Dwight Howard and Jeremy Lin.
Andrew Bynum and Kyrie Irving.
If you were trying to build a team from nothing, which tandem would you rather have?
Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey has spent the entire offseason trying to put together the first tandem. He reeled in Lin on Tuesday night but has been unable to get the Orlando Magic to budge on Howard.
Cleveland Cavaliers GM Chris Grant may be trying to put together the second tandem. He drafted Irving just over a year ago and reportedly may be trying to acquire Bynum in a three-team trade that would send Anderson Varejao and draft picks to the Magic and Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers.
All four players are still very young, ranging in age from Irving’s 20 to Howard’s 26. All four have had serious injuries in the last 18 months, ranging from a broken hand to a bad back to multiple knee woes. All four appear to have considerable clearance between where they are now and their ceiling.
Before you answer – and we expect you to answer in your typical Sheridan Hoops reader spirited fashion in the comments section below – we thought we’d break down all four players, then give you our choice.
DWIGHT HOWARD
Upside: The best center in the game and a top-five player. … Arguably the best rebounder in the league and inarguably the most impactful defensive player. … Excellent pick-and-roll player whose low-post game is clearly improving. … Good composure with opponents given the beatings he takes from them on a nightly basis. … When he is on your team, you can pencil in 50 wins and a playoff berth regardless of the personnel around him. … Figures to get better.
Downside: Behavior over the last year has made him the biggest diva in the NBA. … Doesn’t make his free throws and never will. … Previously indestructible reputation tarnished by back injury last season, which could be a problem going forward. … Poor composure with referees and a threat to face suspension every season. … Not as good as LeBron James.
JEREMY LIN
Upside: Pass-first point guard and an outstanding pick-and-roll player. … Underrated as both a finisher 
around the rim and as a distance shooter. … Embraces the big moment when most players with his background and lack of experience would shy away from it. … Remarkable composure both on and off the court. The PR department can stand at ease when he speaks to the media. … Now that he’s out from under the media microscope of New York, figures to get better.
Downside: His current level of play has been sustained for less than half a full season. … Broke down at the end of last season with a knee injury, raising questions about his durability. … Not a good defender, which may be attributable to his limited experience. … Has a tendency to play outside of his limitations, which makes him highly prone to turnovers. … Not as good as LeBron James.
ANDREW BYNUM
Upside: The second-best center in the game and a top-15 player. … Could be a perennial top-five scorer and rebounder in a situation where he is the first option. … Has strong footwork and great hands which allow him to catch and deliver shots or passes from rim height, removing help defenders from the play. … Probably would benefit from a change of scenery where he is not in the shadow of a huge star. … Figures to get better.
Downside: Until this past season was remarkably injury-prone with troublesome knees that already have undergone three surgeries. … Has exhibited knucklehead behavior on several occasions, whether it be firing 3-pointers in transition or taking cheap shots at opponents or illegally parking in spots for the disabled or skipping meetings with the general manager. … May not have the maturity to deal with the responsibility of being “the guy.” … Not as good as LeBron James.
KYRIE IRVING
Upside: Phenomenal penetrator who can get to the rim and finish against any defender. … Not a volume 
shooter and effective enough from 3-point range to keep defenses more than honest. … Showed an innate ability to take over games down the stretch, uncommon for any rookie. … More than held his own against Team USA’s trio of All-Star point guards this summer. … Figures to get better.
Downside: Still has a shoot-first mentality that limits his ability to make teammates appreciably better. … Has to stop settling for pull-up jumpers and develop his in-between game to better take advantage of his excellent free-throw shooting. … Has to improve his commitment to the defensive end. … Has had a serious toe injury, a sprained shoulder and a broken hand in the last 20 months, raising questions about his durability. … Not as good as LeBron James.
So which tandem do you take?
I see the argument for Bynum and Irving. Both have room for expansive growth as players – Bynum because he has played in the shadow of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol for several years, Irving because he plays a position that requires the development of the highest basketball IQ. Given their youth, they could forge a bond that could last a decade. But they seem like a give-and-go tandem.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Maybe I’m wrong, but it just seems that the relationship between point guard and center in today’s NBA should be more pick-and-roll than give-and-go.
I am not a huge fan of either Howard or Lin. I have been worn down by Howard’s incessant petulance and I have serious misgivings about Lin’s ability to approach and sustain the ridiculous level he briefly established last season. And I don’t believe either player has another quantum leap in him; going forward, any uptick will be incremental.
