It was a Draft that could have been
built as one for the ages. Many more of those “can't miss”
prospects, headlined by a future superstar in Joe Smith, the money
story of the first high school player going pro in decades and a pair
of talents from Chapel Hill. That high schooler, Kevin Garnett,
changed the game forever because of the notable high school players
that followed in the coming years and how it led to the NBA's one and
done rule and is still relevant today as the league considers
imposing an age limit of 20.
The players, especially near the top
had solid careers, but only one really ended up standing out as a
superstar. And it was not the one projected to do so.
Pick 1: Golden State Warriors
Who they took: Joe Smith
Who they should have took: Kevin
Garnett (5th pick)
Why: Far and away the best player in
this draft, which was so hard to see then. He was raw and out of high
school and nobody had any indication how that would transfer at this
point. Not since Moses Malone had a notable player come straight to
the league more than 20 years earlier, so Garnett was a huge question
mark, even when he was ultimately taken at five. Looking back, the
addition of Garnett could have propelled the Warriors into
contention, as he eventually did in Minnesota. Imagine if you will a
world where Golden State never moved Chris Webber. Could you imagine
C-Webb and KG teaming up? A soon-to-be Hall of Famer, one of the few
things lacking from Garnett's resume is being selected number one
overall.
Pick 2: Los Angeles Clippers
Who they took: Antonio McDyess (traded
to Nuggets)
Who they should have took: Rasheed
Wallace (4th pick)
Why: The Clippers really did not
benefit from this pick, which netted them Brent Barry and Rodney
Rogers in a trade. Wallace, who was looked at as equal to college
teammate Stackhouse, would have been more valuable to LA than their
pick or the two guys they got in trade. With Garnett off the board,
Wallace, who was more than serviceable especially as a NBA champion
in Detroit would be the way to go. In the real draft, passing on
Wallace, Stackhouse and especially Garnett were just three more
mistakes to add to a long list of Clippers draft blunders throughout
history.
Pick 3: Philadelphia 76ers
Who they took: Jerry Stackhouse
Who they should have took: Jerry
Stackhouse
Why: In a redraft, Stackhouse was not
only the best player available, he was the right option for Philly,
which he may have been in 1995 as well. They didn't really need the
presence of Wallace and this wasn't a guard heavy draft so they
couldn't improve there either. Stackhouse is one of the top 76ers of
the modern era and once even led the league in scoring after leaving
the city of brotherly love.
Pick 4: Washington Bullets
Who they took: Rasheed Wallace
Who they should have took: Antonio
McDyess (2nd pick)
Why: While Wallace ended up with the
better body of work, what he did for Washington in his years there
could have been equaled by McDyess. Many forget what McDyess did
during his career. When you pick a guy in the top 5, you expect a
superstar. But more often than not, you get far from that. More guys
in the top 5 end up busts than end up consistent performers like
McDyess. The fact that he did so well too with many injuries that
rarely slowed his helpful pace makes him still a good pick up in this
draft.
Pick 5: Minnesota Timberwolves
Who they took: Kevin Garnett
Who they should have took: Joe Smith
(1st pick)
Why: Joe Smith was not the superstar of
this class. But that didn't stop him from being a great overall
athlete and another solid career contributor in the league, a role
that each of the top 5 (outside of Garnett's superstar talent) took
on. Plus, I think Minnesota would have preferred adding Smith this
way more than when they did so in free agency years later, violating
the salary cap and losing a first round pick for multiple years
because of it. Minnesota however also should be happy with what they
got instead of Smith as Garnett was the their first draft pick to
really pan out.
Pick 6: Vancouver Grizzlies
Who they took: Bryant Reeves
Who they should have took: Michael
Finley (21st pick)
Why: A productive defender and bench
player for years to come, Finley was a steal when he went after a
decent career at Wisconsin. For Vancouver, anything would have been
better than the disappointment of 'Big Country.' Finley may have not
been able to be a cornerstone for the organization but he would have
been a good place to start for this new organization.
Pick 7: Toronto Raptors
Who they took: Damon Stoudamire
Who they should have took: Damon
Stoudamire
Why: Toronto, like Vancouver, was in
their first draft and needed a young athletic player to build around.
Stoudamire remains the best choice to do that. Mighty Mouse is
probably the most recognizable player from the Raptors early seasons
for a reason and that is because he was the early, short term
lynchpin that they needed him to be.
