Which Young Point Guard Do You Start Your Franchise With?

Which young point guard would you start an NBA franchise with? Answer this question in the comments below and you could find yourself featured in the next issue of Dime Magazine…

Imagine being Damian Lillard. I’m willing to bet the majority of you readers didn’t even know the name so much as 18 months ago. Now, he’s the runaway favorite to win Rookie of the Year. He’s leading Portland to possibly a surprise playoff visit. And he’s on national magazine covers.

On the cover of Dime 72, we called him the most exciting rookie since LeBron James, and while going through the years, we came upon a number of fascinating names. Sure, there was Blake Griffin, but he didn’t necessarily count since his actual rookie season was lost to injury. There was Dwight Howard, but he was more impacting than exciting. There was even Kevin Durant, but at the time, it was all about the future with KD. The names that stuck were Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Tyreke Evans and Kyrie Irving. Notice anything? They’re all point guards (‘Reke not so much anymore).

The NBA game is more wide open than ever, and having a great point guard can make magic happen. Yet because there are so many incredible lead guards coming up, our allegiance often switches. Hype. Injuries. Wins and losses. They all play a part in roller coaster NBA careers. Just ask John Wall, Derrick Rose or Ricky Rubio.

With point guards, it often always comes back to how successful they are, how many playoff series they win, how many deep postseason runs their team makes. And everyone has a different formula for that. Some still think you need “traditional” point guards, guys who can run an offense, get their teammates going first, and never feel starved for buckets. Other people might want an ultra-aggressive lead guard. They put pressure on defenses and give the offense an added dimension. That’s why arguing about the NBA’s best point guards is so much fun. When we ran a top 20 at the start of the season, it garnered more talk than perhaps the other four positions combined.

Which young point guard would you want to start your franchise with? Lillard is making his case this season, playing huge minutes and becoming a leader among men for an overachieving Portland squad that actually has a chance at the playoffs. But what about Irving? You get the feeling Cleveland would be AWFUL without him. Then again, we can’t forget about Derrick Rose. He might be injured, but when he was healthy, he was the league’s most dynamic player outside of LeBron. There are other options as well – Westbrook, Holiday, Rondo, Curry, Lawson, hell, maybe you even believe Eric Bledsoe could be an All-Star if given the chance.

Trust us when we say the rankings will be different a year from now than they are presently. But that can’t keep us from arguing over who we’d want.

Which young point guard would you start an NBA franchise with? Answer this question in the comments below and you could find yourself featured in the next issue of Dime Magazine…

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