Re-Ranking the Top Small Forwards in the NBA, Post-Free Agency Edition

Elite defense. The ability to hit open teammates. A knack for scoring. Great work on the boards. 

Small forwards are typically the most versatile players on the floor, and they have to be able to do it all. At least the top 10 small forwards do. 

While you can probably guess the top three right now, the rest of the rankings are a bit more up in the air. There are plenty of young studs making names for themselves (see: Leonard, Kawhi), and the position is deep enough that prominent players simply have to be left out. 

No. 10 through No. 6 are also incredibly clumped together, so the first couple of weeks of the 2013-14 season could drastically alter these rankings. 

But caveats aside, let's jump into the countdown. Did your favorite team get represented here?

Honorable Mentions

Harrison Barnes, Golden State Warriors

One of many young up-and-coming small forwards in the NBA, Harrison Barnes seemed ready to break out after his impressive postseason performance for the Golden State Warriors. 

His growth will be slowed by the presence of Andre Iguodala, but a Sixth Man of the Year run could be in the cards. 

Rudy Gay, Toronto Raptors

Don't fall into the trap of mistaking glamorous plays for production. 

Rudy Gay was a negative offensive performer until he moved to the Toronto Raptors, and we need a larger sample size in order to give true judgment. Still, it would be nice to see some prolonged efficiency. 

Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers

We can't forget about Danny Granger just because injuries caused him to be a complete nonfactor for the Indiana Pacers in 2012-13. 

The small forward is still a dynamic scorer and quality defender, and he'll prove it once more regardless of his role with the Eastern Conference challengers. 

Jeff Green, Boston Celtics

Jeff Green's 43 points against the Miami Heat were one of the highlights of the 2012-13 season, and it won't be long before he's putting up more performances like that. 

The uniquely talented combo forward is now fully recovered from his heart procedure, and he'll emerge as one of the key players on the C's. 

Tobias Harris, Orlando Magic

It's hard to believe that Tobias Harris is only 21 years old. 

During his 27 games with the Orlando Magic, he averaged an insane 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per game with a 17.0 PER. Don't sleep on this kid. 

10. Chandler Parsons

Team: Houston Rockets

Age: 24

2012-13 Per-Game Stats: 15.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.4 blocks

When Chandler Parsons entered the NBA out of Florida, he was one of those players who was OK at everything but wasn't really bad in any one area. 

That's changed, and now Parsons is a true jack-of-all-trades. 

Instead of just being OK in each facet of the game, he's now good across the board. He's an elite three-point shooter, a willing and able distributor and a solid perimeter defender. Parsons has become the ideal third man in a lineup, which is perfect because that's the role he'll be playing alongside James Harden and Dwight Howard. 

The former Gator improved throughout the year, and the on-court/off-court difference was quite dramatic during the postseason series with the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to Basketball-Reference. Although the typical small sample-size warnings apply, the Houston Rockets allowed 13.4 fewer points per 100 possessions and scored 1.6 more when Parsons was playing.

9. Nicolas Batum

Team: Portland Trail Blazers

Age: 24

2012-13 Per-Game Stats: 14.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.2 blocks, 15.7 PER

Nicolas Batum's reputation as an elite defender is a bit overblown, which is why you're seeing him show up a little sooner than you might have originally expected. 

The Portland Trail Blazers actually allowed 0.4 more points per 100 possessions when Batum played, and that's particularly problematic when he was typically replaced by a member of the league's worst second unit. His individual numbers don't look too much better. 

SynergySports (subscription required) shows that Batum allowed 0.86 points per possession, good for 169th place in the NBA.

Elite? I think not. 

Batum is a fantastic isolation defender, but he struggles navigating pick-and-rolls, spot-ups and especially post-up situations. Perhaps that would change with a fully healthy season, but that hasn't been the case yet. 

