Kessler v Duren?
Would take Duren over Kessler any day. Kessler has been good this year, no doubt, but he has also been this year's beneficiary of the Annual Steve Nash Hype Award that is perpetually
pushed by the NBA media.
Kessler has been asked to do a couple of simple things - rim protect and rebound - on a pretty talented squad and he's done those things well for a rookie. (And, yes, Minnesota made an historically bad move trading him plus assets for Gobert.) Because of Detroit's chaotic season, Duren's path has not been as well-defined or as simple. Especially since Wiseman joined the team, which has resulted in a wide range of on-court assignments for Duren. But Duren's on-court performance has not been far behind Kessler's - especially considering the big difference in age and experience - and Duren's ceiling, because his freakish athleticism and offensive potential is much higher. You could probably drop Duren into the Jazz lineup, ask him to what Kessler is doing and while it might have taken him about 20 games to get his assignments down, he probably could perform very similarly, if not better. And Duren's passing ability would have opened up even more options for the Jazz offense. Duren is an unusually smart, perceptive player with a high BB IQ, despite his on-court appearance, which screams Incredible Hulk.
Kessler will be a good defensive center who will peak out around all-star level. Duren has the potential to land on All-NBA teams routinely.
And the idea that Kessler has been better than Ivey this year is laughable.
Logic has gotten turned upside down in this discussion, for Kessler's benefit. Rim runining, rim protecting 5s are the least valuable members of a starting 5 in today's NBA. Dynamic guards/wings like Ivey are the most valuable. (Check the salaries if you don't believe me.) Reality: Ivey as lead ballhandler/wing > Kessler as rim protecting 5. Somehow, that reality is inverted, to Ivey's detriment. Somehow, and for some reason, the least valuable player type - limited, rim running defensive 5 - is regarded as more valuable.
That Ivey has evolved so quickly and ended up as such an improved player is unusual and very impressive. Again, Kessler has performed his assignment well, but his job is relatively easy. Ivey has taken the much more difficult task and excelled at it.
Typically, there would be recognition of that reality by media. For some strange reason, the opposite logic applies to Kessler when evaluating him.