Ira Winderman

The 2005 NBA draft appeared to be a defining moment for the future of the league.

Deron Williams went No. 3 to the Jazz, Chris Paul No. 4 to the Hornets.

Within months, the next wave of point guards was dominating the game.

If you didn't have one, you had to get one.

Or you assuredly weren't going anywhere.

Now, flash forward to these just-completed playoffs, where the position not only was marginalized in the NBA finals, but barely a necessity to the league's final four beyond what the Nuggets accomplished under the deft hand of Chauncey Billups.

The champion Lakers? Don't kid yourself. Kobe Bryant had the ball in his hands when it mattered most, setting up the offense from his spot at shooting guard.

Bryant not only had more than three times as many assists as any other Laker in the five-game finals against the Magic, but more than twice as many assists as any teammate over the entire postseason.

Derek Fisher? He stood as a point guard in name only. Not only did the Lakers veteran average just 2.2 assists in the playoffs, but he had only nine assists the entire NBA finals. Nine.

The Magic? For all the finals controversy regarding the minutes of Rafer Alston and Jameer Nelson, neither had the ball in their hands against the Lakers when Orlando had to make a play. That responsibility went to Hedo Turkoglu, the team's de facto playmaker.

A 6-foot-8 small forward, Turkoglu not only led the Magic in assists over Orlando's 24-game playoff marathon, but he eclipsed the totals of both Alston and Nelson in the finals. Turkoglu finished second in assists for the Magic in the finals to 6-10 power forward Rashard Lewis.

That over-the-top passing ability hardly was an anomaly. Seven-foot Pau Gasol finished second to Bryant in assists for the Lakers in the finals. Not Fisher. Not Jordan Farmar.

The lesson of the finals was that with proper ball movement and proper spacing, the type created by the Lakers' triangle and the Magic's 3-point threat offenses, the need for a traditional playmaker becomes marginalized.

Slideshow   NBA playoffs Take a look at photos from the playoffs, including the Magic finishing off LeBron and the Cavs in Game 6. more photos

In the case of both the Lakers and Magic, each team's leading scorer in the finals also was its most efficient passer. And neither was a point guard.

As for the conference finals?

While Billups was very much in charge for the Nuggets, LeBron James seemingly always had the ball in his hands for the Cavaliers, creating for both himself and his teammates. Mo Williams found himself cast in the role of Derek Fisher, as designated 3-point shooter. Williams finished the playoffs with 58 assists to LeBron's 102.

Throw in the on-ball dominance of Dwyane Wade, Ron Artest and Brandon Roy this postseason and the got-to-have-a-do-it-all-point-guard era seems to have ended before Paul and Williams have reached their fifth seasons.

"There always are trends," Alston said of Bryant and Turkoglu controlling play from the wing. "That's what's happening now, but it will come back. This league always is looking for point guards."

He then smiled, as if hoping, more than knowing.

That search, of course, is particularly heated right now, with the draft coming on June 25.

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