Power Rankings: Decade's finest doesn't include these five

Dave Del Grande | December 22, 2009

NBA All-Decade starting fives are starting to sprout from coast to coast. Shockingly, not a single author sought out my suggestions.

Alas, there's still time. So to those of you with thinking caps still firmly in place, I offer five guys NOT to consider. Let's call it my All-Overrated Team of the Decade.

PG: Stephon Marbury. On Feb. 24, 2006, Marbury and Steve Francis -- a pair of All-Star regulars earlier in the decade -- teamed for the first time as Knicks. They combined to shoot 8-for-21 and missed six of 11 from the free-throw line. The Knicks lost at home to the Nets that night, and it has been all downhill from there.

Each had a good thing going in his first NBA home -- Marbury with the Timberwolves and Francis with the Rockets. The farther they ventured away, the more disappointing they became. The edge here goes to Marbury, who can't use injuries as his primary excuse.

SG: Tracy McGrady. Some might argue McGrady was the second-best guard of the century's first decade. After all, he currently ranks third among guards in scoring in the past 10 years and seven times made the All-NBA first, second or third team.

But McGrady's playoff failures are well documented -- 43.0 percent shooting, never more than seven postseason games in any season. And as the decade ends, it's fitting that no player -- NONE -- is providing less bang for his buck. His league-leading $23.2 million salary serves one purpose: It will provide a huge salary-cap relief the minute it expires next July and he limps into the sunset.

SF: Vince Carter. If there ever were evidence that the Warriors are haunted, it's embodied in Carter. He was a member of the organization for all of about five minutes in 1998 and yet was afflicted with such a powerful dose of "Golden State," he has never entirely bled out the poison.

The Warriors paid $250,000 on draft night that year to move ahead of the Raptors and assure they would get Antawn Jamison, the "other" University of North Carolina standout, with Carter going next to Toronto. Turns out it was a wise investment. Jamison never turned out to be a great player, but his career -- highlighted by consistency and professionalism -- has been everything Carter's hasn't. At a far lower price to boot.

PF: Kenyon Martin. If point guard weren't the toughest decision on this squad, then it was the narrow selection of Martin over Elton Brand. Some would opt for Brand, saying at least Martin was a winner at one point in his career.

But in the end, it's the winning Martin did in New Jersey that set up his fall. Without Jason Kidd to carry him, his Denver days have been downright dreadful, an almost complete waste of money (he's making more than Dwight Howard this season). You might say the same about Brand as a 76er -- in fact, you should -- but longevity is key to winning an All-Decade (dis)honor, and Martin has that with the Nuggets.

C: Dikembe Mutombo. Next time it's dry outside, rest a ladder up against the backboard above your garage, stand on the third stair and have someone lob you a basketball. Dunk it. Then repeat this nine times. If you miss half your attempts, you can relate with Mutombo.

Barely a 50-50 proposition despite rarely shooting from below rim level, and having the offensive agility of the aforementioned ladder, Mutombo might be considered the third-best center of the decade behind Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming. Sorry. Not when you can't shoot, pass or dribble. As the finger-waving Mutombo himself would gesture: "Not here."

Fittingly, the Team of the Decade is my Team of the First Seven Weeks of the 2009-10 season. Congratulations, Lakers, once again No. 1 in the weekly CBSSports.com NBA Power Rankings.