Marvin vs. Okafor: Who would start you franchise?

[RAHMOR]

Found this over a RealGM.

http://www.realgm.com/src_beyondthearc/42/...afor_vs_marvin/

Our Saturday match-up pits two former NCAA basketball champions against one another in a Southwest division battle. Atlanta’s Marvin Williams and Charlotte’s Emeka Okafor had a great deal of success in the college game, but have yet to taste victory in the NBA. Both players have had tremendous expectations placed upon them because of when they were drafted. Okafor was selected with the second overall pick in 2004, and Williams was drafted second in 2005.

The Case for Okafor

Emeka has the talent and drive to become the next David Robinson, and during his rookie year he showed why he warranted the top pick in 2004. He played a tremendous amount of minutes in his first season and averaged 15.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, earning Rookie of the Year honors in the process. If he can improve his offensive game he’ll turn into a perennial all-star.

The Case against Okafor

While he has shown just how good he can be on the court, injuries seem to have become a problem for the former Connecticut standout. Following his Rookie of the Year campaign Okafor struggled to remain on the court last season, and an ankle injury eventually shut him down for the season. Playing in twenty-three games he still put up good numbers, 13.2 points and 10 rebounds a night, but it remains to be seen if he can duplicate his rookie year and sustain those numbers over an eighty-two game schedule.

The Case for Marvin

Despite the fact that Billy Knight and the Atlanta Hawks don’t always make the best management decisions, there was good reason why the Hawks took him with the number two pick in the 2005 draft. Williams is an extremely versatile forward, and was the first of four Tar Heels picked that year. As far as Atlanta is concerned, Chris Paul may have been a better pick in retrospect, but Williams’s full potential is still a few seasons away from being realized.

The Case against Marvin

Sure, most people around the game of basketball expect Marvin to become one of the league’s premier players one day, but time is money and when building a franchise from scratch you want a guy who can help you win now. Also, consider the fact that all-purpose swingmen have become a dime a dozen these days and Marvin becomes a less attractive option as a franchise cornerstone.

The choice is yours – Who would you rather start an NBA franchise with?

BTW Okafor is winning with 64% of the vote on RealGM.

[Packfill]

It is really too early to determine. If I had the choice between the two coming out of college I would have chosen Okafor. Right now his injuries scare me but I think he has potential - not David Robinson potential but maybe Alonzo Mourning potential. Marvin is all potential no production, so it is really hard to say. This year will be important for both.

[CBAreject]

If the question were Dwight Howard vs. Marvin Williams, it would be much more clear cut. The trouble with Okafor is that he's not the "David Robinson" type prospect this article claims. He's also quite injury prone.

I would go with Marvin over Okafor because of the injuries. With the question of Howard vs. MW, it would be Howard all the way.

[RAHMOR]

They have another poll on RealGm with Howards vs. Wade. Which way would you go with that one?

[vdunkndunk]

Wade vs. Howard is a tough one. If I wanted to win a championship in the next 2 or 3 years I'd go with Wade. In the long terms, though, I think Howard is going to improve quite a bit and he could be an absolute beast.

[CBAreject]

Wade. No explanation required.

Well, I guess for this team, you could make an argument for Howard, given his position. We have a good SG and tons of SF's, so Wade doesn't "fill a need". However, Wade is just dominant, whereas Howard might become dominant. It's a little closer choice for us. The question, though, was which player to start a team with, and that would be D. Wade.

[gsuteke]

Quote:

---

If the question were Dwight Howard vs. Marvin Williams, it would be much more clear cut. The trouble with Okafor is that he's not the "David Robinson" type prospect this article claims. He's also quite injury prone.

I would go with Marvin over Okafor because of the injuries. With the question of Howard vs. MW, it would be Howard all the way.

---

you just can't compare players drafted at the same slot in different drafts.

and the Howard comparison should be Bogut because they were picked in the same slot

nobody here would even think of taking Bogut over Howard. you can't say X player should not have been drafted at X slot if you are using another year's draft talent as your measuring stick.

[CBAreject]

Quote:

---

you just can't compare players drafted at the same slot in different drafts.

