Each NBA Team's Franchise Centerpiece: Reprising the 'Alpha Dog Test'

Across the NBA, the difference between elite teams, fringe playoff rosters and squads bound for the NBA draft lottery lies with each's franchise centerpiece, or in other words, their alpha dog.

If an NBA team’s best player doesn’t have the capacity to carry a supporting cast to a championship, then they must find a new franchise centerpiece in order to chase the Larry O’Brien trophy.

In August of last year, I wrote an article that invented the “alpha dog test.” In a nutshell, this test acts as an assessment of each NBA team’s best player and decides whether or not a team could win a championship with “Player X” running the show.

The decision is based on a player’s past accomplishments (team and individual), their leadership qualities, their potential future as a bona fide NBA star, as well as their overall alpha dog status.

Ultimately, the main question that needs to be answered is, “Can you win an NBA championship with this guy as your best player?”

Note: In some cases, rebuilding teams like the Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic, do not have an unquestioned “alpha dog” on their roster.

Because of this, I’ll point out which teams don’t have a franchise centerpiece and use my best judgment to decide who has responsibility of assuming the alpha dog role until a legitimate centerpiece is added.

Atlanta Hawks: Al Horford

After selling Joe Johnson’s egregious contract to the Brooklyn Nets a year ago and letting Josh Smith sign a four-year, $54 million deal with the Detroit Pistons this summer, the Atlanta Hawks will move forward with Al Horford as the team’s best player and alpha dog.

They're certainly embracing him at the right time.

The former Florida Gator had the best year of his NBA career last season. He averaged career highs in points (17.4), rebounds (10.2), steals (1.1) and minutes (37.2). The only real drop-off came at the free-throw line, where Horfie shot a disappointing 64.4 percent—the lowest mark in his six-year career.

Overall, though, the 27-year-old big man had a promising campaign after an injury-riddled 2011-12 season in which he played just 11 regular-season games.

As an NBA team’s second-best option, Horford is perfect. He’s an interior presence who would be the ideal wingman to a dominant perimeter scorer. Unfortunately for Hawks fans, Atlanta doesn’t have a player anywhere close to the mold of a James Harden/Stephen Curry.

As a result, the primary responsibility to lead the team offensively falls on Horford’s shoulders.

He’s one of the most skilled big men in the game today and arguably a top-five center (or top-five power forward, depending upon your outlook). However, he isn’t dominant enough on the interior to lead a team to a championship as its alpha dog.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

I simply can’t see a situation where an NBA team could win it all with Horford as its star player and go-to guy. Bleacher Report featured columnist and Atlanta Hawks fan Adam Fromal agreed that it’s not a possibility, “unless you surrounded him with 11 top-40 players and had him as the only top-25 guy.”

Considering that no roster has ever been built that way, Horford can’t pass the alpha dog test (although he’d be a top-tier second banana).

Boston Celtics: Rajon Rondo

Rajon Rondo thoroughly confuses the alpha dog test. He’s arguably a top-five point guard in the NBA today, but he’s a very poor shooter for a guard, he frequently clashed with Doc Rivers (one of the most respected coaches in NBA history) and he's had the benefit of playing beside three future Hall of Famers: Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

In last year’s alpha dog test, Rondo passed because he brought the Boston Celtics to within one game of reaching the NBA Finals in 2012. He was the best player on the roster, but again, he had Pierce, Garnett and Allen at his side.

The only team in the past two decades to win a championship with a point guard as the team’s best player was the 2004 Detroit Pistons with Chauncey Billups. That doesn’t help Rondo’s case.

Now the Celtics are rebuilding and Rondo is recuperating from a torn ACL. Unless the triple-double machine makes vast improvements to his outside shooting, I simply can’t see an NBA team winning it all with him as the franchise centerpiece.

Alpha dogs on championship teams simply don’t possess the profound weaknesses that Rondo has. If opposing defenses can comfortably sag five to eight feet away from him when he’s on the perimeter, it won’t bode well for him as he gets older and loses some athleticism.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

It’s hard enough to win a title as an alpha dog at the point guard position. Billups did it as a lights-out shooter and great defender. Rondo has plenty of talent, but the holes in his game need to be fixed before he can pass the test.

Unless Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger are future Hall of Famers in disguise, the Celtics will need a new franchise centerpiece to play off of Rondo.

Brooklyn Nets: Deron Williams

The Brooklyn Nets are an intriguing team because they have four players in the starting lineup who held the title of franchise centerpiece at some point in their careers.

For the 2013-14 season, however, Deron Williams earns the spot by default.

Joe Johnson has been relegated to being an above-average role player.

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are inching toward retirement. Head coach Jason Kidd even hinted that KG might not play both games of back-to-backs next year, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.

Brook Lopez is perhaps the league’s best offensive center, but his perplexing inability to rebound shows he still needs to improve.

