Let’s call it a tale of one man. The 1997 NBA Draft produced
just three future All-Stars and slew of never-was-beens. But at the top sat Tim
Duncan, one of those, as we keep learning, oh-so rare transcendent players. Duncan
was a game changer and the Spurs didn’t even need one. But with David Robinson
and Sean Elliott injured in 1996-1997, there they found themselves with the
first pick. Though I am betting the Celtics (with the best statistical chance
of getting the pick) were more than upset, the Spurs were glowing.
And even they couldn’t have known all of what they were
about to get. It would end up being perhaps their best draft pick ever. And
that is saying something.
Pick 1: San Antonio
Spurs
Who they took: Tim Duncan
Who they should have took: Tim Duncan
Why: San Antonio
really doesn’t make a habit out of picking in the lottery, but when they made
their one pick of the modern era, they sure made it count. For all of the talk
of “NBA ready” bodies, Tim Duncan was truly that. They picked first in 1997 and
won a title in 1999, in a LARGE part due to Tim Duncan. The fact that they (as
of today) are two wins away from another NBA Finals (their 6th with Duncan )
and have won 4 titles is a testament to just how ready Duncan
was and still is at age 38.
Pick 2: Philadelphia
76ers
Who they took: Keith Van Horn
Who they should have took: Chauncey Billups (3rd
pick)
Why: When Boston
took Billups 3rd, it was a mistake. He proved that over a couple of
years and stretches elsewhere. But he found a mentor and found his way and
became the next best player out of this draft. It was a remarkable turnaround
for a guy drafted 3rd who probably would have been a late second
round pick if the redraft happened 3 years later. His work ethic and leadership
propelled the Pistons to their 2004 title and he has been a peak performer
mostly ever since except for the last couple of years. But his peak scoring
season, few remember, came 12 years into his career.
Pick 3: Boston
Celtics
Who they took: Chauncey Billups
Who they should have took: Tracy McGrady (9th
pick)
Why: Frame. That is what McGrady lacked in 1997. The worries
of high school kids were gone thanks to KG and Kobe .
But for T-Mac, he didn’t have the size that most GMs wanted. He went on to be a
seven-time All-Star and scorer until the day he left the NBA for a baseball
career. But at his peak he was a two-time scoring champion in Orlando ,
taking the crown from Allen Iverson. Nobody in this class, even Duncan ever led
the league in scoring.
Pick 4: Vancouver
Grizzlies
Who they took: Antonio Daniels
Who they should have took: Stephen Jackson (42nd
pick)
Why: Ok, I get you…Jackson
is a jerk. But he is a jerk you want on your side on the court (or in the
stands as the case may be). Jackson
was one of the last old school NBA bullies and he made every shot (at the
basket or his opponent) count. The Grizzlies, before they moved to Memphis
needed a guy to make you scared. Jackson
would have been that guy. Just not too many people knew about him as one of the
rare draft picks out of community college.
Pick 5: Denver
Nuggets
Who they took: Tony Battie
Who they should have took: Keith Van Horn (2nd
pick)
Why: Van Horn is one of those guys who gets a bum rap. He
wasn’t second pick material, but still managed over 16 ppg in nine years with
four clubs. For the 1997-1998 Nuggets squad that flirted with being the worst
team in the league’s history, any boost Van Horn could provide would have been
nice.
Pick 6: Boston
Celtics
Who they took: Ron Mercer
Who they should have took: Antonio Daniels (4th
pick)
Why: With Rick Pitino taking over, why not take Mercer, who
was a big letdown in the league. I can see how they thought they were taking
the right guy at the time, but he didn’t provide the defensive game on the
perimeter that Pitino and the Celtics wanted. Daniels would have been a solid
pick, not a steal here. He made the most of a career full of moves, hovered
around 9 ppg most seasons and was going to a disruptive on-ball defender at
worst.
Pick 7: New Jersey
Nets
Who they took: Tim Thomas
Who they should have took: Derek Anderson (13th
pick)
Why: Anderson
was never the player he was at Kentucky ,
but in a draft of few guards, he ended up putting up some ultimately good
numbers while he was young. He provided Cleveland
scoring in his first two years and had his best seasons in years 3 and 4 with
the Clippers (16.9 ppg) and the Spurs (started all 82 games). Outside of two
seasons being rarely used, his production never slipped too far offensively.
