The small forward position is ridiculously top heavy. Andre Iguodala is listed as a 2 but I put him here anyway 'cause his skills are better suited here. Whatever.
10. Danilo Gallinari - Told you. He's actually pretty good and is still only entering his 3rd year, in Coach 'Antoni's system no less. Wouldn't be surprised to see him average around 20/game this year.
9. Terrence Williams - I have a rolling list of personal favorites and this guy has been on it since he was a freshman at Louisville in '05-'06. He's just a player. Basically Josh Smith in a G/F body, which would actually make him a better prospect if Smoove wasn't the best shot-blocker EVER. But I have high expectations for T-Will. Very high. If only I was drafting for Minnesota, I would've had Brandon Jennings and Terrence Williams instead of Jonny Flynn and the empty promise of Ricky Rubio #WordAapp.
8. Andre Iguodala - He'd be a great #2 or #3 on a good team and probably be ranked higher than this if he were, but as the #1 on a shit 6ers squad he doesn't really shine as much as he could. He's highly skilled and if Jrue Holiday continues to progress the way he did at the end of last year Iggy could be in for a nice year.
7. Paulina Pierce - Without question my most despised player in the NBA (Damon Jones, the King of the Coattail Riders, is out of the league, right?). Which is crazy, because he used to be one of my favorites. Now I wish the guy who stabbed him had finished the job. OK, that's kinda harsh, but still, WHAT A GODDAMN CLOWN. Somehow he still has the ability to put an entire Celtics offense on his back when they need it (offensive sets-be-damned), so I'll give him a shred of credit for that.
6. Gerald Wallace - The fact that he could average 18/game with such an awful offensive repertoire is a testament to how ferocious he is. It's rarely ever pretty but he's still a marvel to watch (even if, looking back, he effectively ended Gilbert Arenas' career...).
5. Danny Granger - I still haven't seen much of him, but he always jumped out on the rare occasions I did watch the Pacers. Maybe that was because he played with Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster and Roy Hibbert (ha)... well you see where I'm going with this. He is the prototypical swingman, and having Darren Collison running the offense should put him back around the top of the scoring list.
4. Rudy Gay - Another guy who's been on my list since he was a freshman. I got to see him shine against Brandon Roy (and lose to George Mason) in the regional finals in '06 and I was convinced that he should be the #1 pick in the draft (from what I remember he was Jordan's guy, too. NOT ADAM MORRISION DEAR GOD). Anyway, I like his game a lot, and I think he'll be ready to prove that he's worth the max deal he just signed.
3. Carmelo Anthony - How can a player be both overrated and underrated? I don't really know (actually I don't really care to analyze) but that's 'Melo in a nutshell. He is as close to a max player as someone can ever get without actually being worth a max deal. He's the most versatile scorer in the league, he became a CONSISTENT rebounder last year (he's a beast on the offensive glass), and he can shut anyone down when he wants to. Operative phrase, unfortunately.
2. Kevin Durant - THE EPITOME OF THE TERM 'FRANCHISE PLAYER.' If ever there was a messianic figure in these dark NBA days, THIS IS IT. I'm not even kidding. Also this. Ha.
1. LeBron James - The most revolutionary talent in the (recent) history of sports other than Mike Vick. I hope he figures it out. If he continues on the path he's on he could break every single statistical record and win 10 championships and still be the most disappointing player of all time.
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