Originally Posted by
CDu
I think it would have been interesting. I totally agree about Bird and Johnson. They were basically legacy picks. Bird was done as an NBAer by that point. Johnson was still solid, but clearly on the downside. The same is true for Drexler. Mullin was on the very back end of his prime, but he was basically just a gunner.
The guys in their primes were Stockton, Malone, Jordan, Pippen, Barkley, Ewing, and Robinson. James, Anthony, Williams, Paul, and Iguodala are in their primes for this team, with Durant, Love, Griffin and Westbrook on the rise (though already superstars) and Harden is a rising star (though not there yet). Bryant is a superstar on the back end of his prime.
The main difference I see is that the Dream Team had two elite C in their prime (Robinson and Ewing) and two elite PF in their prime (Malone and Barkley). So the question is whether the size and experience of the Dream Team would outweigh the athleticism of the current Olympic Team. In terms of star power, both teams had plenty.
Now, one might argue that Anthony, Griffin, and James could handle the defensive assignment on those two, while punishing them from the perimeter or with athleticism. So maybe it's a draw at PF (an edge to the current team if James plays PF). And you could make the same argument for Love, but not Chandler. So a definite edge to the Dream Team at C. On the perimeter, I'd take Durant, James, and Bryant over Jordan, Pippen, and Drexler (the edge tips back to the Dream Team if James is a PF). I'd call Paul-in-his-prime and a past-his-prime Magic a slight edge to today's group. Among the bench guards, I'd take Stockton over Williams at backup PG. I'd take Mullin over Harden at designated shooter.
So I'd give the starting lineup edge to the current squad, but the bench edge goes to the Dream Team. And overall I'd take the Dream Team. But I think it's closer than many would presume.