I don't agree that any of those players were actually even close to Paul. Kidd was a great point guard. I think Payton was even better than Kidd and a top-five point guard of all-time. Nash was very good but tremendously overrated...you say defense is underrated when talking about Payton and then venerate Nash, who's defense was abysmal. Defense is underrated and while Nash was flashy, he was neither transcendent offensively nor even slightly valuable on defense.
Paul, until last year when he struggled with injuries, was putting up historically good production. He was right behind LeBron James in PER. Paul's no defensive whiz like Payton or Kidd, but he's solid. Deron Williams has almost never been anywhere close to Paul. He's constantly compared to Paul because they were drafted together and people love to act as though that makes players rivals. Carmelo Anthony was compared to James for several years, despite clearly being worse, until it just became too silly to continue. I think Deron Williams is around Roy's caliber and Paul is around Wade's value. There's a clear and significant difference.
The only point guards in history I'd prefer over Paul are Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson.
