Core to build around?

When analyzing the Sixers future, certain players are often labeled as members of the core to build around. Whether to include Andre Iguodala and Jrue Holiday in your core to build a defensive group, or perhaps including Marreese Speights and/or Thaddeus Young if you feel they'll reach their offensive potential, is a different topic of conversation than the one I'm going to tackle tonight. My argument isn't going to ask "who would you build around", but rather whether the Sixers are in the position to really have anyone labeled as a core.

The NBA is, and has been for quite some time, a superstar driven league. Immediately when I say that, people are going to conjur up images of high scoring, one-dimensional scorers. That's not what I'm getting at., I'm a firm believer in the two-way superstar. There's a reason Tim Duncan has 4 NBA Championships and Zach Randolph has none.

(It's also why Chris Bosh should be considered a notch below the cream of the crop this summer, but that's another article).

You can go back over the last 30 years of NBA champions, and, with the exception of that Pistons team a few years ago, you would be hard pressed to find a team that didn't have a hall of famer. From Magic to Isiah, to Hakeem, MJ, Duncan and Shaq, superstars win. Go through the teams on pace to win 50 games and a similar story is told. From LeBron to Dwight, Carmelo, Durant, Nash, Dirk and Kobe, the cream of the crop have superstar players. Guys who present mismatches, who have gameplans devised against them, and who generate open looks for their teammates.

I look at Iguodala and Jrue Holiday as "the guys I'd most like to keep" rather than a core. My preference would be to obtain a superstar player while keeping these two young and versatile talents in my back pocket. Add Kevin Durant to these team and all of a sudden Iguodala's deficiencies are virtually unnoticed, while his strengths shine brightly as a complimentary piece. The distinction is not letting them get in the way of acquiring that level of a talent.
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