But Lin made Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler more effective; even better, he made himself more effective by playing off them. His potential fit with Howard feels similar, with lobs and jumpers off the screen and twisting, driving layups and follow hammer dunks. Right now, Lin and Howard just seem like they fit together better.
That’s the pedantic answer. The short answer is Howard is by far the best player of the four. So I’ll take the tandem that includes him.
You can agree or disagree below.
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Lin is pass-first?
Take a look at his usage rates, among the highest in the league.
Also, Lin worked well with Ty C, but had trouble doing any PnR with Amare, getting Amare the ball heading towards the rim or getting Amare open jumpers. I’m guessing one reason the Knicks went with Felton is because he showed he can work the two man game with Amare, while Lin couldn’t. Now Lin and Dwightmare make make a nice pairing, as Lin loved Ty’s big picks and delayed rolls into the lane. And Dwight has better hands than Ty.
Howard’s the best player out of the 4. So, I’ll taking any pairing with Howard
My feelings exactly. What’s the old NBA trade axiom? The team that gets the best player in the trade gets the better of the trade. Almost always true.
Ask yourself who wins a 7-game series 2 years from now– Cavs (with Bynum and Irving) or Rockets (with Howard and Lin). The answer to that question should tell you everything you need to know.
Lin is a good kid, fine player, etc. etc. But everyone who thinks that a Howard/Lin pairing is superior to a Bynum/Irving one is seriously underestimating how much better Irving is than Lin (no surprise, given the amount of times Lin appeared on national TV last season, ~10, versus how many times Irving did, ~0). This debate doesn’t hinge on whether you think Howard is better than Bynum (he probably is, but nobody thinks it is by a lot). The question boils down to Lin and Irving. Do you want 2 superstars on your team, or just 1 and a nice role player?
Dan knows his basketball. To take your claim one step further, kyrie will not only be a top 3 point guard in the nba but will also be a top 3 player period.
Appreciate that Sean. As a Cavs fan I hope you’re right about that.
I think Howard is WAY better than Bynum. Like I said in the piece – I get the Bynum/Irving argument. I just want the best player. And Howard is the best player of the four, by far.
But based on what do you conclude that Howard is “by far” the best player? He has better raw numbers than Bynum, but Howard is the centerpiece of that team. Bynum plays with one of the greatest players of his generation in Kobe, and an all-star PF/C in Gasol. Their advanced stats and per-36 stats are both similar, with Howard having the slight edge. I don’t think anyone would dispute that Howard is the best player, I just question by how much. He clearly has a bigger impact defensively and on the glass, but again, playing next to Glen Davis (and before that, Rashard Lewis) isn’t really going to eat into Howard’s rebounding numbers the way playing next to Pau does for Bynum. I think it is also clear that Bynum has a more developed post game and at least an average 10-12 foot jump shot. Dwight has NO jump shot, can’t shoot free throws, and his post game consists of overpowering smaller players. And none of this is to say he isn’t the better player, because he is.
And I’m not so sure that you couldn’t flip Kyrie and Bynum for the second-best player on this list. I really think it’s too hard to rank all 4 in the same list– PG and C are just too different; it’s difficult to separate elite players that play 2 different positions because they bring such different things to a team. But here’s a smell test– do you think any team in the league would give up Kyrie to get Bynum, straight up? I doubt it.
I get your point about wanting to get the best player, but it’s too simplistic. Why would you want 1 superstar and 1 role player when you could have 2 superstars (or at least, a superstar and a perennial all-star). Dwight has already shown what he can do with a supporting cast of decent role players. Should a team’s only goal to be consistently a 2-4 seed in the playoffs with one fluky finals appearance over 4 years?
“But here’s a smell test– do you think any team in the league would give up Kyrie to get Bynum, straight up? I doubt it. ”
This is exactly it. Kyrie, as everyone will soon see, is an extremely rare kind of talent. They say you can’t teach big, but you also can’t teach the kind of drive/hunger/desire Kyrie possesses coupled with his fundamentally sound basketball play.
