I am pretty sure that then-NBA commissioner David Stern
traded his mother at some point during this draft. It really was like one big
game of “Let’s make a Deal.” 19 trades that happened anytime before this draft
ended up affecting this draft. On draft night alone, there were 14 trades (6 of
which were with lottery picks). Just look at how things may have been with no
redraft but with no trades. Lamarcus Aldridge a Bull? Rudy Gay a Rocket? Rajon
Rondo a Sun?
And at the forefront of those trades were the Portland Trail
Blazers. Going strictly by odds, they should have landed the top choice in this
draft. They didn’t and instead scrambled to make the best deals they could. Had
the draft choices stayed their course, Portland
would have ended up with an overrated (again, often referred to as busy)
Italian named Andrea Bargnani. Instead, they had to make some other moves and
ended up with organizational foundation Lamarcus Aldridge and longtime team
leader Brandon Roy. Not too shabby for a team who felt like the world was
against them weeks earlier when the ping pong balls fell Toronto ’s
way for the first time in franchise history.
No Portland
didn’t get their Jordan
this time. But they also didn’t up with another Sam Bowie.
Pick 1: Toronto
Raptors
Who they took: Andrea Bargnani
Who they should have took: Rudy Gay (8th pick)
Why: Joining Andrew Bogut from a year earlier, Bargnani was
not so much a bust as he is often described, just not a sure fire player or a
top pick. That is why I would instead choose to take Rudy Gay if I was Toronto
today. And that isn’t to say there aren’t several other valid options for this
pick. But Gay brings acumen for getting to the basket and a shooting IQ that
combined is unrivaled in this draft class. Toronto
was looking for a killer to replace what they had lost with McGrady and Vince
Carter in recent years and Gay knew how to do that from the word go. The team
won the Atlantic Division following this draft, but not because of their pick.
Needless to say that Gay’s 10.8 ppg as a rookie (and career best 20.1 ppg as a
2nd year player) would have netted the Raptors more of a punch with
Chris Bosh than Andrea did.
Pick 2: Chicago
Bulls
Who they took: Lamarcus Aldridge (traded to Blazers)
Who they should have took: Lamarcus Aldridge (and kept the
pick)
Why: The Chicago Bulls post player carousel had made a full
rotation the team had ran out of options outside an aging Ben Wallace, a past
his prime PJ Brown and a never very good Andres Nocioni. They decided (via
trade) that Tyrus Thomas would be the answer. He wasn’t. Aldridge had a NBA
ready body and the Bulls let the Blazers steal him right out from under them.
His rookie year numbers of 9 ppg and 5 rpg are the lowest of his career and
he’s never averaged fewer than 17.8 or 7.5 again. He is one of the most
talented, athletic and high motor forwards in the game today and has been a
huge centerpiece for a Blazers team currently experiencing somewhat of a
revival. If the Bulls could have kept him long term like Portland
did, he’d currently be teamed up inside with Joakim Noah. Imagine that.
Pick 3: Charlotte
Bobcats
Who they took: Adam Morrison
Who they should have took: Rajon Rondo (21st
pick)
Why: Charlotte
had a lot of self destructive behavior in their early days. Adam Morrison was
the worst of it. Morrison was the 2000’s version of that highly hyped, white,
strong college athlete that just never stood a chance until the pros. Jimmer
Fredette is today’s version. Instead, they could have had a small kid from Kentucky
who has turned into one of the league’s most prolific playmakers. For any
knocks (size, temperament) anyone has on Rondo, he’s got a play to shut you up.
He’s twice led the league in assists and also led it in steals as a 4-time
All-Star and former All-NBA performer. Easily a top five point guard in the
league today, scoring Rondo to help build your franchise around would have been
a major coup for a Bobcats team that used Morrison’s ability as their 4th
best player (what does that say about their other players?!?) to a 33-49 record.
Pick 4: Portland Trail Blazers
Who they took: Tyrus Thomas (traded to Bulls)
Who they should have took: Brandon Roy (6th pick
and kept the pick)
Why: In reality, they ended up getting Roy in a couple picks
via trade, but with no trade here to land Aldridge, you take the next best
playmaker (if not all around player). Before his degenerative knee situation
took full effect, Roy was the one
that looked like he could lead the Blazers back into contention. He immediately
went for broke, averaging 16.8 ppg as a rookie and peaked in his third year
with 22.6 ppg. He only had four good years in the league, but they were very
good and if you are Portland , you
still build on that foundation. Had his knees not gone so, so bad and he was
still in the league today performing at the level he was capable of, he easily
tops this list.
Pick 5: Atlanta
Hawks
Who they took: Shelden Williams
Who they should have took: Paul Millsap (47th
pick)
Why: 46 times, someone passed on future all-star Paul
Millsap. That was a hurter when he has that All-Star year just this last
season. What’s worse is that he was still a 2nd team rookie
performer right after they all passed. He has always been nimble on his feet
and it’s shocking that teams didn’t take a chance on him earlier. He played in
all 82 games three of his first four years in the league and has made steady
progress every year. Atlanta , still
desperate for one more piece inside, really could have used that growth
earlier, though they are happy they have Millsap now during his All-Star year
and those that are still to come.