8. Kawhi Leonard

Team: San Antonio Spurs

Age: 22

2012-13 Per-Game Stats: 11.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.6 blocks, 16.4 PER

Kawhi Leonard doesn't show a lick of emotion on his face, even when he's in the middle of a celebratory fist pump, as you can see up above. 

But that doesn't mean he gives anything less than 100 percent.

Leonard emerged as a potential superstar during his second season in the Association, using his versatility on offense and his shutdown defensive skills to truly become a near-household name. Then again, I'm pretty sure the San Antonio Spurs could draft me and have me looking like a potential All-Star by Year 2. 

Because he continued improving throughout the 2012-13 season, the per-game stats you see up above are a bit misleading. I'd much rather look at his postseason numbers for evaluation purposes. 

During the playoffs, the San Diego State product averaged 13.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.5 blocks per game with an 18.9 PER. He also did this to LeBron James, and this to Mike Miller. 

Future star indeed. 

7. Luol Deng

Team: Chicago Bulls

Age: 28

2012-13 Per-Game Stats: 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.4 blocks, 15.1 PER

I have no gripes with Tom Thibodeau's coaching style or abilities, but his one main flaw is that he doesn't hesitate to run his players into the ground. 

Such is the case with Luol Deng, who has led the NBA in minutes per game for each of the past two seasons, a stat that hasn't allowed him to avoid nagging injuries or play as efficiently as he could.

And yet Deng has remained an elite defensive stopper and a consistent source of offense. To re-emerge as a top-five small forward (the track he once appeared to be on), the 28-year-old must regain his stroke from the outside. 

Deng shot only 32.2 percent from behind the three-point arc during 2012-13 season, which was his lowest output since the first three years of his career. That was particularly troubling because he took just 3.1 attempts per game after breaking past four during each of the two prior seasons.

Perhaps the return of Derrick Rose will take away some of the defensive pressure and allow him to justify another All-Star selection. 

6. Danilo Gallinari

Team: Denver Nuggets

Age: 25

2012-13 Per-Game Stats: 16.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.5 blocks, 16.7 PER

Danilo Gallinari's shot chart is a thing of beauty. 

There's such a heavy concentration of attempts from the two most efficient areas of the court: behind the three-point arc and right at the rim. If you're looking to maximize your opportunities, that's exactly how you should aim to play. 

But what truly allowed Gallo to emerge as a potential All-Star (and one of the most underrated players in basketball) was his outstanding work on the defensive end. It was admittedly situational, but it's a major step in the right direction. 

The Denver Nuggets allowed 1.2 fewer points per 100 possessions when Gallinari was on the court, and his individual numbers show a blend of good and bad. According to Synergy, the small forward was one of the worst in the NBA at closing out on spot-up shooters, but he excelled whenever he could stand right in front of his man. 

Gallo allowed just 0.64 points per possession in isolation, the 29th-best mark in the league, and he ranked 40th guarding pick-and-roll ball-handlers, allowing them to score only 0.69 points per possession. 

5. Paul Pierce

Team: Brooklyn Nets

Age: 35

2012-13 Per-Game Stats: 18.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.4 blocks, 19.1 PER

The newest member of the Brooklyn Nets (well, one of the newest) might be 35 years old, but that doesn't mean he's lost his effectiveness. Quite the contrary, in fact. 

With the Nets, Pierce will be able to transition into a super-glorified role player. I don't mean that in a pejorative sense whatsoever. He's going to have a set role, but he's still going to play at an All-Star level. 

With Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Kevin Garnett and Brook Lopez surrounding him, Pierce will essentially become the league's most offensively talented spot-up shooter. It will allow him to prolong his career and remain effective on defense, which have really become his calling cards over the years. 

Few people realize it, but Pierce is one of the NBA's best perimeter defenders. According to Synergy, he allowed only 0.79 points per possession last season. That puts him at No. 57 overall, which is quite the impressive mark when you're tasked with guarding the best wing players basketball can offer. 

Expect him to only improve on that mark, even as Father Time continues to sink his teeth into Pierce's career. After all, it can become even more of a priority in Brooklyn. 