He has it all:
-The ability to take it to the hole, finish with either hand off any point of the glass, and most importantly demand the other team’s respect in the paint
-The money jumpshot, both midrange and at the perimeter (47% FG and 40% 3PT) that also demands utmost respect, which effectively spaces the floor
-Willing and great passer (can’t say elite..yet) with great to elite court vision. Ended season #11 in Assist % while maintaining 18.5 points per game despite only playing 30.1 minutes a game (30.1 minutes per game is just ridiculous, I’m not going to even bother doing rookie comparisons) Only Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Derrick Rose finished the 2011/12 season higher in BOTH points per game and assist% and keep in mind Kyrie is a rookie..
-One of the most important things at the point guard, he is by no means a defensive liability. He is not a great defender by any means but 1.1 steals and .5 blocks a game in 30 minutes suggests he has a supremely juicy ceiling in counting stats. Good help defender with good, potentially great, hands in the passing lanes.
-He is a bonafide leader, one that leads by example and, despite his age, demands the full attention and respect of his teammates. Antawn Jamison nailed it when he said Kyrie’s the kind of superstar you want on your team because he doesn’t think he’s better than everyone else.
-Most importantly: he not only wants it, he takes it. This is the single most important trait about Kyrie. He is not one who is satisfied with the want. He does WHATEVER it takes to win; his winning is not defined by an ill-advised last possession iso jumper (looking at you Kobe)
Getting into a few advanced metrics:
-Kyrie’s rookie PER ( 21.4) was the 3rd highest by any guard in the 3point era (#1MJ #2CP3)
-Kyrie’s rookie .566 TS% (True Shooting %, which includes FG, 3P% and FT%) is one of the most efficient I’ve ever seen. I compiled a list of the rookie year TS% from the elite guards of the past 2 decades and towards the end started to have to TRY to find people who were more efficient than him in their rookie seasons:
Kyrie 566
Reggie 580
Jordan 592
Magic 602
Zeke 487
Russ 489
Parker 497
Deron 500
Tim Hardaway 525
Penny 531
Bird 538
Nash 539
Ray Allen 541
CP3 546
Stockton 548
Yea, let that soak in. Look at the 3 players that were ahead of him.. Only the best pure shooter and the 2 best players of all time..no biggie.
-Kyrie Irving was, in definite fact, the most clutch player in the NBA last year and it wasn’t even close: http://www.82games.com/1112/CSORT11.HTM. 54.4% FG in the clutch…money.
Irving + Gortat or Hibbert or Al Jeff > Dwight + Lin
Boom.
Sean is the man.
Yea because when Howard was the best player on the court, that really propelled them past Atlanta . Howard is a headcase and just because he is a little better than Bynum doesn’t mean him and an ok point guard(Lin) are gonna be better than Bynum and Irving together. You’re just wrong Chris. Also get off Lebron’s nuts, we get he’s the best player in the league. I’d still take Kobe or Durant.
The gap between Irving and Lin is bigger than the gap between Howard and Bynum. Lin may prove me wrong, but at the moment, this debate sounds to me a lot like Howard vs Bynum + Irving.
There’s a minuscule chance this may change over the next season, but right now frankly you have to go Bynum + Irving.
Irving is good but he wont even be the third best PG in three yrs. Williams, Westbrook and Rondo will be better. As far as the 1-4, Irving will still be third best on this list in three years, no way he’s better than Howard or Bynum, even though I don’t like them.
Dude what where you watching last season he is the Rookie of the year and the Rookie All-star MVP but 1 out of three of those point guards that you name can win games with out other stars and thats Derron Williams
Write this down. 3 years from now Irving will be among the top 3 point guards in the NBA.
He is already a more efficient player than Westbrook and a FAR better scorer than Rondo probably ever will be.
And I’m not so sure that 1 year from now most people wouldn’t put him ahead of Bynum. Ask yourself this– would an NBA GM really give up Irving for Bynum in a straight up deal right now? I highly highly doubt it.
Can’t compare Howard and Irving– 2 completely different positions.
But the production you would get from Bynum is almost equal to that you can expect from Dwight, and he is younger with a slightly better offensive repertoire. On attitude and injury concerns they are probably a wash. Slight edge to Dwight here based on rebounding, defense, and star potential.
But this question is really decided in the debate between Kyrie and Lin. Lin is a nice player, and will probably be among the top 15-20 PGs in the league if healthy. But Irving is a star in the making. He looks like a young Chris Paul, and in 3 years could be the best PG in the league per Byron Scott (a guy who knows a thing or two about good NBA point guard, see CP3 and J-Kidd). He is already among the top-7 PGs in the league (with D-will, Rose, Paul, Russ, Nash, Parker). The clear and overwhelming winner here is Irving.