Williams was terrible for the first two months of the 2012-13 season. In November and December, he combined to shoot 39.9 percent from the field and 30 percent from three-point range. Despite the early slump, he managed to turn his fortunes around with fabulous play in March and April.

The biggest reason D-Will is still seen as the Nets’ alpha dog is because he’s the ball dominator and the true barometer of team success. If he isn’t playing well, Brooklyn isn’t playing well. If he doesn’t take over at the end of close games, the Nets are not going to win those games.

The excuses for Williams have run out. He reportedly pushed head coach Jerry Sloan to his breaking point in Utah and even received some blame for the firing of Avery Johnson in Brooklyn. He was given the keys to the Nets’ engine, and now that well-oiled machine has received a much-needed tune-up.

If Williams can’t jell with his new teammates and take advantage of the new supporting cast, we’ll definitively know the answer to his alpha dog test.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

This upcoming season is the best chance Deron Williams is ever going to get. If he can't lead a supporting cast of Johnson, Pierce, Garnett and Lopez to a championship, it's safe to assume he'll never do so as a team's alpha dog.

Now is the time for Williams to step up and be a true leader. I'm simply not convinced it will happen.

Charlotte Bobcats: None (Kemba Walker)

Over the past two seasons, the lowly Charlotte Bobcats have a win-loss record of 28-120. From that statistic alone, it’s easy to conclude that the Bobcats don’t have a franchise centerpiece in place.

Until a legitimate alpha dog is added to the roster, that responsibility falls on Kemba Walker.

The point guard out of UConn hasn’t missed a single game to start his career, and he made great strides between his rookie and sophomore seasons. In 2012-13, Walker averaged 17.7 points, 5.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds and two steals per game.

He adds a little bit of everything to the box score, but he still needs to improve his shooting efficiencyespecially from beyond the arc.

Walker is a solid piece to the puzzle in Charlotte, but your team won’t be going very far if he’s your best player.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

Chicago Bulls: Derrick Rose

How long has it been since Derrick Rose played for the Chicago Bulls? Since April 28, 2012, to be exact. And perhaps more importantly, he’s been sidelined for the span of one regular season and two playoff runs (each won by the Miami Heat).

The NBA community has been deprived of watching D-Rose play basketball, so the 2013-14 season will be a welcome one in that regard. When healthy, the Bulls phenom is arguably the best point guard in the league.

Chicago played admirably without him, so it makes sense that it'll be very good with him back. He won the 2009 Rookie of the Year and followed that up by winning MVP in 2011.

As long as Rose stays healthy, there’s no reason to believe he can’t lead a supporting cast to a championship. Especially a supporting cast as talented as the one he has in Chicago.

Alpha Dog Test: Pass

Cleveland Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving is one of the best young point guards in the NBA today. While you could make a case for Andrew Bynum here as the team’s alpha dog, I think the centerpiece is clearly “Uncle Drew.”

From an offensive standpoint, Irving's skills are virtually unmatched. He can shake defenders with filthy crossovers, knock down threes like a game of pop-a-shot and set up teammates for scores.

His game on defense, however, is an entirely different story.

In terms of advanced statistics, the offensive rating of opponents when Irving was on the floor was 110.5 points per 100 possessions, according to Basketball Reference.

Additionally, the youngster out of Duke totaled just 1.1 defensive win shares for the entire 2012-13 season, which didn’t even rank him among the top 200 NBA players in that category. Playing in only 59 games due to injury didn't help him accumulate defensive win shares, but 1.1 is still really low.

You can argue that Irving is a victim of poor overall team defense, but that’s simply not the case.

According to a January 2012 article by Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Irving’s former coach Byron Scott was frequently concerned with the young star’s defensive effort. Referencing a game against the Chicago Bulls, Scott said, “C.J. Watson to me almost looked like Rose the way he was going by him. If you can’t get stops it doesn’t matter what you are doing offensively because sooner or later you’re going to cool down.”

To be fair, Irving was a better defender as a sophomore than he was as a rookie, but making C.J. Watson look like Derrick Rose is alarming.

If Irving doesn’t start making strides on defense by taking that end of the court seriously, he won't be considered with other bona fide NBA alpha dogs.

Alpha Dog Test: Pass

Despite needing a lot of work on defense, Irving's offensive game is off the charts. I can see Irving leading an NBA team to a championship if he finds the correct supporting cast—ideally, players who can defend behind him.

Dallas Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki

You can’t help but feel bad for Dirk Nowitzki. After leading the Dallas Mavericks to his only NBA title in 2011 with a solid (yet not overwhelming) supporting cast of Tyson Chandler, Jason Terry, Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion, the Mavs stripped their championship roster and haven’t gotten the talent back since.

Past promises of Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard have been replaced with Jose Calderon, Monta Ellis and Samuel Dalembert...Yeesh.

Letting Chandler leave was clearly Mark Cuban’s biggest mistake, and now Nowitzki is paying for it.

If you put a solid supporting cast around Nowitzki—ideally with a defensive anchor in the post—he could still lead you to the Promised Land.