---

You can compare whatever you want to. The question wasn't "Did we make a mistake in taking Marvin instead of Okafor?" In that case, your point would be valid. We're talking about which young, promising player to start a team with. For this article, the relationship is that they play for southeastern clubs that are building with young talent. Howard also fits that description.

[Final_quest]

Right now I'll say Marvin Williams, but that's assuming Okafor is an injury risk. Even without the injury risk I would say Marvin has a better chance at becoming a star, though.

[gsuteke]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

you just can't compare players drafted at the same slot in different drafts.

---

You can compare whatever you want to. The question wasn't "Did we make a mistake in taking Marvin instead of Okafor?" In that case, your point would be valid. We're talking about which young, promising player to start a team with. For this article, the relationship is that they play for southeastern clubs that are building with young talent. Howard also fits that description.

---

because not only is that a waste of breath it's also a waste of internet message board space.

i'm not getting into the arguing hypotheticals thing i guess is the issue.

[CBAreject]

That's what the whole thread is about, GSU. Go read the article again. It's about a hypothetical choice for a player around which to build your team. OKAFOR VS. MARVIN.

If you're "not getting into the arguing about hypotheticals", then why did you post in this thread? I guess it was only to argue against the posing of hypotheticals in the first place, which is arguing just the same.

[bird_dirt]

with our current roster, i would have to go with howard. although, if it would be guaranteed wade would still get all the calls his way by the refs like he was getting last year (esp. in the playoffs), then i would seriously have to consider wade.

[Johnnybravo4]

Anyone who would take Howard over Wade at this point for any reason is nuts. How many Finals MVP's do you need?

[AHF]

Quote:

---

Anyone who would take Howard over Wade at this point for any reason is nuts. How many Finals MVP's do you need?

---

I would take Howard without thinking over Finals MVP Chauncey Billups.

[Diesel]

Quote:

---

Anyone who would take Howard over Wade at this point for any reason is nuts.

---

If the sky opened up and the Gods allowed us (the Hawks) to have the choice between Wade and Howard, who do you think we would take.

I say Howard all day.

The reasoning is simple. Where would we put Wade? Would he play in front of JJ? Of course not.

Why would we want another SG who can not run an offense when we could have a dominant Big (which is something that we lack).

The already realized potential of Howard is too great to pass up. Last year, he led the league in rebounds. His offense is starting to come around. We cannot pass on that type of talent just to get another scorer. Part of what makes Wade so great is that there is sufficient play at the 4 and 5 position.

Taking Wade over Howard for us would be making a team with all flash but no real substance. We would be fun to watch and competitive but we would not be a threat to win a championship.

[Johnnybravo4]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Anyone who would take Howard over Wade at this point for any reason is nuts.

---

If the sky opened up and the Gods allowed us (the Hawks) to have the choice between Wade and Howard, who do you think we would take.

I say Howard all day.

The reasoning is simple. Where would we put Wade? Would he play in front of JJ? Of course not.

Why would we want another SG who can not run an offense when we could have a dominant Big (which is something that we lack).

The already realized potential of Howard is too great to pass up. Last year, he led the league in rebounds. His offense is starting to come around. We cannot pass on that type of talent just to get another scorer. Part of what makes Wade so great is that there is sufficient play at the 4 and 5 position.

Taking Wade over Howard for us would be making a team with all flash but no real substance. We would be fun to watch and competitive but we would not be a threat to win a championship.

---

Howard is not a dominant big man. He isn't even on Chris Bosh level yet. He is an amazing talent and may grow up to be an elite level center. However let's be real here. Howard has no offensive game whatsoever. He gets his points off of athleticism and guile. He is an elite rebounder though already, I would give him that. But he has yet to develop the intangibles that would allow me to take him over Wade, who took his team to the playoffs as a rookie.

[Johnnybravo4]

And oh yeah if he played for the Hawks, he'd start at the 2 and Jojo would be moved to SF.

Speedy/Lue

Wade/Lue

Joe Johnson/Childress

Smoove/Marvin/

Zaza/Lo/Shelden

If you can't win with that team then you just can't coach