4. Paul George

Team: Indiana Pacers

Age: 23

2012-13 Per-Game Stats: 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.6 blocks, 16.8 PER

Paul George became a superstar during the postseason. There's no doubt about that after he calmly drilled buzzer-beating three-pointers, guarded LeBron James with reckless abandon and even earned a congratulatory high-five from the MVP. 

However, that doesn't mean he's without flaws. 

George still has plenty to work on before he can truly challenge the established triumvirate at the top of the positional rankings. While he's close in terms of rank, there's a chasm between him and the next featured player.

The two main points of emphasis have to be three-point shooting and control over the ball.

A player who shoots nearly six times per game has to be able to shoot better than 36.2 percent, or else he risks shooting his team out of a game more often than he'd like. Twenty-nine players took at least five three-pointers per game in 2012-13, and of them, only J.R. Smith, Metta World Peace, Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Love shot a lower percentage than George. 

Additionally, if George will continue to serve as a primary ball-handler, he needs to start dribbling the ball lower and preventing defenders from swiping it away quite as often. 

3. Carmelo Anthony

Team: New York Knicks

Age: 29

2012-13 Per-Game Stats: 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.5 blocks, 24.8 PER

The list of New York Knicks players who have averaged at least 26 points, six rebounds and two assists per game is quite an impressive one. 

Richie Guerin was the first, doing so in 1961-62. Patrick Ewing joined him almost three decades later, and now you can add Carmelo Anthony to the list. 

The NBA's scoring champ enjoyed a historically great season, but what truly helped him stand out was his increased emphasis on the boards and defensive end of the court. 'Melo was still a rather porous defender, but he at least displayed a visible level of effort that didn't exist in the past. 

Now he just needs N.Y. to give him a bit more help, as the key players surrounding him got injured throughout the year and played with variable levels of effectiveness.

Anthony is the type of player you can win a championship with, even if that hasn't happened yet during the 29-year-old's career. 

2. Kevin Durant

Team: Oklahoma City Thunder

Age: 24

2012-13 Per-Game Stats: 28.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.3 blocks, 28.3 PER

Is there any doubt that Kevin Durant should occupy the No. 2 spot? 

He's well ahead of Carmelo Anthony (and the rest of the NBA, for that matter), but he's still head and shoulders below the No. 1 player in the positional rankings. In a lot of ways, it's a shame, as Durant would be viewed as an all-time legend if he weren't constantly overshadowed. 

The historical greatness of Durant's 2012-13 campaign really can't be overstated. 

In NBA history, eight different players have qualified for the scoring title while shooting over 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from downtown and 90 percent from the charity stripe: Larry Bird, Jose Calderon, Durant, Steve Kerr, Reggie Miller, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki and Mark Price. 

Of those eight—who have combined for 12 seasons in the 50/40/90 club—Durant's 2012-13 campaign gives him the most win shares: 18.9. He also scored the most points in a 50/40/90 season, outdoing Bird's 1987-88 season by five total points (although he needed an additional five games to do so). 

Durant is an offensive genius. And he's only 24 years old. 

1. LeBron James

Team: Miami Heat

Age: 28

2012-13 Per-Game Stats: 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.9 blocks, 31.6 PER

Sorry for the lack of surprise at No. 1, but anything else would just be wrong. 

LeBron James is quite clearly the best player in the world, which automatically makes him the top small forward in the NBA as well. No matter what aspect of the game you're talking about, James thrives. 

Given his versatile contributions and ability to completely dominate a contest in either the scoring or assists column while maintaining ridiculous levels of efficiency, LeBron may very well be the best offensive player in the league.

You can make an argument for him as the top defender as well, even if Marc Gasol was named the Defensive Player of the Year. James can effectively guard Tony Parker on one possession and Tim Duncan on the next, which is something no one else in the league can claim. 

Basically, there's a reason James has been winning so many awards lately.