Unfortunately, the Mavericks whiffed on big free-agent prizes in recent years. Unless they upgrade the talent soon, Nowitzki won’t get the chance to be a championship alpha dog again.

Alpha Dog Test: Pass

Dirk already proved he could lead a team to a championship in 2011. Whether he’ll get the chance to do so again is up for debate. The clock is ticking, because Nowitzki is already 35 years old.

Denver Nuggets: None (Ty Lawson)

The Denver Nuggets have become one of the most interesting teams in the NBA over the past few years. Despite not having a true alpha dog, they’ve managed to win a lot of games.

The addition-by-subtraction trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks led to a big change in philosophy. The entire roster had to contribute in specific roles and buy into George Karl’s coaching methods.

Last season, that philosophy led to a No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, as well as a Coach of the Year award for Karl.

After getting ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the upstart Golden State Warriors, Karl was fired, and Brian Shaw replaced him.

Without a true franchise centerpiece, Ty Lawson has primary responsibilities in terms of running the offense and setting Denver’s pace. With athleticism at every position, the Nuggets love to hit the gas pedal.

Lawson has managed to shut up a lot of critics throughout his career, but he’s never going to lead an NBA squad to a championship.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

If the Nuggets add a dominant scorer who will actually buy into team concepts, they’ll have a shot at competing for the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Detroit Pistons: Josh Smith

There are basketball analysts who hated the Detroit Pistons offseason, and there are those who loved it. I’m still on the fence, but my lean at the moment is that I liked what the Pistons front office did.

At first glance, Josh Smith’s four-year, $54 million deal seems high for someone with an admittedly low basketball IQ. You can’t look at Smith’s 2012-13 shot chart without cringing. He shot 60.4 percent on 632 attempts in the paint—and 30 percent on 543 attempts everywhere else.

As far as I’m concerned, Smith is the MVP of Kirk Goldsberry’s "Please-Stop-Shooting-There" All-Stars.

Of course, for all the ridiculous shot attempts Smith hoists up throughout the course of a season, there’s a lot to love (yes, love) about his game.

For instance, according to ESPN Stats and Information, Smith is one of only four players since 2004-05 with at least 10,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 2,000 assists, joining LeBron James, Pau Gasol and Kevin Garnett.

J-Smoove is a great two-way player. There’s no doubting that. However, he needs to learn that shooting three-pointers and long twos isn’t his game.

The Atlanta Hawks made the playoffs in each of the past five years with Smith on board, but they didn’t get anywhere in the postseason even when he was the second-best player.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

As the Robin to someone’s Batman, having Smith on your team is worth his weaknesses. As a team’s alpha dog who is given huge responsibilities in crunch-time, however, his talents don’t look as appealing.

Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry is the human heat check. As Bill Simmons of Grantland.com wrote in a May column, “'Turn on the game, Steph Curry is heating up’ is the single most exciting sports-related text you can send or receive right now,” and I wholeheartedly agree.

The Davidson product can flat-out shoot. His ability to heat up at any moment ensures that the Golden State Warriors are never out of a game and could run away with a lead at the blink of an eye.

Ankle problems have hampered Curry throughout his career, but he had a breakout season with his health intact and led the Dubs to the second round of the playoffs.

Considering that the Warriors made a run in the 2013 playoffs despite the hip injury suffered by David Lee, Curry has shown the NBA community that he could lead a championship contender given the appropriate supporting cast.

Andre Iguodala is a huge addition for the 2013-14 season, but losing Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry to free agency may have more of an impact than people think.

Alpha Dog Test: Pass

The Warriors made it to the second round of the postseason and took the eventual Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs to six games. They did so despite the fact that David Lee played only 65 total postseason minutes in 12 games.

All signs point to Curry being the next NBA superstar.

Houston Rockets: James Harden

In his first season as the unquestioned alpha dog and go-to guy with the Houston Rockets, James Harden became an NBA superstar.

His average of 25.9 points per game ranked him fifth in the league behind Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. He also added 5.8 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game to the box score.

Harden did a lot of great things for head coach Kevin McHale in his first year as a Rocket, but he needs to cut down the turnovers. The bearded one led the NBA in total turnovers and gave up the ball 3.8 times per game. Given that Dwight Howard averaged three turnovers per game with the Los Angeles Lakers and Jeremy Lin averaged 2.9 turnovers of his own, ball control will be an area of concern for Houston.

Although the Rockets need to emphasize their turnover problems, they're in a great position with Harden as the team’s centerpiece.

He needs to develop more of a killer instinct in crunch time, but he’s well on his way to becoming one of the league’s elite all-around talents.

Alpha Dog Test: Pass

Considering that Harden is a top-three shooting guard in the league behind Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, he’s certainly primed to pass the alpha dog test. He needs to cut down his turnovers and be more efficient in late-game situations, but the Rockets will be serious title contenders next season with him as their alpha dog.

