NBA Star Power Index: Anthony Davis, pelicans, changes tempo; The Kevin Durant warriors are already part of GOAT



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Welcome to NBA Star Power Index – a weekly indicator of the players who most control the buzz around the league. Reminder: The inclusion on this list is not necessarily a good thing. It just means that you capture the attention of the NBA world. In addition, it is not a classification. The players listed are in no particular order with respect to the buzz they generate. This column will be broadcast weekly until the end of the regular season.

The trade that did not take place was still the subject of the All-Star Weekend. In media availability Saturday morning in Charlotte, Davis refuted the idea that the Celtics have never been on his list of favorite teams. Davis went even further, stating that no team, in fact, was excluded.

A source close to the situation told CBS Sports during the weekend All-Star that the Pelicans also considered that the 29 teams were at stake, which largely explains why they dismissed Davis Lakers before February 7 . "You have influence when two teams are interested in a player," the source said. "With Anthony Davis, everyone is interested [on some level]. "

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That's true. We have seen teams ready to swap superstars with a potential rental of one year. the Thunder did it for Paul George. The Raptors did it for Kawhi Leonard. Sources told CBS Sports that the Nuggets were beating Davis tires by the deadline. It is prudent to assume the same for many teams and, as such, no team should be excluded in future business negotiations with Davis. In the way that pelicans see things, it means that there is much more information to glean before making a decision. "How do some players play in series?" the source said. "Who will end up with choice # 1? That's all the information that is still available."

In the end, the Pelicans think they can take their time to gather information and continue an exchange with the Boston Celtics in July, including Jayson Tatum – who, according to some sources, is the only young player to have taken part in discussions to this day, according to New Orleans. potential to become a top-10 player – and if all goes well, the Lakers will stay there waiting with the same offer. The sources with which I spoke around the league think that this is also true. The Lakers become desperate. For the moment, New Orleans still has the weight.

Lillard has been in the news this week by going on the podcast Posted Up with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports and saying that he "does not want" to sell for a championship asking for an exchange out of Portland. Lillard said a lot more than that in his sentence. His point of view is incredible, without touching anyone who has chosen a different career path in search of a championship. Lillard simply told him that for him, talking for no one else, it was more than championships, that these decisions had an impact on people's lives and on families beyond the his. It is worth reading a larger part of Lillard's point of view. From Yahoo Sports:

"I want to win a championship, but there are other things that matter to me – it's almost like I do not want to sell myself for it."

He has also begun to appreciate those around him, from coaches to coaches through to teammates, and what a wave can do in an organization.

"Obviously, we're all playing to win a championship, I want to win a championship, I'm competing to win a championship, but I've learned that it's a lot of other things, relationships, the impact you have about others and their lives and the impact you can have on their career, so for me, I like that. "

Lillard gave the following scenario: if he asked, it would "ruin things for others", like moving players into other teams – for example by stripping the board for restitution – or by giving up players, potentially ending a career. It's not just an impact on a player, but on an entire family, he said.

"And that could affect too many people for one, two, you can go somewhere else and you're not sure of winning a championship, so I mean, for reasons like that, I'm like a man, I I'm more in where I am as a person, you know, the relationships and the impact it could have on people … When my career is over, I'll know what relationships I'm going to have, I'll know the people who knew that I was solid with them, whether it was at the top or if I controlled everything I did the right way, that I took the situation of people and their families and what could be taken into consideration before taking a decision is what would be best for me, that's what people want me to do. "

Kevin Durant won the all-star MVP title, adding to his two consecutive NBA runner-up titles, a league title and four titles, as he continues to accumulate a legacy that he has earned. It is impossible to define as being one of the greatest of all times. It looks like he's playing a game different from all the others.

Even LeBron can not shoot as easily as Durant. Whether it's a fade at the bottom of the pole, a bounce pull-up or a 25-foot 3-pointer with a hand to the face, you are shocked at not going there. I spent the Saturday morning in Charlotte asking a group of stars what skills they would take from some players to create the perfect basketball player, and almost every one of them just said that they would take all of K.D.'s "skill" – which is another way of saying K.D. is pretty much the perfect basketball player. Already with that size and length, with this jumper and these ball skills, with the evolving elite defense, is there a way to really argue that?

In the four minutes that Dirk Nowitzki played in the all-star game, he made three shots on goal, three tries.

Before the star game, I was chatting with one of our producers to find out if Dirk was an excellent shooter. He said yes. I said no. Dirk is only a 3-point shooter at 38% of his career. As a scorer almost entirely perimeter, the total shooting percentage of 47% of Nowitzki is impressive. With the way he has changed the way the big ones are used and considered as the main perimeter threats, Nowitzki is a revolutionary shooter, no doubt. He is a awesome shooter. But one of the biggest ever? Shooting purely? I would say no.

For me, great all the time is part of the top 10 at least, and there are 10 best shooters than Dirk over the 73 years of the NBA's history. Steph Curry, Ray Allen, Klay Thompson, Reggie Miller, Steve Nash, Larry Bird, Mark Price, Dale Ellis and Kevin Durant are indisputable. You can debate guys who are too old to see them.

Whatever it is, when Dirk came out and defended all the tall people around the world, he consolidated another type of legendary status.

Dwyane Wade said after his last all-star game, in which he scored seven points in just over 10 minutes of action, that the only thing he wanted to do was: throw a last lob at LeBron. Well, he did it and LeBron threw one at Wade for good measure.

Like Dirk, having Wade in this game during his last season was an incredibly smart move from the NBA. Wade is one of the greatest players of all time – for my money he is the third best goalkeeper in the history behind Jordan and Kobe – and allow the NBA to allow fans to seeing once again alongside LeBron has been amazing. Wade can clearly still play. He retires on his own terms. What career we are all watching end.

If you did not know, Steph Curry is the man in Charlotte. They were playing at his old Davidson games 10 years ago at the bar for shouting loudly. When he dropped 19 straight marks in the contest in 3 points – his last 10 of the first round and his first nine of the last round – the crowd stood up like a gladiator entering the Coliseum.

OK, it may be dramatic. But you understand the point. Hornets star Kemba Walker is approaching hero status, but no one can touch Curry in Charlotte. Honestly, this could include Michael Jordan. As for the all-star game, Curry was a disappointment aside from some crazy games. He almost always fights with his ASG shot. But he probably did the highlight of the game with this – shall we say – bounce move to Giannis:

Curry made the most waves during a conversation with Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer – in which Curry broke off a conversation he had with James Harden and which could have been perceived as a dig in the style of Harden and / or Rockets – that Curry may not have realized was being recorded.

"It's interesting because I was talking to James in the back, I obviously complimented him for what he did," Curry told Budenholzer. "The first thing he said was:" Yeah, it's fun, but I want to play differently. [than] like playing alone, no matter, hero ball. But as if people wanted him to play like that in a system where they can really play nice basketball with guys who can play. "

The NBA. Where the drama is king

Beal openly admitted for having tampered with during the All-Star Weekend, claiming that he had used the star rally to invite players to come play with him in Washington.

If that was what LeBron said, a federal file would be open. That's all.

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