Derrick Rose or Kevin Durant? Who Is the Next Greatest Player in the NBA?

The arguments go back to Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain. Larry Bird or Magic Johnson? Kobe Bryant or LeBron James? In football you have the same arguments. Emmitt Smith or Barry Sanders? Dan Marino or Joe Montana?

The sports world is ready for a new argument and there's a perfect one to be had. Derrick Rose or Kevin Durant?

Derrick Rose is the youngest MVP in the history of the NBA. Kevin Durant is the youngest scoring champion in the history of the NBA. Both players have already led their teams to the Conference finals. They both have tremendous character and retain a remarkable measure of humility. On top of all those similarities, they are only five days apart in age.

While they both had struggles when they reached the conference finals, defining either player by their last series is just specious. Both players have come through time and again in clutch situations at an early age and have proven they are capable of carrying a franchise.

Both players have the game and personalities to become superstars in the NBA  and, better yet, are the kind of superstars the NBA is hungering for—players who are more concerned with winning than developing their "brand."

With Derrick Rose leading the Bulls and Kevin Durant leading the Thunder—both young teams—there's a chance that the two teams will inevitably meet in at least one finals series. In fact, more thanone finals is likley.

This is a rivalry just waiting to burst forth, and it should be a fun one to watch. 

While they play different positions, that's hardly been a qualification for this great debate in the past. Kobe and LeBron play different situations. So did Larry and Magic.

While neither player as of yet deserves to be mentioned with some of those names, considering what they have accomplished already, they very well will be in the future.

Durant's game is that of a pure scorer, though he's a capable enough rebounder. Derrick Rose is more of an "all around" type player becoming only the third player to score 2000 points and dish 600 assists in the same season the merger. The other two were LeBron James and Michael Jordan.

It may come down to, as these things normally do, to winning. Whichever of the two gets the rings will probably lay claim to the title of greatest player of his generation.

So, in the interest of spurring on a debate that is likely to rage for the next decade, I put forth to you now, Derrick Rose or Kevin Durant?

As a Chicago Bulls Featured Columnist, I will admit to my conflict of interest and abstain from presenting my case here and leave it to the comments section.