Indiana Pacers: Paul George

In last year’s iteration of this article, the alpha dog for the Indiana Pacers was Roy Hibbert.

What a difference a year makes.

Not only did Paul George win the NBA’s Most Improved Player award for his efforts during the regular season, he also managed to lead the Indiana Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals and within one game of the NBA Finals.

Hibbert is still an extremely valuable piece to Indiana as the interior defensive anchor, but George established himself as a two-way star. He also earned the respect of LeBron James in the playoffs for this talented exchange.

Despite Danny Granger missing all but five games for the Pacers, the team didn’t skip a beat due to George’s breakout performance. The 3.9 turnovers per game he averaged in the playoffs was a disappointment, but it’s hard to knock a player who turned 23 years old in May.

Again, just to reiterate, George turned 23 in May. He’s going to be a force in the NBA for the foreseeable future.

Alpha Dog Test: Pass

The Pacers came within one W of the NBA Finals last season with George leading the way. A major reason for that is his commitment to being great on the defensive end. He led the league last season in defensive win shares with 6.3, which was nearly a full win share better than second-place Marc Gasol (5.4 defensive win shares).

Los Angeles Clippers: Chris Paul

Before the Los Angeles Clippers acquired Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets, the team was a laughingstock.

In two seasons prior to CP3’s arrival, the Clips were 61-103. With the All-Star point guard, they’ve improved to 96-52, making back-to-back playoff appearances.

Many fans regard Paul as the best point guard in the NBA. He ranked third in the league with a Player Efficiency Rating of 26.45 (according to HoopData), and he led the league in steals for the fifth time in his career.

As good as his stats have been, there are some alarming red flags regarding his team’s postseason showings.

Throughout Paul’s illustrious career with the Hornets and Clippers, his teams have won just three total playoff games beyond the first round. He has yet to win a second-round playoff game with the Clippers and hasn’t won a game in the second round since 2008.

Needless to say, that isn’t the most extravagant track record for a player who’s arguably the best at his position. So the question is, can you win it all with CP3 as your team’s best player?

On the bright side, Paul is still just 28 years old. He hasn’t scored 20 or more points per game since 2009, but his main goal on the court is to make teammates better, so that isn’t a huge deal.

What he truly needs is teammates who are willing to step up on the big stage. Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are both impressive interior talents with loads of athleticism, but they need to take the next step necessary to compete in the playoffs.

Alpha Dog Test: Pass

CP3 passes the alpha dog test mainly because his supporting cast has never been up to snuff. In New Orleans he had David West and Tyson Chandler (before he realized his potential as a defensive beast). In Lob City, Griffin and Jordan are still trying to realize their potential.

With the perfect supporting cast, I still believe that Paul could win a championship as a team’s alpha dog even though his track record hints strongly to the contrary.

Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant

In my opinion, Kobe Bryant is one of the top 10 basketball players of all time. Love him or hate him, the accolades he’s acquired over the course of a 17-year career speak volumes about his success and longevity.

He’s a 15-time All-Star, four-time All-Star Game MVP, 11-time All-NBA First Team member, two-time scoring champion, 2008 NBA MVP and, most importantly, he’s a five-time NBA champion.

Of his five championships, Bryant was the alpha dog on two (in 2009 and 2010). The Black Mamba has already proven his ability to lead a team to the Larry O’Brien trophy, twice. Whether or not he can still do so, however, is an entirely different discussion.

Honestly, Bryant has nothing more to prove.

He was the best player on two championship teams, has five rings total and currently sits fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list. But now, as he recuperates from an Achilles tear, there’s no guarantee that he’ll ever be the same.

Bryant is reportedly so far ahead of schedule that he may be back in time for the preseason, according to Arash Markazi of ESPN. That’s great news for Los Angeles Lakers fans, but they should still temper their expectations.

Alpha Dog Test: Pass

But his days of leading teams to championships as the alpha dog may be over following the injury.

Memphis Grizzlies: Marc Gasol

Marc Gasol earned a passing grade on my alpha dog test a year ago. He responded by getting even better during the 2012-13 season, winning Defensive Player of the Year in the process.

With all of that noted, the Memphis Grizzlies would need to evolve into championship contenders without adding a new perimeter alpha dog that would make Gasol the super-sidekick. So how do they go about doing that?

Well, as Bleacher Report featured columnist Adam Fromal put it, "[They need] something that even remotely resembles perimeter shooting.”

Considering that the Grizzlies attempted a league-low 13.5 three-point attempts per game and only made 34.5 percent of them (24th in the NBA), adding outside shooters around Gasol is a must.

Hypothetically speaking, let’s say the Grizz replace Tayshaun Prince with an above-average small forward who can shoot the three-ball (think Danilo Gallinari). They'd likely also need an offensive-minded sixth man at shooting guard who can cover Tony Allen's weaknesses (think Jamal Crawford).

