CP3 or Superman: Who Is a Better Fit as the Third Piece in a New York Big Three?

Having Dwight Howard and Chris Paul both willing and fiscally able to join the New York Knicks? Sounds like pie in the sky. But, last July, Chris Bosh's prediction of a Miami Big Three, which he called pie in the sky, became a reality.

At this point we have no idea as to how the new collective bargaining agreement will shape out or how salary cap restrictions may or may not allow for another superstar to team up with Anthony and Stoudemire in New York. This article will deal with the hypothetical situation of only one superstar being able to sign with the Knicks which is a distinct possibility.

Assuming both stars, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, are available, who should the Knicks choose?

Chris Paul

Reasons For:

-D'Antoni's high octane offense is only as good as the point guard that runs it. It was highly successful in Phoenix with Nash at the helm and one can only image how effective it would be with Paul, the best point guard in the league at the moment.

-Having a pass first superstar will decrease the amount of times the ball sticks in the hands of Anthony or Stoudemire. Paul will make the New York role players much better in both the half court and transition.

-Having a reliable point guard to facilitate ball movement and half court execution becomes extremely important in the post season (just ask Miami).

-Paul is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and is always one of the leaders in steals per game.

-Paul made Tyson Chandler look like an All-Star in New Orleans while running the pick and roll, just image what he could do with Stoudemire. Stoudemire is hands down the best pick and roll big man in the game and has had a career of experience in perfecting it with Nash.

-Paul's game does not interfere with the spacing of the D'Antoni offense.

-Paul shoots a very high percentage from the free-throw line and can be trusted with the ball in his hands at the end of games.

Reasons Against:

-Signing Paul still does not fix the Knicks number one problem: interior size, interior defense, and rebounding.

-Inserting Paul into the lineup means having the ball in his hands almost all of the time. That in turn takes the ball out of the hands of Carmelo Anthony who will have to develop off-ball offense which is not nearly as effective as his offense with the ball in his hands.

Dwight Howard

Reasons For:

  -Howard is far and away the best current center, a rare commodity in the league.

-Howard is far and away the best defensive player in the league. Having him alone gives the Knicks one of the best interior defenses.

-Howard more than fixes the Knick's problem of lack of size, rebounding, and defense.

-Howard gives the Knicks a legitimate low-post, back to the basket scorer that can open up the three point shot just like he did in Orlando. 

-Howard is the more efficient scorer as he shoots a very high percentage from the field.

-Howard constantly requires a double team which Paul does not. With Anthony and Stoudemire then potentially left unguarded, opposing teams are left with a very dangerous "pick your poison" scenario.

-Howard, who leads the league in free throw attempts by far, will put defenses over the foul limit more than anyone else. With so many good free throw shooters on the Knicks, this could lead to a lot of easy points.

-Perimeter defenders can be more aggressive and take more chances knowing that a player like Howard will always have the paint well defended.  This could lead to more steals and more fast breaks.

Reasons Against:

-Howard is a notoriously poor free throw shooter and cannot be trusted with the ball in his hands at the end of games.

-Because Howard only operates within a few feet of the basket, he will inevitably clog up the paint for Amare who may be reduced to just a mid range jump shooter. 

-Howard can only score and be effective if he is given the ball in the right position at the right time. Toney Douglas, or who ever the Knicks will use at the point, may have trouble feeding Howard the ball.

-Because of the difficulty of going to centers in the post on late game possessions, the Knicks will end up going, nine times out of 10, to an isolation play with Anthony. While Anthony is a trust worthy clutch player, even he will have trouble dealing with a double team say from Wade and James. A capable point guard will keep a defense honest on crucial possessions and reduce the probability of an effective double team defense.

Final Decision: Chris Paul

It comes down to the position. The point guard is the most important position on the floor, especially in a Mike D'Antoni offense. You can get away with signing cheap, big, dirty-work centers to sure up your interior defense (Joel Anthony of the Heat, for example) but you cannot get away with getting a cheap, inexperienced point guard to effectively run an offense with Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.

Only the best of point guards can manage a team with so many egos and superstar talent. Chris Paul is that point guard. He is a much mature person and player than Howard at this point and is more of a natural born leader. Although he is not the defense juggernaut that Howard his, Paul is no slouch; I expect him to get his teammates into shape defensively through his leadership, much like Kevin Garnett did in Boston. With Paul and some cheap size and depth in the front court (Jerome Jordan?), the Knicks would have a legitimate shot at an NBA title with the best Big Three in the league.