FanPost

Is Dray$ The MVP – Most Versatile Player?

Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Day Day is certainly the man of the hour. Other than a certain Mr. Curry, that is. This of course is the caveat to Draymond's greatness. The words "system player" and "perfect fit" are thrown around as (backhanded) compliments. It's true, Draymond is the perfect fit for this team, and obviously running the point-forward position is easier when you have Steph and Klay as your wings, knocking down treys at a historical rate and racking you up assists. I get it, LeBron has to pass to JR Smith and Kyrie. They're pretty, pretty good, in a Larry David kinda way (i.e. meh), but not great.

Well, the most controversial role player in the league is putting up some big time numbers. We think of versatile players, and off the top of my head decided I would look up LeBron and Magic, and compare their all-around career best years to Dray this season. Apologies to old man Robertson, but his era didn't keep good stats (also look up articles on pace back then). Also honorable mention to Russell Westbrook and the Bay Area's own Jason Kidd. Both of whom own very impressive all around seasons, but through no fault of their own (lack of 6'6" plus height) are not rim protectors.

PLAYER POINTS REBOUNDS ASSISTS STEALS BLOCKS
DRAY 1,018 714 550 106 101
LEBRON 2,304 613 587 137 93
MAGIC 1,326 683 829 176 47

Things we learned? My god, Magic was a playmaker. Neither Bron or Day Day holds a candle to him in that regard. Dray's numbers are from this year of course, his age 26 season. LeBron's are from 08-09, his age 24 season. And Magic's are from 82-83, his age 23 season. What does all of that mean? Several things. My favorite thing that it means, is that LeBron will never be a better shot blocker than Draymond Green; fact. LeBron is very famous for his chase-down blocks in transition, but Dray is undoubtedly a better post defender and the numbers prove it. Magic had one season with more blocks (his age 24 season) but he failed to crack the 500 rebound barrier, so I chose to include the previous year. Magic also had 751 boards in his age 22 season, but "only" collected 34 blocks. He probably gets my vote for MVP of all time.

What can these comparisons tell us to expect from Draymond? We can definitely expect for him to keep evolving as a scorer. Probably mostly just from higher volume, as he continues to take on more responsibilities in the offense. We can also expect his rebounding numbers to start stagnating or dropping off. Ditto with blocks. These kinds of defensive things are more of a young man's game, and as Dray gets older he is going to have to evolve his game in terms of scoring and creating to compensate for this defensive drop off. With that said, we all hope that he ages like Duncan, and continues to be an excellent defender into his thirties. For a player of Draymond's IQ, I have faith that he will make these adjustments to his game as Father Time necessitates them. For LeBron, that 08-09 season was his efficiency peak, from a PER standpoint. For Magic, the campaign ranked a humble 9th out of his 13 campaigns. Draymond is certainly more like Magic than LeBron. For all of LeBron's IQ and playmaking, he is still a scorer first and foremost. A brute force.

Total Aside: At this point can we start to question LeBron's IQ? The Cavs are a fiasco. They could have a lineup of Kyrie, Wiggins, LeBron, Tristan Thompson and Mozgov with JR, Delly, and whoever off the bench. This is EXACTLY the kind of team that gives the Warriors problems. Long, and capable of switching the 1-4 positions, with more long capable defenders coming off the bench. I have to think that Wiggins would be scoring more efficiently at a lower volume, and his abilities on defense would be light years ahead of where it is now being able to receive tutelage from LeBron and guarding the other team's secondary players. JR doesn't have to start (always a plus) and you skip Kevin Love. Although on that last one I'll admit I wanted him, but I wasn't willing to give up Klay or Dray. Not to mention, if said team above fails, they have a more developed and still quite valuable Wiggins trade chip, on a cheap contract. They could more afford to overpay TT, and they would in theory still have money for another star to add to above roster last offseason. Like, for example, LaMarcus Aldridge. Anywho, that would be if LeBron knew anything about team building and fit. But Lebron is the Jon Snow of GMing.

How does ALL of that relate to Draymond? He's humble, and he isn't going to mess up this teams chemistry with front office manipulations or ego (and for those worried about his private life, the dude loves winning, I am pretty sure he will choose to continue being a Warrior over any outside distractions). I also think because of his role as a non-primary scorer for this team, that his playmaking skills will continue to grow. This year may very well be Draymond's best all around season, but perhaps, hopefully, it won't yet be his best basketball.

This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!