If Mike Conley continues to progress as an outside shooter, does that improve the supporting cast enough to make Memphis title contenders? Maybe not for certain, but it’s a major improvement.

Gasol is a special talent because he plays a premier position (center), defends at an elite level and is one of the best passing big men in the game. Putting the perfect pieces around him continues to be the goal in Memphis.

Alpha Dog Test: Pass

Gasol’s Grizzlies teams have continued to improve in the postseason even though they have no perimeter threats to speak of. If they get some shooters to provide balance with their great defense, they’ll be much better off.

Miami Heat: LeBron James

LeBron James has finally lived up to his nickname by winning back-to-back championships with the Miami Heat.

At this point, “King” James is more firmly planted on his pedestal than King Joffrey in Game of Thrones.

He’s the best player on the planet right now by a wide margin. Let’s just pass him on the alpha dog test and move on.

Alpha Dog Test: Pass

Milwaukee Bucks: None (O.J. Mayo)

If the Milwaukee Bucks’ offseason plan was to join the popular “Riggin’ for Wiggins” sweepstakes, they certainly succeeded.

The Bucks were going nowhere fast with the dueling banjos tandem of Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, but replacing those two with Brandon Knight and O.J. Mayo is a significant downgrade.

Knight, who was acquired in the Jennings sign-and-trade deal, shot just 40.7 percent from the field last season with the Detroit Pistons. His disappointing 12.04 PER ranked him out of the top 125 NBA players in that category.

Mayo, meanwhile, experienced a scorching hot start with the Dallas Mavericks before a mediocre season kicked into high gear. The most notable negative was his sloppy ball-handling in clutch situations.

Via a February article by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon: “Mayo leads the league in turnovers when the score is within one possession in the final two minutes of games this season. And the final minute in such situations. And the final 30 seconds. And the final 10 seconds.”

Mayo’s poor decision-making at the end of games kept the Mavs out of the win column on multiple occasions. Now he’s the Bucks’ offensive alpha dog. That’s a recipe for disaster, unless you’re trying to land the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

Minnesota Timberwolves: Kevin Love

After five NBA seasons, Kevin Love has missed 107 of a possible 394 games.

The only time he played at least 90 percent of games in a regular season was during his rookie year (when he played 81 games, 37 starts).

Injuries have plagued the start of the power forward’s career. Quite frankly, injuries have beleaguered the Minnesota Timberwolves as a team as well. But should that excuse the fact that the T-Wolves have failed to reach the playoffs even as a lowly No. 8 seed during Love’s tenure?

Some say yes. Love’s injuries, coupled with a vastly mediocre supporting cast, excuse the fact that he’s never led his team to the playoffs.

Others, like myself, are left wondering why someone regarded as the league’s best power forward when healthy would rather make excuses by complaining to the media instead of stepping up as a captain to lead the teammates he’s been given.

Is that fair? Well, it depends upon your viewpoint. But the question remains, can you win a championship with Love as your team’s best player?

Last year, as a result of the injuries, lack of playoff appearances and lack of leadership, I decided that Love would fail the alpha dog test. It was, without question, the most controversial alpha dog test grade on my list.

Although I stand behind last year’s grade, one comment really stuck with me.

A commenter named Gerald made a comparison between Love and Dirk Nowitzki. While Nowitzki never had the same injury troubles as Love when he was younger, he still didn’t win an NBA championship as the Dallas Mavericks' alpha dog until he was 32 years old.

The key difference, however, is that from age 22 to 24, Nowitzki’s Mavs made the playoffs each year. Love's teams haven't made the playoffs at all.

Nowitzki had the luxury of playing alongside Michael Finley and pre-MVP Steve Nash. Love’s best teammate to date (from a statistical standpoint) was Michael Beasley in 2010-11. Beas averaged 19.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 45 percent from the field. He now spends his time getting arrested in Phoenix.

Alpha Dog Test: Pass

Although the Love-Nowitzki comparison isn’t perfect, I think it’s a very poignant example. We won’t be seeing Love lead the current Timberwolves to an NBA championship. However, he may take the Nowitzki path by winning a ring as a team’s alpha dog when he eclipses his 30th birthday (or sooner if he's lucky).

New Orleans Pelicans: None (Jrue Holiday/Eric Gordon/Anthony Davis)

While many NBA teams have open competition for starting jobs and minutes off the bench, the new-look New Orleans Pelicans will have the same situation for the team’s alpha dog.

A case could be made for Anthony Davis (first overall pick in the 2012 draft), Jrue Holiday (breakout point guard and All-Star) or Eric Gordon (20-plus point-per-game scorer before injuries).

Ultimately I’d compare the Pelicans to the Denver Nuggets. They can succeed and play well as a unit, but they’d be doing so without a bona fide “best player.”

Can Holiday, Gordon, Davis, Tyreke Evans and Ryan Anderson become a dynamic group like Ty Lawson, Andre Iguodala, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried and JaVale McGee were a year ago? We’ll have to wait and see.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

Until one Pelican establishes himself as the unquestioned franchise centerpiece, there’s no reason to give an unproven entity a passing grade.

