Magic or Isiah? Jordan or Bryant? James or Durant? Duncan or Garnett? Kareem or Shaq?

These are not-so-simple questions, but one posed recently in a little activity a friend of mine posted on Twitter.

Listed were five names of current and all-time NBA greats at each position with dollar values descending from $5 to $1.

You pick the team, but you have only $15 with which to spend.

What team would you choose?

First, here is a rundown of the players and their values:

Point guard: Magic Johnson ($5), Oscar Robertson ($4), Isiah Thomas ($3), John Stockton ($2), Walt Frazier ($1).

Shooting guard: Michael Jordan ($5), Kobe Bryant ($4), Jerry West ($3), Clyde Drexler ($2), Dwayne Wade ($1).

Small forward: LeBron James ($5), Larry Bird ($4), Julius Erving ($3), Kevin Durant ($2), Scottie Pippen ($1)

Power forward: Karl Malone ($5), Charles Barkley ($4), Tim Duncan ($3), Dirk Nowitzki ($2), Kevin Garnett ($1)

Center: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ($5), Bill Russell ($4), Wilt Chamberlain ($3), Shaquille O’Neal ($2), Hakeem Olajuwon ($1)

Now the fun begins.

You really can’t go wrong with any configuration, but the fun lies in trying to balance budget with synergy on the court.

There are several types of teams that could be made. You could go big with Shaq, Barkley, Durant, Drexler and Magic.

You could go small (well small-ish) with Russell, Nowitzki, Dr. J, West and Thomas.

Or you could be boring and go with all the $3 players.

When I was composing my team, which took a lot longer than I thought, I looked for bargains. Then I looked at how all five would fit together on the floor.

I also picked a few personal favorites to craft a team World B. Free could be proud of.

First of all, Chamberlain coming in at $3 is a straight-up steal. Sign me up for Wilt as my center. Total: $3.

At power forward, I went with one of my all-time favorites, Kevin Garnett. Not only does KG come in at a paltry sum of $1, but he is an all-around player who can do many different things for my team, Total: $4.

Next I went with a player who I cut my teeth with as a young fan of the NBA: Larry Bird.

I also chose him when playing that old Atari game, Julius Erving vs. Larry Bird, one-on-one. Total: $8.

Shooting guard is a no-brainer: Jordan. Period. Total: $13.

That makes point guard a pretty easy pick. With $2 left and John Stockton the $2 point guard, Stockton and his short shorts it is.

I have two of the top scorers to ever play the game in Chamberlain and Jordan.

All I need out of my PG is assists. Stockton was the best.

What team would you build?

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.