With a rebranding and Jayson Williams at his best in the post the coming
season, a savvy guard like Anderson
would have been helpful.
Pick 8: Golden State
Who they took: Adonyl Foyle
Who they should have took: Bobby Jackson (23rd
pick)
Why: Because he wasn’t Adonyl Foyle. Jackson
slipped in the draft because of size, but flourished after his trade before his
rookie season to Denver where he
averaged 11.6 ppg. Golden State Jackson
would have lended a lot of credibility to the product.
Pick 9: Toronto
Raptors
Who they took: Tracy McGrady
Who they should have took: Maurice Taylor (14th
pick)
Why: Toronto was
getting their footing and Maurice Taylor had some of that Fab Five flash in his
system (and sadly for him, some of that Fab Five cash too). He never got his
legs under him mostly because of his poor choices. His status and stature would
have served Toronto well though for
a couple of years before it all came falling down.
Pick 10: Milwaukee
Bucks
Who they took: Danny Fortson
Who they should have took: Brevin Knight (16th
pick)
Why: The Bucks were trying everything and I do mean
everything to win. They traded their All-Star (Vin Baker) for two hens and a
yam and then drafted a guy who barely jumped to shoot the ball. Knight on the
other hand was an explosive and undersized slasher who led Stanford in scoring,
assists and steals while putting them back in a national spotlight.
Pick 11: Sacramento
Kings
Who they took: Tariq Abdul-Wahad
Who they should have took: Tim Thomas (7th pick)
Why: At the time, I was totally behind the original Kings
pick. As Olivier St. Jean,
the now Abdul-Wahad led an underdog San Jose State team into the NCAA
Tournament and looked like he was primed to break out in the pros. Then he
changed his name. And then he sucked. If Sacramento
knew that one of their “helpful” recent draft picks in Brian Grant was leaving
in free agency, I feel they would have gone bigger. And while Thomas wasn’t
(shocker) as good as projected, his 11 points per game in 77 games as a rookie
was far better than Abdul-Wahad’s six.
Pick 12: Indiana
Pacers
Who they took: Austin Croshere
Who they should have took: Tony Battie (5th pick)
Why: This is a hard pick to want to change because Croshere
was such an iconic face (in that, cult classic way) during the Pacer rebirth.
With Chris Mullin, Reggie Miller, Rik Smits and host of mid-sized role players,
the Pacers came within an eyelash of the NBA finals in 97-98 and Battie would
have served them well as they really didn’t have a true backup to Smits.
Pick 13: Cleveland
Cavaliers
Who they took: Derek Anderson
Who they should have took: Austin Croshere (12th
pick)
Why: See above. Croshere was that guy you want on your team.
He picks everyone else up. And maybe he could have flourished earlier in Cleveland ,
not with a contender like Indiana .
With the Pacers, he didn’t get to play much early, peaking in his third season.
In Cleveland he would have been
relied upon early and I think he would have reacted. In a revamping offseason,
the Cavs were more than happy to get Anderson ,
but I don’t think Croshere would have hurt either.
Pick 14: Los Angeles
Clippers
Who they took: Maurice Taylor
Who they should have took: Scot Pollard (19th
pick)
Why: The slipping of Kansas ’
two prospects from 1997 probably had something to do with a Sweet 16 loss to Arizona .
Where, while the game was close, the Wildcats exposed a lot of weaknesses that
didn’t look so weak the previous game against Purdue. Pollard was one of those
two and his enigmatic behavior didn’t help. He was a wild card at Kansas
and became more of one later, with it only really being a benefit during his
time with the rag-tag Sacramento King contender teams.
Pick 15: Dallas
Mavericks
Who they took: Kelvin Cato
Who they should have took: Jacque Vaughn (27th
pick)
Why: See above (at least the “The slipping of Kansas ’
two prospects from 1997 probably had something to do with a Sweet 16 loss to Arizona .
Where, while the game was close, the Wildcats exposed a lot of weaknesses that
didn’t look so weak the previous game against Purdue” part). Vaughn just didn’t
have size on his side which hurt him because he was never too quick either. As
the league was developing into a more fast paced game, he was out of place. In Dallas ,
where he could have learned an up tempo pace from Jason Kidd, he would have
been better off. After all, he surely wasn’t learning run and gun from John
Stockton in Utah .
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