New York Knicks: Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony averaged 1.6 assists per game in the 2013 NBA playoffs. He played 40.1 minutes per game during the same postseason.

Simply put, that doesn’t compute.

‘Melo is a dominant scorer in this league. Unfortunately, he’s also an offensive black hole who would rather shoot until his arms fell off before looking to set up teammates.

This isn’t a new theory. Anthony has been an offensive abyss since his days with the Denver Nuggets. And it certainly doesn’t help his case that George Karl’s 2012-13 Nuggets team won more games (57) than they ever did with Anthony on board (and without an alpha dog, no less).

So can a player as one-dimensional as Anthony lead a team to a championship?

Bill Simmons of Grantland.com compared ‘Melo to other volume-scoring forwards in a May column:

"

Since the ABA-NBA merger, we’ve seen five NBA teams legitimately contend for a title while being built around the offense of a scoring forward who averaged at least 27 points a game in the playoffs: Dirk Nowitzki in 2011 (won the title!), Dominique Wilkins in 1988, Bernard King in 1984 and Julius Erving in 1977 (made the finals).

"

After comparing the numbers of those four players to Anthony’s performance eight games into the 2013 playoffs, Simmons wrote, “Of those five, Carmelo is the least efficient playoff forward BY FAR… and yet, per game, he’s taken the most shots, involved himself in the most possessions and generated the lowest number of assists.”

Again, only one of those five forwards led his team to a title. If history is any indication, and more often than not it is, you can’t win a championship with Anthony leading the way as a pure scorer.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

By averaging a laughable 1.6 assists per game in the 2013 playoffs, Anthony made Kobe Bryant look like a vintage John Stockton.

If you make him a team’s second-best player by matching him with a dominant big man—like when Dr. J played beside Moses Malone in 1983 and won a title—I can see a championship in Anthony’s future.

At this point, I don’t see it. Sorry, Spike Lee.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Kevin Durant

Even though Kevin Durant is “sick of being second,” that’s still the state of things in today’s NBA.

KD is unanimously seen as the second-best player in the game behind two-time champion LeBron James. In the last three seasons, his Oklahoma City Thunder teams have reached the Western Conference Finals, NBA Finals and Western Conference Semifinals, respectively.

Last year, the front office decided to trade James Harden to the Houston Rockets for 10 cents on the dollar. The Thunder wound up with Jeremy Lamb, one year of Kevin Martin and Steven Adams (the 12th overall pick in the 2013 draft).

Adding insult to injury (or perhaps injury to insult), Russell Westbrook missed all but two games of the 2013 playoffs after a collision with Patrick Beverley tore the meniscus in his knee.

Durant just can’t seem to catch a break. But on the bright side, he’s still young. He’ll turn 25 in September, which makes him approximately four years younger than James.

I’d be very surprised if Durant didn’t lead a team to a championship at some point in his career. He's simply too good.

Alpha Dog Test: Pass

Orlando Magic: None (Nikola Vucevic)

The Orlando Magic are very clearly in a full-blown rebuild. That’s always a tough pill for fans to swallow, but at least there have been some consolation prizes along the way.

First off, who initially thought that Orlando got the best part of the four-way Dwight Howard trade? Nobody? Okay.

The Los Angeles Lakers acquired D12; he bolted for the safe haven in Houston the following year.

The Philadelphia 76ers cleaned house for Andrew Bynum; he didn’t play a single minute for them and signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer.

The Denver Nuggets obtained Andre Iguodala; he’ll now suit up with the Golden State Warriors.

Meanwhile, the Magic quietly sneaked away with Nikola Vucevic, Arron Afflalo, Maurice Harkless and Al Harrington. The kicker is that it made them bad enough to land the No. 2 pick in the 2013 NBA draft, which wound up being athletic guard Victor Oladipo.

If you ask me, the Magic didn’t just win the Howard trade. They made off like bandits.

Orlando doesn’t have a clear-cut franchise centerpiece to build around, but Vucevic is a very nice piece to have. The soon-to-be 23-year-old averaged 13.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, which ranked him second behind Dwight Howard.

He’s not built to be a team’s best player, but Orlando will have a great core if it puts better players around him.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

Philadelphia 76ers: None (Nerlens Noel)

The franchise centerpiece for the Philadelphia 76ers has been a revolving door of late.

It was Andre Iguodala before the four-way Dwight Howard trade. Then it was assumed those duties would fall on the shoulders of Andrew Bynum. However, the big man didn’t play at all for the Sixers due to injuries. Jrue Holiday stepped up by becoming an All-Star and the team’s best player, but he was shipped to New Orleans for Nerlens Noel and a first-round pick in the 2014 draft.

Considering that the Sixers’ offense was the worst in the NBA last season with Holiday running the show (93.2 points per game), it’s safe to assume that Philly will be really bad offensively next season.

