-10 performance.
• Contributors to this list include: Jake Appleman, Brett Ballantini, Russ Bengtson, Toney Blare, Shannon Booher, Myles Brown, Franklyn Calle, Gregory Dole, Emry DowningHall, Jonathan Evans, Adam Fleischer, Jeff Fox, Sherman Johnson, Aaron Kaplowitz, John Krolik, Holly MacKenzie, Ryne Nelson, Chris O’Leary, Ben Osborne, Alan Paul, Susan Price, Sam Rubenstein, Khalid Salaam, Kye Stephenson, Adam Sweeney, Vincent Thomas, Tzvi Twersky, Justin Walsh, Joey Whelan, Eric Woodyard, and Nima Zarrabi.
• Want more of the SLAMonline Top 50? Check out the archive.

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  • http://www.manutd.com Z

    On the Olympics thing, Kobe played well at the end of the final game but can someone seriously say with a straight face that Kobe played great in the Olympics based on his own standards? Maybe fatigue was a part of it, though, I dunno.. let’s just not pretend that he played well in the Olympics. He was a ball stopper and got KILLED on dribble drives because he was adamant about chasing little point guards up to the halfcourt line leaving them the whole court to blow by him. Even the announcers were getting fooled by that saying that Kobe was applying pressure on the guards without mentioning that it was that pressure that was leading to drive n kicks.

  • tavoris

    @James, we were talking Denver vs New Orleans tho

  • tavoris

    Z, it wasn’t fatigue, it was that darn broken finger.

  • http://dfkjslf.com Jukai

    A couple of points on the conversation going on:
    1) I do NOT believe Lebron and Wade were ‘scared’ or ‘confused’ in the fourth quarter. I also do not believe the US team was in danger of losing. Had Kobe not heated up and beat Spain by himself in the fourth quarter, someone else would have… because who was the guy doing all the damage for Spain? It was a) Navarro and b) Rudy. Who was suppose to guard the latter? Kobe was. And Rudy was draining threes and dunking over everyone, and Kobe wasn’t doing a thing to stop it. So yes, Kobe beat the entire team of Spain, but they were put in that position because Kobe was doing a poor defensive job in the third.
    2) I’m one of those guys that doesn’t really feel like it’s a debate… CP3 is better. For someone who is stronger and bigger, Deron is sort of a crappy rebounder, while CP3 always seems to be in position to get a rebound. CP3 is a better scorer, Deron has a nice crossover and a good midrange game, but he’s a bit slower and flatfooted and I really don’t trust him to get to the basket constantly like CP3. Paul ALWAYS can get to the basket one-on-one, unless you’re using Billups and Dahnty Jones to punch him in the arm and crowd him out. If we’re talking about the NBA here, chris Paul is the superior choice, season or post season.
    Of course, if were talking FIBA ball (Spanny), then I’d take Deron anyday. Slower game, lots of zone, Deron is way better suited. I actually thought Deron should get the most minutes out of Jason Kidd and Chris Paul during the Olympics because of his skillsets.
    3) Has Kobe had surgery on his pinkie yet? Doesn’t he still only have nine fingers?

  • http://dfkjslf.com Jukai

    Also, word up to Eboy, things are not the same without you here!

  • JD

    After No.7, this list has gone basically as i would call it, the final 3 will go like this
    3.D-Wade
    2.Kobe
    1.LeBron

  • http://www.slamonline.com James the balla

    Jose. I am a huge Kobe fan, but I do think Kobe will be third.

    Well Tavoris, I am talking the season anddddddddd playoffs.

  • http://dfkjslf.com Jukai

    Jose: You’re right, but Kobe fans would riot and SLAM can’t do that.

  • tavoris

    James, I know what you’re talking NOW, but you commented on a discussion about Paul’s performance in the LAST postseason.

  • LA Huey

    unfortunately for paul, it seems he’s doomed to spending his career with mediocre teams in new orleans. unless a ping-pong ball rolls their way, i don’t see them competing for anything more than a 2nd round date. and paul seems too well-mannered and too involved in the community to force a trade out.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Z
    My opinion from watching both of them play is that Deron is the better shooter.
    On the greatest of all time list. Paul is on that list because he’s putting up gaudy numbers. The thing is, Deron is also putting up Gaudy numbers. I mean, he’s shooting better than 40 percent from 3 and nearly 50 percent from the floor. He’s averaging a shade under 20 a game and dropping 10 assists and 3 boards. Those numbers compared with most cats on the all time list. And he’s only in his what, third or fourth season? And he runs a structured offense with talent that has to get fed the rock?
    The argument that Deron doesn’t belong in the greatest of all-time discussion because he’s not even making All-Star games is stupid. Just stupid.

