When he matures... what do we have?

[LordOfNYork]

10 and some change legit SUPERSTARS!!!!!!! who? 25 ppg doesn't make them a SUPERSTAR! Paul Milsap is about the only one I'd take from that bunch because he'd fit our team. Al is a good player but he needs the ball 2 much to get his offense off which doesn't work for us, there's already enuf ball stoppage in our offense! And Aldridge, u could have a point if I saw him platy a lil d and be a lil more physical. He and the rest of that team got strait bullied in their playoff series!

ok,

LeBron James

Kobe Bryant

Dwyane Wade

Kevin Garnett

Tim Duncan

Chris Paul

Dwight Howard

Dirk Nowitzki

Carmelo Anthony

Tony Parker

on the cusp,

Deron Williams

Brandon Roy

Danny Granger

Derrick Rose

Kevin Durant

mentions,

Vince

Shaq

Yao

Pierce

R. Allen

A.I.

And then you're saying Aldridge got bullied? Ok, well Josh got exposed pretty bad in some games in his playoffs. And that was against the Heat and a slow Cleveland. Aldridge played against Houston who took the Lakers to 7 and Houston's a physical team. Artest, Landry, Scola! That's a nightmare. I wouldn't even wanna see Smith in playoff basketball in the West!

[jy23]

ok,

LeBron James

Kobe Bryant

Dwyane Wade

Kevin Garnett

Tim Duncan

Chris Paul

Dwight Howard

Dirk Nowitzki

Carmelo Anthony

Tony Parker

on the cusp,

Deron Williams

Brandon Roy

Danny Granger

Derrick Rose

Kevin Durant

mentions,

Vince

Shaq

Yao

Pierce

R. Allen

A.I.

And then you're saying Aldridge got bullied? Ok, well Josh got exposed pretty bad in some games in his playoffs. And that was against the Heat and a slow Cleveland. Aldridge played against Houston who took the Lakers to 7 and Houston's a physical team. Artest, Landry, Scola! That's a nightmare. I wouldn't even wanna see Smith in playoff basketball in the West!

the ten that u named at the top, i'll give u 9. the mentions at the bottom im not buying any of those as superstars. Having a big personality doesn't make u a superstar and as great as shaq used to be he's just not there anymore. The best u have on that end of the list is pierce and he is also on the way down. Yao was getting there but that injury makes him a big what if now. I'm not even going to acknowledge the others on that list! I agree with everyone that you put on the cusp but thats just the thing, they're on the cusp. I might actually put Roy on the real list but you just proved my point. we just named a handful of players, everyone isn't a SUPERSTAR. There are role players in the league and every team needs them. Joe is top 25 talent and i wouldn't consider him a SUPERSTAR which means not every team has one.

[buckeye242424]

10 and some change legit SUPERSTARS!!!!!!! who? 25 ppg doesn't make them a SUPERSTAR! Paul Milsap is about the only one I'd take from that bunch because he'd fit our team. Al is a good player but he needs the ball 2 much to get his offense off which doesn't work for us, there's already enuf ball stoppage in our offense! And Aldridge, u could have a point if I saw him platy a lil d and be a lil more physical. He and the rest of that team got strait bullied in their playoff series!

Interesting question. What is consider a legit superstar? Stat Stuffers? Rings? Born Leaders + obvious talent? Ability to carry and dominate a game alone? Looking at the All NBA teams, I would consider the entire First Team Superstars. Tim Duncan and ahem...Chris Paul too. On the flip side, I don't consider Yao, Melo, or Gasol SUPERSTARS, if I must choose. What about guys that were superstars in the past, but have tailed off, do they count? Shaq, KG, Nash. Hmmm...

All-nba first team

Position Player (Team)

F LeBron James (Cavs)

F Dirk Nowitzki (Mavericks)

C Dwight Howard (Magic)

G Kobe Bryant (Lakers)

G Dwyane Wade (Heat)

All-NBA second team

Position Player (Team)

F Tim Duncan (Spurs)

F Paul Pierce (Celtics)

C Yao Ming (Rockets)

G Brandon Roy (Trail Blazers)

G Chris Paul (Hornets)

All-NBA Third Team

Position Player (Team)

F Carmelo Anthony (Nuggets)

F Pau Gasol (Lakers)

C Shaquille O'Neal (Suns)

G Chauncey Billups (Nuggets)

G Tony Parker (Spurs)

[BusBoyIsBack]

For the most part, I don't think we see a lot of players developing into All-Stars in the NBA. After the first year, guys just become who they will be for the rest of their career. Aside from Jermaine O'Neal, who I consider his career to be a huge dissappointment, I honestly can't think of anyone who became an All-Star after four or five years of erratic play. Maybe Josh Smith will be different, but it hasn't seemed like he's improved any part of his game since entering the league.

Holla!

It wouldn't shock me either way. Most of us acknowledge he has that star potential. He also has that hunger to be the guy which suggests he could do it unlike Marvin who unfortunately does not seem to have that in his personality.

Basically all of Josh Smith's shortcomings are MENTAL.

So that's why it's not farfetched that he can become a star because all the limitations are correctable. It's not something you have to either have or not have like physical tools, fortitude, etc. But it all boils down to his acceptance that he is NOT a shooter.

If Josh Smith ever realizes this then he will become a star.

He shows flashes of this in several games of his career. The first half he had vs Cleveland in one of our playoff games at home was the textbook type of game that Josh Smith is capable of playing game in and game out. But again it all comes back to not staying in the post, and not driving the ball when someone kicks it out to him.

Perhaps some blame could go on Woodson for not creating more postup opportunities for the guy, but there is no way Im blaming Woodson anymore for Josh Smith chucking jumpers because it even drives Woody crazy and he's tried just about everything to get him to stop it.

It is up to Josh Smith if he can come to grips with his skillset and start to maximize his potential

[tomac]

So you think he can improve by 5 ppg, 3 rpg and 2 apg? Based on what? Would he have to play 48 mpg?

Sure I do. A little more play in the post and he's there. His FG % will rise with post play as will his rebounding. Once he acttually figures out that no one can stop him on the block, you see his assit numbers rise from passing out of double teams. You're really not talking about a large margin to make up. We're talking 3-5 quality possessions a game.

He can get those stats by being a little more efficient.