Philadelphia doesn’t have an alpha dog at the moment, but it's among the favorites to acquire Andrew Wiggins in 2014.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

I like Noel as a team’s second- or third-best option as an interior rim-protector. With that said, there are still a lot of questions about his health following a torn ACL.

Noel was reportedly red-flagged by team doctors of the Phoenix Suns, according to NBADraft.net. Given that the Suns have the best training staff in basketball, it’s hard to doubt their judgment.

Phoenix Suns: None (Eric Bledsoe/Goran Dragic)

Losing Steve Nash to the rival Los Angeles Lakers was a harbinger for disaster. The Phoenix Suns struggled mightily without their two-time MVP and finished dead last in the Western Conference as a result.

Despite having one of the league’s worst on-court products, the Suns had the eighth-highest average ticket price and the NBA’s most expensive beer (tied with the New York Knicks). But that’s a topic for another time.

Anyway, the point is that Suns fans have it really rough.

Newly minted general manager Ryan McDonough, however, has been a breath of fresh air for a franchise that previously had no plan of action.

After picking Alex Len and Archie Goodwin in the 2013 draft, McDonough traded for Eric Bledsoe and netted a first-round pick from the Indiana Pacers for Luis Scola.

Now a backcourt of Bledsoe and Goran Dragic will have to lead the way. As those two guys go, so go the Suns. If nothing else, Bledsoe will earn far more playing time than he was granted with the Los Angeles Clippers. The question is, can he take advantage?

The Suns will be among numerous NBA teams joining the “Riggin’ for Wiggins” sweepstakes to obtain the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

Nobody on the current roster can lead a team to a title, but perhaps McDonough will land his guy in 2014.

Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard

LaMarcus Aldridge was labeled the Portland Trail Blazers’ franchise centerpiece last year. Since that time, rumors have continued to swirl.

First, Jason Quick of the Oregonian wrote that Aldridge was unhappy and wanted out of Portland.

Then Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reported that Aldridge wasn’t opposed to staying in Portland, but would rather play for a contender.

Finally, according to Craig Birnbach of KATU (referenced by Ben Golliver of Blazers Edge), Trail Blazers general manager Neil Olshey said that Aldridge is happy in Portland and doesn’t want to leave.

That’s enough information to make your head spin.

So since Aldridge is only under contract through 2015, it’s logical to start focusing attention on Rookie of the Year award winner Damian Lillard.

The youngster out of Weber State had a tremendous rookie season. He played all 82 games, averaging 19 points, 6.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds. Honestly, there wasn’t much to dislike about Lillard’s game. He isn’t a good defender and he turned the ball over three times per game, but those are both areas he can improve as a sophomore.

His body held up amazingly well playing 38.6 minutes per game for a full season. That's especially true since he had literally zero bench to shoulder the load behind him.

The Trail Blazers reloaded the second unit with Mo Williams, Dorell Wright, Thomas Robinson, C.J. McCollum and Robin Lopez/Meyers Leonard, so we'll see how Portland performs in 2013-14 and re-evaluate Lillard's alpha dog status.

At this point, it's still too early to tell if a team could win it all with Lillard as its franchise centerpiece.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

Lillard showed a ton of promise as a rookie, but fans need to see if he can build off his success (and make the playoffs) first.

Sacramento Kings: DeMarcus Cousins

DeMarcus Cousins is absolutely loaded with talent. He has yet to realize his potential as a basketball player, but his career averages of 16.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game after three seasons show plenty of promise.

Of course, “Boogie” is also a headcase who plays absolutely pitiful defense, which is a major problem.

For all the gory details about the big man’s struggles on the defensive end, this Grantland.com column by Zach Lowe is assigned reading. At 6’11”, Cousins blocked 0.7 shots per game as the Sacramento Kings starting center. That's fewer blocks on average than Matt Barnes, Shane Battier and Brandon Bass.

Additionally, as Lowe breaks down in his column about Cousins, he’s a hopeless pick-and-roll defender. He’s either late to get in proper position to cut off penetration from guards, or he’s simply nowhere to be found because he’s stuck to the man who’s setting the screen.

The other problem with Cousins has been finding the correct supporting cast. Sacramento could add a dominant defensive center like Omer Asik or Tyson Chandler and move Boogie to power forward, but stretch 4s on opposing teams would have a field day against him.

The alternative is adding a power forward like Ryan Anderson or Markieff Morris who can spread the floor on offense with outside shooting, thus letting Cousins operate in the post. This strategy, however, would leave Cousins as the defensive anchor, which to this point has been a recipe for disaster.

The Kentucky product has shown the potential to be elite on the offensive end.

Still, the Kings are 74-156 with Cousins on board. Their inability to get stops with him on the floor is a major reason for that.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

Cousins still has a massive amount of maturing to do before he’s ready to lead teams into the playoff picture, much less to an NBA championship. If he were a team’s second option next to an alpha dog perimeter player, I could see Boogie winning a title.

