July 22, 2012; Barcelona, SPAIN; USA forward LeBron James (6) and Kevin Durant (5) react during the first half of an exhibition game against Argentina in preparation for the 2012 London Olympic Games at Palau Sant Jordi. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

This is the third day of a five day segment where I personally rank the top 5 players at their positions. I’ve already covered point guards and shooting guards so today I’ll be covering the top 5 small forwards and I’ll be covering the power forwards tomorrow!

1) LeBron James

- Hands down the best player in the game right now. James is your classic do it all player that rebounds, scores, plays defense and can dominate the game with his passing as he showed at the Olympic games where he was pretty the point forward for team USA. James is also the most gifted athlete in the NBA, he’s the same size as Amar’e Stoudemire yet he moves like a guard. It’s obvious at this point LeBron is not only the best player at his position but the best player in the league. He’s 27 years old he has won 3 NBA MVP awards, 2 Olympic gold medals, and an NBA championship.

2) Kevin Durant

- Kevin Durant, the second best player in the NBA. Much like LeBron, KD’s physical gifts allows him to dominate. KD is a lengthy 6’10 guy that has a 7’6 wingspan and moves like a guard. KD is a very close to LeBron at this point, KD is a better scorer, they’re equals in terms rebounding, but LeBron is a far better play maker than KD. Durant is coming along as a play maker but hes also got to improve his defense if he’s going to pass LBJ.

3) Carmelo Anthony

- Anthony is the third best scorer in the game behind Durant and Kobe but if you asked me a year ago today who I thought was the best scorer in the game I would’ve said Carmelo Anthony. Anthony’s ability to be an effective scorer from anywhere on the floor is second to none. The only thing that has stopped Anthony from being a superstar among superstars is his lack of interest on the defensive end of the floor. Anthony is also one of the best clutch shot makers in the league, it just seems when there’s less than 24 seconds left in the game and your team needs a bucket, if you got Melo your good.

4) Paul Pierce

- Pierce was a great scorer during his prime but at this point he’s not the player he use to be but he’s could still ball. Pierce is another do it all wing player who can score, rebound and make plays. However unlike the 3 guys ranked ahead of him Pierce won’t be the best player on a championship team even when his Celtics won the title back in 2008 the best player on that team was Kevin Garnett.

5) Andre Iguodala

- Iggy is one of the most underrated players in the league. He may not be the scorer that you’d want in a star but he’s got everything else. He’s a solid play maker, rebounder and above all else he’s a lock down defender. The fact that Iggy’s scoring numbers are low is a little overblown; he played on a Philly team that focused mainly on team basketball. Last season Philly’s leading scorer was Lou Williams off the bench. Philly also played a very slow paced style of basketball that promotes efficient, no turnover basketball, as they were last in the league in turnover ratio and also 24th in pace. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of number Iggy will put up this season with Denver, a team that plays a fast up-tempo style of basketball that should benefit Iggy’s numbers and play style.

Too literal! You took it too literally! What did you do to Steve?! WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!?!

Given this kindness, I came to a realization – most NBA fans of teams other than the Suns wouldn’t mind sending their most valued possessions to Phoenix for little to no return! They just want to help Steve in any way possible and get him a championship, right? That’s the way that they always couch their argument to Free Steve Nash, so this must be the logical conclusion!

I decided to take a look at how kind some teams could truly be in their contribution to Operation: Get Nash a Ring. If you’re a Suns fan, I think you’ll appreciate the generosity of our NBA brethren. If you’re a fan of any of these teams, let me be the first to say, “thank you.” You were right – we should have freed Steve Nash ages ago!

1. Vince Carter to OKC for Serge Ibaka, Russell Westbrook, and Nick Collison

I’m of the mind that ridding the Suns of a zombie will instantly make them a better team. Unfortunately, zombies are highly contagious, so the NBA will not allow Vince Carter to be traded in a combination with any other player. Fortunately, Oklahoma City has a well stocked team full of reasonable contracts that can be combined into equal (financial) value in order to trade for Carter.

This trade would be quite kind of Oklahoma City, as Phoenix would employ two of the best point guards in the league – either in two different units, or in an incredible crunch time lineup with Westbrook running the point and Nash playing off the ball. Serge Ibaka would make the Suns defense even better, and he and Gortat could form a formidable front line. (more…)