  • http://myspace.com/brandnew Bryan

    Allenp , dereon shot 32 from three, the year before he shot 40 or so but the year before that he shot 31 I sense a pattern. Cp3 is consistently 35 or 36. He also shoots better at the line.

  • Yesse

    I would put Dwight over Chris.Also.Where the heck it T-Mac on the list?I know he has been going trough some bad seasons now, but he isnt even in the first 3 spots.

  • tavoris

    It’s not so much that Deron is a better shooter…it’s that he’s a more confident shooter.

  • jdn41

    3)wade 2)lebron 1)kobe really now it cant be seen any other way last time slam did this kobe was 1st, since then he went to the finals twice and won a championship plus finals MVP and is a favourite to win it all this year KOBE IS THE BEST CANT STOP WONT STOP

  • jdn41

    @Yesse, how can they possibly put a guy that isnt even playing half the season on a team that probably wont make the playoffs and if they do they wont get any higher then 8th seed

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Bryan
    Thanks for that info.

  • tavoris

    yesse…T-Mac is expected to play half the season at full strength-at best-so, he isn’t in the top 50

  • jdn41

    oh yeah at jukai-naw kobe never got surgery for his pinky yet but hes 4th championship is bracing it in place just fine

  • jdn41

    … those last two comments were not mine f-ing slam

  • http://dfkjslf.com Jukai

    jdn41: Kobe won a championship because of his team.. unless Kobe played one on five. I mean, Kobe was number one last year, got worse, got a better team and won the championship… I don’t follow your logic.
    Also, since Kobe refuses to get his pinkie fixed, people have to stop using it as a crotch for Kobe’s lack of performance. It’s Kobe’s CHOICE to have a broken pinkie at this point, so obviously it must help him or not bother him.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Jukai
    Crotch?
    Hmmm……..

  • Lz – Cphfinest 3

    I’m with those thinking Deron is a better player. Paul is a heck of a PG, and as a fellow 6foot pg, gotta love the little guy. But just plain and simple Deron gives the opposing team more issues in a tense playoffs situation, which is actually all that should matter + always outplays Paul when head to head.Speaking on the Olympics Kobe had about 3 good quarters all together, and was the only American spelling ‘Team USA’ with an ‘I’. Wade and LeBron (in that order) was fantastic throughout the tournament.

  • tavoris

    Jukai, I think the situation is that after playing through it so long, it didn’t seem feasible to have the doctors re-break it to align it properly. That would probably have kept him out for a large chunk of the season-which may have meant the difference between the Lakers lifting that trophy or not. Not when he’s playing for his legacy.

  • http://myspace.com/brandnew Bryan

    I don’t care about the shooting as much as other stuff, steve kerr was a better shooter than both but he wasn’t as good right? Paul is a better scorer and rebounder I can’t see what deron actually does better than paul.

  • tavoris

    I thought Kobe was on the team 1)to mentor, adn 2)to bail them out in THOSE situations? I thought that was the reason Jerry Coangelo asked him and Kidd to participate. Kobe was being Kobe…and regardless of how u feel about the man’s game, he’s still technically the best player in it. Wade and Lebron will put up better numbers, but neither-on a level playing field-can do the things that Kobe can. that being said, and considering Kobe and Lebron got their MVP’s, the last 3 will be (in this order) 3)Kobe, 2)Lebron, and 1)Wade.

  • http://www.manutd.com Z

    ”The argument that Deron doesn’t belong in the greatest of all-time discussion because he’s not even making All-Star games is stupid. Just stupid.” So stupid in fact, that no one made that argument. The correlation is your own assumption. You’re being a bit dishonest by saying that Paul is on that list because he’s putting up gaudy numbers like those numbers are empty. Everything he does is for his team to get a better shot at winning the game. You keep saying that Deron is a much better shooter but the evidence is not there from midrange or the 3-point line. I can’t argue with your gut feeling by watching them shoot. We have over 4 years of datas to compare their shooting and it’s a wash or, at best, a SLIGHT advantage for Deron from deep (1%). I’ve heard Zeke talk about Chris Paul and he talks about him like he belongs right there with him and Magic. I’ve heard other stars like Bron and Chris Bosh marvel at how easy CP3 makes the game for them and that they would kill to ahve him on their team. Deron is EXTRA nice but cmon now. If you had a survey amongsts analysts, coaches, GMs, active players, etc about who the best pg in the game, it wouldn’t even be close. And you know that.

  • http://dfkjslf.com Jukai

    Allen: Freudian slip.
    Tavoris: that’s what the off-season is for. I’d find it hard to believe that if he scheduled the surgery the day after the championship, his pinkie would not heal in time.

  • http://slamonline.com Brad Long

    How did Kobe get worse?

