Maybe it's time we start accepting Dwight Howard for what he is: A very good NBA center.
Maybe we should stop thinking about Chris Paul's future and more about his here and now.
And maybe we should quit pretending Carmelo Anthony will ever be anything more than a great scorer, a modern day Alex English with an edge.
All three of those guys lost in the first round of the playoffs. Heck, when Anthony gets to the second round, it's considered breaking news. Denver, New York, Guam … it doesn't matter for whom Anthony plays.
He scores lots of points, his teams win lots of regular season games, and he ends up sitting at home and watching lots of the Finals.
Honestly, there's nothing wrong with any of that. Except possibly for the fact Carmelo just completed his eighth season and has yet to earn the franchise-saving label we once pinned to his chest.
Then there's Howard.
All we've heard about lately is how he will bolt Orlando when his contract expires, how he might long to play on a grander scale and with a better team. More specifically, the talk is that Howard will eventually end up with the Lakers.
But that's just because sportswriters (and yes, fans) have a tendency to not leave well enough alone. They like to create things that don't make sense.
Dwight in L.A.? In two years? When Kobe Bryant is getting ready to retire?
Yeah, that would be a really good move. Especially since the Lakers will likely be without Phil Jackson, Ron Artest, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom and maybe Pau Gasol, too.
In other words, all the Lakers would be with Howard are what the Magic are today. They would be a competitive team that won't be able to overcome the likes of Oklahoma City, Memphis and any other up-and-coming Western Conference contender.
And you know why?
Because sometimes, great players are nothing more than great. More accurately, not everyone can be Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Kobe Bryant or yes, Tim Duncan.
Sometimes, great players are closer to Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Elgin Baylor, Karl Malone, Allen Iverson and Dominique Wilkins.
Not everyone, after all, can win a championship -- no matter how good you are, no matter where you go, no matter who is wearing the same uniform.
That's something Paul should especially consider, as he too enters free agency soon. Of the three players mentioned here, Paul may be the best and probably has the most going for him in his current situation.
So Paul will need to ask himself if leaving New Orleans is really a good idea.
Will he really find a better coach than first-year Hornets man Monty Williams, an intelligent leader who did an outstanding job in a short amount of time?
And will Paul find a better power forward than David West, who is still young, talented and extremely driven?
Or what about the Hornets overall? Aren't they just one good player away from joining the Thunder, Grizzlies and others who believe they have a real chance to win what will soon be a wide-open West?
You tell me, where would Paul go that would be better? Los Angeles (or Orlando) with Howard? New York with Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire?
OK, maybe. But maybe not.
After all, if the three-headed monster of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will be as great as everyone predicts, why would you want to switch to the Eastern Conference?
But more than that, there is something else to consider here, something basketball's so-called deep thinkers rarely stop to contemplate.
And that's the theory that maybe players like Anthony, Howard and Paul are just excellent. Maybe they really aren't the once-in-a-generation guys we too often anoint them as being. Maybe they are simply more like all those superstars of previous decades who we never hear about today -- mainly because they failed to win three or four (or even one or two) titles.
Does that make Bernard King or George Gervin or Adrian Dantley anything less than brilliant? Does that mean Chris Webber and John Stockton were a couple of stiffs? Clearly, the answer is no.
The same can be said for Anthony, Howard and Paul. They are fabulous basketball players, stars at the game's highest level. That should be good enough -- for sportswriters, for fans, for their franchises.
So maybe it's just time to enjoy them for who and where they are, and quit worrying about where they might go.
Because the truth is, it might not even matter.
Follow Sam Amico on Twitter @SamAmicoFSO
