Who will be the next McGrady/Carter/Iverson?

[NYSpirit1]

When I say the next McGrady/Carter/Iverson, I mean guys that were elite and have had a really fast fall from grace.

Carter, Iverson and McGrady - as well as a lesser extent Gilbert Arenas, were all elite players for a long time. And within a mere matter of 2-3 years, those 4 have went from thought of as top 10-15 players (McGrady/Iverson/Carter top 5-10 for sure at one point), to role players.

Arenas is riding the bench in Memphis, Carter is a complete shell of what he once was and McGrady is just an ordinary role player as well. Iverson's completely out of the league, which is kind of shocking.

It's kind of unbelievable to think about it considering how big of superstars Carter, Iverson and McGrady were that they are this worthless and meaningless now. Just as recent as the 2007-08 season, all of them averaging over 21 and Iverson was third in the NBA in scoring. And we're talking face of the league popular for these guys.

These guys didn't just get old with diminished skills like a Kidd, Garnett, Duncan or even Shaq, they just fell off the face of the earth. I mean really, four years ago did you expect McGrady to be getting 5.1 PPG, Carter 9.6 PPG, Arenas 5.4 PPG and Iverson nothing? Really shocking.

What superstar today do you think will be there in the next 5 years?

I thought of the topic by watching the games today. Carter looks ordinary out there.

Wade, LeBron, Melo, Bosh, Amare, Chris Paul - all of them are at a point in their careers where they need to do something special to define themselves. Are they going to be at an elite level when they are 33-34 like a Kobe/Dirk or will they be completely diminished like McGrady is at 31?

Because when you think about it -- McGrady, Carter, Iverson were the Wade, Melo and LeBron of 5-7 years ago. And to think if Wade, Melo and LeBron don't win any titles, that they would be as irrelevant as T-Mac, Vince and AI are now, is just a weird thought.

And really, if Iverson, T-Mac and Vince formed a "Big Three" in a year like 04-05, they would have been every bit as big and hyped as the Heat are today.

[Hawkeye15]

great question. Hmm, I have to think about this one. Rondo comes up in my mind, only because when his athletic skills diminish, what is he going to do?

[Method28]

I think LeBron and Paul will be fine because they can contribute in many different aspects on the court. Bosh is known to have a killer work ethic so I think he'll be fine too.

Idk its kinda hard to think of someone who is truly elite right now that could fall off. I could see a Monta Ellis type player doing so though.

[Hawkeye15]

I think LeBron and Paul will be fine because they can contribute in many different aspects on the court. Bosh is known to have a killer work ethic so I think he'll be fine too.

Idk its kinda hard to think of someone who is truly elite right now that could fall off. I could see a Monta Ellis type player doing so though.

Monta came to mind, but he is not a upper echelon star, so I didn't list him.

[Hawkeye15]

btw, listing McGrady is weird to me. Injuries stole his career. Iverson and Arenas were poor shooting chuckers who relied on athletic ability. Arena's injuries aside, he wasn't going to hold onto that player he was the couple of years he was chucking his way to 25 a night.

[Hustlenomics]

there will never be another Iverson or T-mac

[KnIckFaN.2883]

i would say monta ellis, nick young, and brendon jennings.

[-Kobe24-TJ19-]

wade

[B'sCeltsPatsSox]

I feel like Stat has the best shot at "being the next McGrady/AI". But I don't think it'd be as bad as they nose dived though out of super stardom.

[Hawkeye15]

things to consider, IF a player stays healthy.

If they are tall, and can shoot, their decline will not be swift in general.

[AceMan]

Amare is the obvious answer because of his knees. He may be flat out useless in a few years. If we're only talking about super top tier guys I think I'd have to say Wade is a candidate. He's not a great shooter so once his athleticism fades he'll have a much harder time scoring, and his injury history isn't exactly encouraging. CP3 is an injury risk as well, but he can dominate a game without going in the paint if he wants to, so I think it's a smaller risk. LeBron is going to age well, I think as he gets older he'll slide into more of a point guard role and average something like 18-11-7 rather than 27-6-8. Dwight is going to fall off a cliff offensively because of his lack of post moves, but he'll always be valuable on defense.

[Hawkeye15]

Amare is the obvious answer because of his knees. He may be flat out useless in a few years. If we're only talking about super top tier guys I think I'd have to say Wade is a candidate. He's not a great shooter so once his athleticism fades he'll have a much harder time scoring, and his injury history isn't exactly encouraging. CP3 is an injury risk as well, but he can dominate a game without going in the paint if he wants to, so I think it's a smaller risk. LeBron is going to age well, I think as he gets older he'll slide into more of a point guard role and average something like 18-11-7 rather than 27-6-8. Dwight is going to fall off a cliff offensively because of his lack of post moves, but he'll always be valuable on defense.

Amare is the easy answer, yes. His knees will be **** in 2 years, and he will be a bloated contract.

Good post actually. Dwight is another, though its a few years down the line.

[thekmp211]

stat and joe johnson are relevant. those other guys are too young, and don't have any of the question marks that helped doom all three guys. i doubt any fall off a cliff unless they blow out a knee.

[Saddler The Gr8]

I think Dwight Howard possibly.

CP3 comes to mind because of his knee, but he's just so smart that I don't think it'll happen to him.

[NYSpirit1]

Amare is the easy answer, yes. His knees will be **** in 2 years, and he will be a bloated contract.

Good post actually. Dwight is another, though its a few years down the line.

I hope not Amare, that would be horrible - although with what's been going on, I am a hoping it won't be next year or the year after.