  • tavoris

    Bryan, the only thing that Deron does better is man-to-man defense. Even that is negligible (since neither can be classified as lock-down defenders). Paul’s shooting gets dragged on, but he’s actually not all that bad.

  • tavoris

    Jukai, keep in mind that the injury occured in February for 2008…that’s roughly 16 months of improper healing. He would have to get the bone re-broken & realigned…that is, IF they could even do it at this point.

  • tavoris

    Z, you’re true, but Zeke also had mad love for Damon Stoudemire when he was running the Raptors

  • http://dfkjslf.com Jukai

    Brad: Stamina wise, mostly. Why do you think he takes off possessions on defense? He drives to the basket less and less every year… We know he’s playing for the post-season, but I mean, he’s worse.
    Tavoris: but that was Kobe’s choice to wait that long. Period.

  • tavoris

    Jukai, him waiting is the main reason he got a ring in June.

  • http://dfkjslf.com Jukai

    Tavoris: Why would you say that? Doctors said they could have done it in the off-season and probably had him back in time for the season but Kobe refused. It’s his fault. Period.

  • http://dfkjslf.com Jukai

    Also, how do you know they would not have won a championship anyway if Kobe missed a month or two? That’s such a bizarre thing to say.

  • tavoris

    not an excuse, but I understand why he shot the ball poorly for much of the Olympics, The most important thing is that he warmed up when it mattered, and the entire USA is happy for it(altho the “other” guy who lauds Spain’s team probably wet himself when Kobe’s J started to fall)

  • tavoris

    How so? The Lakers would have probably been around .500 in the west without Kobe…they definitely wouldn’t have finished #1 in the West. Just adding Kobe post-surgery (or any player) doesn’t mean they are playing at their most efficient selves. That’s precisely why T-Mac is NOT in the top 50.

  • http://dfkjslf.com Jukai

    Tavoris: Are you implying T-Mac would have been better injured?
    The Lakers were superior to most teams in the West. They lost multiple times at home and won on the road. Homecourt didn’t really seem to matter, only their drive. Therefore, who cares if they were first seed?

  • tavoris

    Jukai….no. re-read what I wrote. And it’s ludicrous to assume that the Lakers would have been nearly as dominant if they missed a third of the season without their best player. Alot of who wins is determined by WHEN a team peaks. Kobe would have not been Kobe (and the team would not have gelled in time)if he had the surgery last year. I thought he explained that when he decided NOT to have the surgery last summer.

  • tavoris

    Jukai, do yourself a favor and google “Kobe pinkie surgery espn”

  • tavoris
  • http://thatsbecauseheleftyallintherearviewutah fireman10101

    All these comments about deron gettin the better in h2h matchups is bull. Its probably because dwill feels like he has somethin to prove while paul is just lookin at it like oh well. Dwill wins the battle but cp3 or “the definition” wins the war. Its gonna be like that this year too while dwill watches cp3 in yet another allstar game in his hometown.

  • http://dfkjslf.com Jukai

    They would not have missed that much time…. Plus they gelled fine when they got Pau with 1/4th of the season over, and still got to the Finals.

  • tavoris

    Jukai, he decided against it once they said recovery is 12 weeks. That’s 3 months…that’s almost half the season. and that’s his shooting hand. come on…I kno you like to disagree for the sake of disagreeing, but come on…

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Tavoris, if Kobe got that surgery it would have been in September, which would have left him out until around Christmas. which is a little over a quarter of the season not nearly half.

  • Anony Mous

    C’mon 200! Usually I read all of the comments but I quit with this one around 100… Caught a bit of the D-Will ‘scussion too. I always liked Deron better, but stopped admitting it due to regular scoldings. I’m glad people agree with me on that though. Paul is probably the more talented player point guard wise, but meh, Will can score if he has to. He will end up averaging like 25 a game.

  • dfrance

    Personally I think CP3 is overrated and would gladly take DWILL over him anyday. DWill can get you all the assists you need, AND take over the game offensively AND not get manhandled on defense.

  • tavoris

    nbk…30 games…you’re using semantics to argue my point-& the very reason why obe declined the surgery.

  • http://SI d-fields

    @jukai….are u crazy…u said kobe only won last year cause his team was great…well of course….but u make it seem like kobe didnt do shit…nigga kobe avergage 32.4ppg..7.5assits..5.5rebs..that hasnt been done since jordan…and u got the nerve to say kobe got worse…what the hell!!..get out of here with that….kobe is still the best…the cavs and lebron were the team that everybody was picking…and guess what..they failed..and all of a sudden yall still want to say lebron is better than kobe…its like no matter what kobe does…ppl seem to ignore it,like it never happen..lots of excuses of lebron short commings…kobe better be num 1 in this list for the third strait year

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