Pick 8: Portland Trail Blazers
Who they took: Shawn Respert (traded to
Milwaukee)
Who they should have took: Theo Ratliff
(18th pick)
Why: Ratliff, like Finley, was a nice
surprise future All-Star late first round pick. He was a strong
interior defender over the years. In a draft that got moderately
shallow after the top 5, Ratliff would have added some life to the
lifeless Trail Blazers, who struggled from about this point until
about two years ago. It would have been more helpful than either
Respert or Gary Trent, who they traded for.
Pick 9: New Jersey Nets
Who they took: Ed O’Bannon
Who they should have took: Corliss
Williamson (13th pick)
Why: What we knew about Williamson from
his National Title days at Arkansas was that he was tough as nails, a
reputation that developed even more in the NBA. He was good at making
something out of nothing. Because let's face it, Arkansas was not
exactly rich with talent when they stood atop the college
mountaintop. New Jersey, at this point was looking for a blue collar
proven winner, which is why they went with O'Bannon. What O'Bannon
didn't provide however was a motor or effort for a higher level,
something that Williamson never was short on even when he was short
on talent.
Pick 10: Miami Heat
Who they took: Kurt Thomas
Who they should have took: Brent Barry
(15th pick)
Why: 8,0000 career points and one of
the more surprising NBA Dunk titles ever. That is what Brent Barry
brought the Clippers that he could have brought to Miami. Barry was a
strong passer and shooter throughout his career, another service guy
in this draft that was often reliable. But as a rookie, he captured
perhaps his biggest moment by taking off from the free throw line to
win the Dunk Contest, one of the more shocking wins ever in the
contest (and some note of interest, he is still the only white guy to
win the contest). In Miami, he could have taken the crown from the
Heat's Harold Minor, who had reached his decline.
Pick 11: Milwaukee Bucks
Who they took: Gary Trent (traded to
Portland)
Who they should have took: Kurt Thomas
(10th pick)
Why: Lather, rinse, repeat? Thomas was
a strong defender who proved to be a good journeyman. Heard it
before. Pretty consistent with this draft. And at least he wasn't
Shawn Respert.
Pick 12: Dallas Mavericks
Who they took: Cherokee Parks
Who they should have took: Greg
Ostertag (28th pick)
Why: While often forgotten in the story
of the Utah Jazz's title contention years, Ostertag was an anchor.
Like Byron Russell years earlier, the Jazz lucked out in getting him
late in the draft. Dallas was starting to build something by 1995
after three drafts that got them their 3 J's (Jim Jackson, Jamal
Mashburn and Jason Kidd) and a centerpiece in the post would have
legitimized them a lot. Unfortunately (and I say this with as much
kindness as I can as a Duke fan), they incorrectly thought that Parks
was going to be that guy. Ostertag would have been a great pick here.
Pick 13: Sacramento Kings
Who they took: Corliss Williamson
Who they should have took: Bob Sura
(17th pick)
Why: Part of me says take Bryant Reeves
or Alan Henderson here because the Kings clearly wanted another
interior player to pair with Brian Grant, but I really think with
Bobby Hurley's injury, they could have bit the bullet on taking on a
productive point guard here. Sura would have served good in the
direction that the Kings were going in with their tempo.
Pick 14: Boston Celtics
Who they took: Eric Williams
Who they should have took: Fred Hoiberg
(52nd pick)
Why: This was such a horrible draft era
for the Boston Celtics, why not take a gamble on a guy who played
such a specific role in the league. Hoiberg was a spot up shooter,
nothing more and nothing less. But why not take that shot? He was a
guy who, in the locker room, could have brought together the rag tag
group that they had and would assemble during the losing years in
Boston. Paul Pierce came in and did that eventually, but it took him
a while to have the level of maturity that Hoiberg did immediately.
Pick 15: Denver Nuggets
Who they took: Brent Barry (traded to
Clippers)
Who they should have took: Bryant
Reeves (6th pick)
Why: Big Country is another guy who
never panned out, but his first four years or so are worth at least
the 15th pick. The Nuggets could have used a perimeter
player but Reeves wouldn't be passable here. He was strong and built
like a house. And, even if you trade this pick away as they ended up
doing, you could probably have gotten a better return investment from
a team that picked late that really wanted a role player center.
No comments:
Post a Comment