Myles Turner, Anthony Davis or JJJ.
Considering that it hasnt really worked with a very good fit next to him(considering the teams succes), its getting more and more difficult for me to see how the team could be built around him so we can maximize his strenghts and hide his weaknesses.
Offensively in order to maximize him he needs to be the one and only guy inside and the primary pick n roll screener. Defensively he needs a rim protector next to him so that he isnt the primary rim protector and the primary defender of the big in the pick n roll. Obviously he can be the 5 in some small ball lineups and against the backups.
If we cant maximize his strenghts and minimize his weaknesses, we arent getting "all star" level production (I wouldnt neccecarily even consider him as an all star level player due to the hard fit of him).
IMO its extremely hard to build a contender with Sabonis as your best or 2nd best player. Bad defending bigs are a hard fit if you want to actually compete because center is the most valuable position defensively. Its the position where you can produce the most positive and the most negative value
I guess I should have maybe clarified "If you don't like Washington as a theoretical good fit next to Sabonis, who would you prefer
that is realistic? Agree that guys like Davis are obviously better fits.
Honestly, I don't think it will matter too much if you put a rim protecting C next to him and have him guard PFs. Team's can still put him in the PnR and you'd also have him guarding a quicker PF in isolation and be roaming around on the perimeter. I believe Turner typically matched up with the opposing team's PFs but I could be wrong.
I think your best bet is to have a couple weakside shot blockers at SF & PF who space the floor effectively. That way when Sabonis is put in the PnR you have a couple players who are able to rotate quickly and contest shots at the rim. Two of Washington, Grant, & Covington would give us that dynamic next to Sabonis, but I'm weary of a Barnes & Washington/Grant/Covington pairing as Barnes averages an abysmal 0.2 blocks per 36 min and opponents shoot 76.6% at the rim against him (and I think Barnes is generally an average defender at best). Having two guys with length, athleticism, & versatility that are strong defenders who can help protect the rim would help mitigate Sabonis' defensive weaknesses. Mitchell would also be a good complementary piece to Sabonis defensively as he can try to cover for Sabonis a bit in the PnR while having two athletic weakside shot blockers ready to rotate.
But generally speaking, I do agree that it's increasingly difficult to build the "right" team around Sabonis. You need very specific players if you hope to be a contending team one day.