But with his defense where it is now, I don’t think he could win a ring even if he were teammates with a healthy Kobe Bryant.

San Antonio Spurs: Tim Duncan

Tony Parker is making a strong case to be named alpha dog and franchise centerpiece of the San Antonio Spurs after an MVP-caliber season, but that torch likely won’t be passed until Tim Duncan retires.

TD simply continued to do his thing in his 16th professional season. The now-37-year-old averaged 17.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, his highest average of swats since 2004. His Player Efficiency Rating of 24.76 ranked him fifth in the league behind LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and Brook Lopez, according to HoopData.

Duncan is a four-time NBA champion who was the best player and alpha dog on all four.

He’s a 14-time All-Star, eight-time All-Defensive First Team member, three-time NBA Finals MVP and two-time league MVP.

The former No. 1 overall pick is a living legend and one of the best players of all time. He’s already carried four separate teams to NBA titles, so he passes the alpha dog test with flying colors.

Alpha Dog Test: Pass

Toronto Raptors: None (Rudy Gay)

Not only do the Toronto Raptors not have a franchise centerpiece, they also didn’t have a single selection in the 2013 NBA draft.

No matter how you slice it, a lottery team without a draft pick is never a good formula.

Adding 2012-13 Executive of the Year Masai Ujiri to the organization is a giant leap in the right direction, but there’s still plenty of work to be done.

At the moment, the alpha dog responsibilities fall on 27-year-old forward Rudy Gay. The former eighth overall draft pick of the Houston Rockets spent a little over six seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies before getting dealt to Toronto. Between the Raptors and Grizzlies in 2012-13, Gay averaged 18.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

Those numbers aren’t bad at first glance, but Gay shot a career-low 41.6 percent from the field. Additionally, his regular season shot chart is reminiscent of Josh Smith’s, except Gay isn’t nearly as efficient scoring at the rim.

Even if the former UConn standout recovers from a down year, he shouldn’t be the best player on an NBA squad.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

Gay was a nice fit as the Memphis Grizzlies’ third option behind Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, but vice president of basketball operations and analytics expert John Hollinger wasted no time trading him. That should tell you quite a bit about his value in the eyes of some front office personnel.

Utah Jazz: None (Gordon Hayward)

By allowing Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap and Mo Williams to leave in free agency, the Utah Jazz are embracing their plethora of young players while rebuilding.

The Jazz brought Trey Burke in via the 2013 draft as the point guard of the future and acquired the Golden State Warriors’ crappy contracts (Richard Jefferson and Andris Biedrins) in order to net Brandon Rush and two first-round picks.

That’s a solid haul if you can stomach more than $20 million in expiring contracts, which the Jazz can. Utah’s front office is only putting up with those contracts because the team won’t be competing this season.

Asking Burke, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter and short-term alpha dog Gordon Hayward to carry the team as they all transition into new roles isn’t fair. Those four players have combined to start 148 games in the NBA. Nearly 70 percent of those starts (102 of them) are Hayward’s.

The young shooting guard will take on a much bigger role next season. The experience he’s garnered after three NBA seasons will need to rub off on his new big men: Favors and Kanter.

If the young guys don’t perform well, Tyrone Corbin will be on the coaching hot seat if he isn’t already.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

The Jazz have plenty of young pieces, but they need to add a bona fide star who can guide the juvenile roster.

Washington Wizards: John Wall

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been skeptical of John Wall’s alpha dog status since he entered the NBA.

He showed close to zero improvement from his rookie year to his sophomore year and missed the first half of the 2012-13 season due to a knee injury.

But when Wall returned from that injury, he finally appeared to make “the leap.”

Despite playing limited minutes as he got back into game shape, Wall played the best basketball of his career. His 49 games played in 2013 were highlighted by a 47-point, eight-assist, seven-rebound effort in a win against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Although Wall is tremendous when he’s attacking the basket, he’s a very poor shooter in the realm of Rajon Rondo. He’s a career 24.3 percent shooter from three-point range, and he shot a laughable 7.1 percent from downtown during the 2011-12 season.

He’s also a below-average mid-range shooter, as he knocked down just 37.9 percent of those attempts in 2013.

With that said, I believe Wall has far more potential to become a solid outside shooter when compared directly with Rondo. He’s five years younger and doesn’t have the same struggles at the free-throw line (which often indicates a lack of confidence).

Wall could become a marquee NBA alpha dog down the road. However, a solid second half of a season that still highlighted his key weaknesses isn’t enough to justify a passing grade.

Alpha Dog Test: Fail

The next few years have the potential to define Wall as a basketball player. He’ll finally be healthy with a worthwhile supporting cast around him, so we’ll see if he can carry the Washington Wizards to a playoff berth.

As far as leading a team to a title...Let’s just say he needs to improve his shooting stroke before we talk about that as a legitimate possibility.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to follow me on Twitter: @BenLebo