NBA: Creating an Ultimate Player at Each Position Through Hybrids

Sports fans genuinely like to play the "what if" game. What if LeBron had gone to college? What if Hue Hollins hadn't called that ridiculous foul on Scottie Pippen in the 1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals?

Well, what if you could blend any players together from each position to make the ultimate player at that position? Its fantasy I know, but in case you haven't recognized, there is a lockout going on right now, so play along.

What skills do you wish your favorite player possessed? Do you believe this would push he and his team over the top, or at least into the playoffs?

Check out the perfect NBA hybrids.

Point Guards: Derrick Rose/Chris Paul

The league MVP is big on athleticism and overall physical gifts, but anyone who has watched him play with any regularity would tell you, he hasn't learned all of the nuances of the point guard position yet. That in itself is scary considering I started this section off addressing him as the league MVP.

Rose must still learn when to get his teammates the ball, how and where to feed them to maximize their success level. He also needs to learn how to play at different speeds. Right now, he plays at 1000 mph, all the time. He could benefit from conserving his spectacular athletic bursts for crucial moments during the game.

All these qualities that Rose has yet to attain or master are what makes Chris Paul great. Paul has an uncanny feel for the game and his teammates. He is the type of point guard that can make a player look like an all-star when he really is not.

That said, he is nowhere near as physically gifted as Rose. Because of this, there are things Rose can do on the floor that Paul will never be able to do. This is why a Rose/Paul hybrid would be the ultimate point guard.

Shooting Guards: DeMar DeRozan/Kobe Bryant

Maybe four years ago, I would have been hard pressed to find anyone Kobe needed to morph with, but as father time begins to win the game, in steps DeMar DeRozan.

DeRozan is one of the premier athletes in the game today. He is 6'7", possesses a video game like vertical and he is ferocious when going to the lane. He is such an athlete that he averaged just over 17 points per game without the luxury of a dependable outside shot. DeRozan shot 10% from three-point range this past season. Right now his game consists of slashing or putting the ball on the floor, elevating and finishing near the hole and that is about it.

Meanwhile, Kobe is perhaps the most deadly offensive weapon in the game today. Even with a decreased level of athleticism at this point in his career, Kobe has an array of moves and shots that is unequaled.

Giving someone of DeRozan's athleticism these types of skill and desire to boot would be sickening....but wait a minute, that was Kobe about four years ago wasn't it?

Small Forwards: LeBron James/Carmelo Anthony

I have said it before and I'll say it again, LeBron James is the greatest athlete the sport has ever seen. There has never been a player that big, that strong, that fast, that can jump that high. That alone makes him arguably the best player on the planet, but as we all know, he has his weaknesses.

LeBron is void of a post game. As big and strong as he is, he doesn't have a back to the basket game that he can go to when he is being guarded by smaller forwards. This is hampering him in his current situation as the perimeter is crowded with he and Dwyane Wade. James also doesn't possess a dependable jump shot. So for every bit of his remarkable physical tools, the passing included, there are still some areas of opportunity.

Carmelo Anthony has the post game and he definitely has the jump-shot. Another trait he has, that LeBron hasn't displayed, is the ability to perform at the end of games. Anthony is a closer and would be on any team he played on. This is because all he does is score.

He doesn't defend like LeBron, he doesn't handle like James and he isn't nearly the physical specimen.

LeMelo anyone??

Power Forwards: Blake Griffin/Kevin Garnett

The "youtube killer", the "Gingerbread Man Child", "the Multi-Racial Facial", Blake Griffin is the next big thing in the NBA. The explosive dunks and overall mind-blowing athleticism makes him a constant "dininint-dininint", but Griffin is still very raw.

Blake doesn't have the 15 footer or a pet move on the block. Right now, he is simply exploding over everyone and blowing past people. His success last year is almost as scary as Derrick Rose's situation.

Kevin Garnett's game is refined, he is a defensive stalwart and he has every post move in the book, plus the 15 footer. He just ain't the athlete he used to be, there are a lot of minutes on those veteran legs. Even still, he is beyond fiery, his skills and moxie combined with Blake's physical gifts would be unfair.

Plus, you could have a power forward dunk on Danilo Galinari and punch Channing Frye in the balls all in the same week.

Centers: Dwight Howard/Brook Lopez

Superman is the most dominate force in the league right now. Big, strong and athletic, Dwight Howard is the best center in the world. The gap between him and the next guy is the largest of any such gap at any other position in the NBA.

Still, of course there are weaknesses. His game is completely void of finesse. There are no floaters, fall-away jump shots, even his hook shot is hard. This is secondary to his woeful free-throw shooting. This is actually huge for him as he is fouled so often out of desperation, when opponents can do nothing else to prevent the dunk.

Brook Lopez is all finesse, to a fault. He is as soft as the touch from the one you love. Lopez has a feathery touch out to 15 feet, up an under moves and baby hook-shots. He is also an 80 percent free-throw shooter for his career.

If you gave that offensive arsenal to Dwight Howard and coupled it with his Defensive Player of the Year abilities, I think you would have the greatest center that ever lived.

Well, it is just fantasy. Anybody talked to Billy Hunter lately?