Pick 6: Minnesota
Timberwolves
Who they took: Brandon Roy (traded to Blazers)
Who they should have took: Kyle Lowry (24th pick
and kept the pick)
Why: Lowry is probably not one you take for the initial
appeal but rather for what he blossoms into. And considering the Timberwolves
(still reeling from years without a pick due to the Joe Smith debacle) traded
away one of the best players in this draft, you have to keep the pick here and
hope Lowry pans out long term while still in Minnesota
where you can pair him with Kevin Garnett briefly and later with Kevin Love. His
numbers have grown every year and he has been an outstanding leader for Toronto .
So if Minnesota could wait (which
they may as well have by ending up with Randy Foye), then Lowry would have been
a gem.
Pick 7: Boston
Celtics
Who they took: Randy Foye (traded to Timberwolves)
Who they should have took: Randy Foye (and kept the pick)
Why: Knock Foye with one pick and take him in the next. Yup.
Boston should have taken Foye to
sweeten the Kevin Garnett deal the following year. He ends up a T-Wolve anyway
that way. It would have allowed Boston
to keep another young piece, preferably Ryan Gomes or Gerald Green while giving
up Foye.
Pick 8: Houston
Rockets
Who they took: Rudy Gay (traded to Memphis )
Who they should have took: J.J. Redick (11th pick
and traded to Memphis )
Why: It is not as good of a move as Rudy Gay and Houston
made a mistake by trading him specifically. But with Gay off the board, I think
you take Redick and actually still trade the pick to Memphis .
If you are Houston , you still get
Shane Battier, a player you covet and if you are Memphis ,
you another piece to be a true shooter until he develops. He fills Battier’s
shoes adequately and opens up Mike Miller to be a scoring point.
Pick 9: Golden State
Who they took: Patrick O’Bryant
Who they should have took: Andrea Bargnani (1st
pick)
Why: I reiterate Bargnani is not a bust. He never scored
less than 10 ppg in a season; he just simply didn’t become Dirk 2.0 as the
Raptors wanted. He is still a solid pick at 9, more so than most people are with
the ninth pick and clearly better than O’Bryant, who washed out quicker than
you can say his name. His shooting hasn’t been exceptional, but he scored 21.4
ppg midway through his current career stretch and would have filled some of the
scoring needed in Golden State
Pick 10: Seattle
Supersonics
Who they took: Mouhamed Sene
Who they should have took: Ronnie Brewer (14th
pick)
Why: Brewer has bounced around a lot after spending his
first 4 years in Utah mostly
because of his significant tumble in production. This is a pick Seattle
makes for immediate relief in the time leading to and of early Kevin Durant.
Brewer helped the Jazz to three straight playoff appearances in his first three
years, the hallmark of which being his 2nd and 3rd years
where he averaged 12 and 13.7 ppg while starting all 156 games of the regular
season and 17 playoff games that he played in. After he left Utah ,
not so much and I don’t expect him to be in the league next year after
averaging 0.9, 0.3 and 0.0 ppg in the last three years over 38 total games. But
if Seattle could get 4 years out of
him like Utah did, it is a good
deal.
Pick 11: Orlando
Magic
Who they took: J.J. Redick
Who they should have took: Shannon Brown (25th
pick)
Why: Orlando
brings Brown in to be a clutch shooter, plain and simple. It’s the same role they
initially brought Redick in for, so this is not a bad move, though not exactly
lateral either. Brown does almost everything in an “OK” way and that is alright
for what service he would have provided in Orlando
and ultimately did provide with the Lakers.
Pick 12: New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Who they took: Hilton Armstrong
Who they should have took: JJ Barea (undrafted)
Why: Did you even know that JJ Barea was on the Mavericks
roster before their championship run in 2010-2011? No. He slid under the radar
and was a valuable commodity without anyone really knowing it. He averaged 7.8
ppg for two years in Dallas ,
missing just 7 total games before people started paying attention. He would
have been a motor guy to backup Chris Paul with the Hornets and one that could
have helped where the Hornets lacked (depth).
Pick 13: Philadelphia
76ers
Who they took: Thabo Sefolosha (traded to Bulls)
Who they should have took: Thabo Sefolosha (and kept the
pick)
Why: Sefolosha is a minute man. Give me 20-25 minutes a
night, shoot the ball at a pretty respectable clip and get hustle points (loose
balls, pass deflections, etc.). And Philly needed someone like him in the worst
way. Iguodala had no interest in hustling, Kyle Korver could only do so much,
Allen Iverson fell asleep while he was still there. Thabo would get you Kevin
Ollie numbers, but would still put in more work and effort than anyone on this
club.
Pick 14: Utah
Jazz
Who they took: Ronnie Brewer
Who they should have took: Jordan Farmar (26th
pick)
Why: A suitable backup for Derek Fisher, which is what
Brewer was. Farmar was never the player that he was at UCLA, but he still shot
the ball well and gave Kobe and
Smush Parker some breaks with the Lakers. He could have done so with a bigger
chance to make an impact in Utah .
Pick 15: New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Who they took: Cedric Simmons
Who they should have took: Leon Powe (49th pick)
Why: Powe was an enforcer every year he was in the league.
His career wasn’t long but he was one of the critical elements on a deep
Celtics team in just his second year that won the NBA title. And again, the
Hornets needed depth, depth and more depth.
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