Whatever. I'm fully aware that I'm in the minority and it'll be about another 3 years before people really start to come around. I mean, how many of you thought that Nate was a good coach 2 years ago, 3 years ago? And only became aware of his mediocrity within the past year?
I'm willing to change my opinion of LMA, I just don't think it's likely to happen. I do admit that he's gotten better, but he's certainly not the best PF in the league, nor will he ever be. If you want to call him Top 10 I'll respect your opinion much more than if you insist on saying that he's the best. But if you think he's the best then your opinion is more off-base than mine. I realize that I do undervalue him when I say he's an average starting PF (meaning roughly 15th best). When I say this I'm weighting individual skills (dribbling, passing, rebounding, etc) and coordination/strength more than I'm weighting stats/production. If I were to weight stats/production more heavily then I'd put him Top 10. I just can't get over (a) how overrated he is, and (b) how ugly, uncoordinated, and weak his game is - but for being all of those things he does contribute quite well. Though I still maintain that the PF position needs to be more than just points and rebounds, and LMA just doesn't do those "little" things that I feel a PF needs to do - his picks aren't good, his help-defense is terrible, and while his ability to kick out of the post when doubled has improved dramatically, overall he's not a good passer (or pass recipient when on the move), and of course he's not half as good a shooter as people think he is. And as a "franchise player" he's more underwhelming given his inability to contribute during crunch time, or put the effort in to anchor a defense.