So, add that up and you get a slight victory for the Irving/Bynum combo over the Dwight/Lin combo. Add in the fact that Irving and Bynum are both younger than their counterparts, and this is an easy choice. If Cleveland can lock down a Top-5 PG and Top-5 Center for the foreseeable future, they absolutely must do it.
I had pretty similar reasoning and picked the same tandem as you. One thing I’m surprised at is how no one is really bringing up Bynum’s injury concerns. Since he came into the league he’s missed 0, 47, 32, 17, 28, and 6 games. That doesn’t count his rookie year when he played 46/82 games (I didn’t count it because I don’t know if he was just buried on the bench or injured. Too lazy to look.)
Dwight has only missed 19 games total in his 8 years in the league, with 12 of those coming this year. The back injury is an area of concern, but until it proves to be a chronic problem, you almost have to consider Bynum’s knees a bigger red flag.
Thought I mentioned Bynum’s jmultiple knee surgeries. Definitely a factor. Thought it was ironic all have had considerable hurts in last year except Bynum, who has worst injury history of the four
Sorry, I meant the people commenting hadn’t brought it up. You definitely did.
I’d take Irving/Bynum over Lin/Howard. If you put aside the marketability of Lin, I’m not a big fan of his game. Although Howard is better than Bynum, the gap between those two is smaller than the gap between Irving and Lin. I think Irving will be a top-three PG within the next few years. Pair a top-three pg with the second best C in the league and you’re in a great position.
Part of this is probably driven by how sick I am of Dwight Howard and his diva attitude. Bynum has an attitude/edge on the court, which I would take over a whiny teenager off the court. I hope Dwight has to play at least one more game in an Orlando uniform at home just so the fans have the opportunity to properly boo him. Then I hope he continues to get boo’d in every arena he goes to from now on.
GtThis can’t be a serious question… Anyone who would choose Dwight and lin over kyrie and Bynum is absolutely delusional or simply doesn’t know anything about basketball.
If you ordered the players in terms of ability and resume, it would be Howard, Bynum, Irving and Lin. So you have the 1-4 tandem vs. the 2-3 tandem. This is the way teams are seeded, so, yes, it is a serious question. You obviously feel differently, which is what the piece is supposed to be about.
But Lin is a DISTANT 4 on this list. That’s what makes the difference here.
It’s really like choosing between a 1A and 4 pairing, or a 1B and 1C pairing
I don’t know if you’re playing devil’s advocate original youre serious in your logic of 1 and 4 vs 2 and 3. First off, within 3 years kyrie will be #1 of these 4 and as Dan said, lin is an extremely distant 4. Please tell me you were just playing devil’s advocate.
Chris, I agree with your breakdown, but just like Dan I think Lin is a distant 4th. A better argument probably would have been Kevin Martin over Lin, someone who if I remember correctly you thought was an All-Star last year. If you look at both Kyrie’s #s and the way he played his rookie year he has the potential to be similar to Derrick Rose in #s and affect on his team. If the Cavs get Bynum I will no longer worry about the Pacers long term in the Bulls division but I will have to again worry about the Cavs.
Kevin Martin might be an even more distant 4th on the list. Volume scorer, not a winning player. Really inconsistent.
I agree on Lin being a distant 4th. But IMO I also see Howard as above and beyond Bynum, far more than anyone who has commented here. Don’t like him at all but believe his singular impact is greater than Kobe, Durant, anyone else except maybe LeBron.
Agreed– Howard is the best player. But is he THAT much better than Bynum? Their #s-per-36 minutes are very similar, same with PER. Howard has a slight edge, especially as a defender and rebounder. But Bynum is younger and has a more polished offensive game. He is also the 3rd option on his team, and plays next to another All-Star 7-footer (which likely eats into his rebounding #s). I do think Howard is better, but if they were put in similar situations I think you would see comparable numbers, especially projecting over the next 3 years.
And as you said yourself, choosing between Bynum and Howard is probably choosing between the best and second-best center in the game. Unlike the choice between Kyrie and Lin, which is the choice between the 5th best PG and the 15th best PG (if that). If I had to choose a PG for the next 3 years, there are probably only 2 or 3 I would pick over Irving. But there are at least a dozen I would pick over Lin.
Give me enough time and column inches and I could convince even you Chris!
Get some of your fellow writers to weigh in. I bet Sheridan is with me!