Redrafting the 2010 NBA Draft

Bleeding blue. That is what the 2010 NBA Draft was all about. Five players from the University of Kentucky set a record by all being drafted in the first round, including top pick John Wall. What made it so important, other than that fact, is that four of the five all came out after just one year of college. If the one-and-done trend had hit two years earlier with Derrick Rose leading the way, it had officially arrived as THE THING during this draft. Never before had essentially an entire team departed together. It has happened a couple of times since, with UK doing it once again since 2010 and the school likely would have seen it happen again in 2014 had they not lost the National Title game.

Outside of that, there are a lot of great prospects who are in line for big paydays in the league soon, including little Indiana boy Gordon Hayward, the once darling of the NCAA Tournament, who should be one of the most sought after free agents this summer.

Pick 1: Washington Wizards

Who they took: John Wall

Who they should have took: John Wall

Why: Wall was the perfect choice for a team without a star that was just going through the rotation of over hyped players. He has been the model for consistency while being a very mature player immediately in the NBA. 0.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.5 spg and 3 ppg are the only fluctuations in his career season highs and lows. He may not be the best point guard in the league, but for sure one I would want on my team.

Pick 2: Philadelphia 76ers

Who they took: Evan Turner

Who they should have took: Paul George (10th pick)

Why: I really wanted to put George at number one, but I guess I just am not sold on him yet. He has the potential to be a top 10 player in the NBA, but I don't know that he has the heart and enthusiasm to do so. Never the less, he is a super talented get to the basket scorer who can slash through practically any defense, if not all of them. Philly thought they were getting that in Turner (see pick #5). To see his scoring average go up 14 ppg in three years shows just what George is capable of on the offensive end.

Pick 3: New Jersey Nets

Who they took: Derrick Favors

Who they should have took: Demarcus Cousins (5th pick)

Why: New Jersey needed their new Kenyon Martin, a raw and vicious post who would help them to the promised land by just being a wrecking ball. Favors was surprisingly soft and Cousins has just never cared about who he runs over. He has always been a huge presence inside and just had career best numbers in EVERY statistical category as a fourth year player last year. Imagine adding him to today's Brooklyn Nets lineup with Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and a healthy Brook Lopez.

Pick 4: Minnesota Timberwolves

Who they took: Wesley Johnson

Who they should have took: Gordon Hayward (9th pick)

Why: I didn't know if Hayward could make it as a pro. Yes, he was great in high school. Yes, he was great on a team like Butler (coming literally an inch of a roll in the other direction from a national title for the relatively small school). But, did he have the size or the versatility? Was he JJ Redick or was he Adam Morrison? Reality shows he was probably neither, but better than both. With such recent draft picks, we can afford to play the what if game (as you have seen and will continue to see), so what if you put Hayward with Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love? Think the Timberwolves would still be looking at another down slide?

Pick 5: Sacramento Kings

Who they took: Demarcus Cousins

Who they should have took: Evan Turner (2nd pick)

Why: While Turner did well early in his career in Philly, he never was the player he was in college before his back injury. He still is a pretty strong offensive player, but has shown he can't succeed as a role player at this point, as seen by his production dropping significantly in his move to Indiana last season. At least with the Kings, he would have been able to be THE significant contributor.

Pick 6: Golden State Warriors

Who they took: Ekpe Udoh

Who they should have took: Greg Monroe (7th pick)

Why: Monroe has quietly been an old-school beast of a center in Detroit. He is quiet, unassuming and still physical without being overly aggressive. Though he hasn't done it yet in a single season, he has all of the potential to be a career double-double guy and would be the missing link inside that Golden State needs and have been trying to add with potential trades for Kevin Love in this 2014 off season.

Pick 7: Detroit Pistons

Who they took: Greg Monroe

Who they should have took: Lance Stephenson (40th pick)

Why: There is no bigger spark plug in this draft than Lance Stephenson and if you watched the 2014 NBA Finals, you can't possibly disagree with that. Unfortunately, he can also be a challenge in some degrees. But to me, the juice is worth the squeeze and you can't replicate Stephenson's desire and passion. If you have read past blogs of mine, you will know that I would restructure the current Pacers as more of a 1980's Detroit Bad Boys teams, so what better fit would there be for Lance than Detroit?

Pick 8: Los Angeles Clippers

Who they took: Al-Farouq Aminu

Who they should have took: Eric Bledsoe (18th pick)

Why: I felt at the time like Bledsoe was the most raw of the five Kentucky players coming out, but didn't end up being so. I am sure the Clippers, who ended up with him via draft day trade, would have liked to get him anyway without giving anything up. While he never was the production guy in LA he has become, you take the chance that you can keep him in the long term and pick him over Aminu, who has never been much of anything and probably never will be.

Pick 9: Utah Jazz

Who they took: Gordon Hayward

Who they should have took: Derrick Favors (3rd pick)

Why: Favors will never live up to his hype because quite frankly, when the opponents were as big as him, he wilted. He is still a very strong and muscular force as a swing forward, but he will never be a dominant rebounder or post production guy. With that, he has learned to work great in a pick and roll position and has thrived moving like that in Utah anyway in recent years.

Pick 10: Indiana Pacers

Who they took: Paul George

Who they should have took: Avery Bradley (19th pick)

Why: Bradley is a solid score-first point who can rise to the occasion. As Boston's need for his production has risen, so has his game. He would be a valuable piece for the building Pacers and a true point guard, who even though he is a score-first guy, can and will pass the ball.

Pick 11: New Orleans Hornets

Who they took: Cole Aldrich (traded to Thunder)

Who they should have took: Jeremy Lin (undrafted and trade the pick)

Why: Then, there wasn't going to be a trade partner and today, there is still a smaller and shrinking aura of intrigue around Lin. Can he catch lightning in a bottle twice. Make the pick and use it as an asset when the time is right because Lin is an "OK" basketball player and has some trade value to help build up the now Pelicans.

Pick 12: Memphis Grizzlies

Who they took: Xavier Henry

Who they should have took: Larry Sanders (15th pick)

Why: Sanders won't knock your socks off, but one of Memphis' downfalls is the lack of a quality post behind Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Sanders could be that guy as he is more suited for that role than that of leading man, which they are trying to make him be in Milwaukee.

Pick 13: Toronto Raptors

Who they took: Ed Davis

Who they should have took: Greivis Vasquez (28th pick)

Why: Consistency is a key for draft picks after 10 and after his rookie year, Vasquez has been that. Toronto has him now, but would have loved to have his consistency while they built the playoff team they have today.

Pick 14: Houston Rockets

Who they took: Patrick Patterson

Who they should have took: Landry Fields (39th pick)

Why: Fields is terrible. BUT, he wasn't early. Fields appeared to be THE STEAL of this draft and really was his first two years in the league. This is another draft and dump guy. If the Rockets could have taken Fields and dumped him off during the second year of his contract before he bounced in free agency (like he did to the Knicks), then they could have gotten another good piece for the Dwight Howard/James Harden duo. That is your end game with this pick, even if you don't know it yet.

Pick 15: Milwaukee Bucks

Who they took: Larry Sanders

Who they should have took: Jordan Crawford (27th pick)

Why: Of course, you want the early career Jordan Crawford who looked like he was going to be one of those draft day steals. You don't however want the current day Jordan Crawford who plays like the 27th pick. Business boomed for him in Washington and he did OK in Boston before becoming a trade chip. He would have been more featured in Milwaukee and they could have gotten the most out of his early career peak.

Redrafting the 2000 NBA Draft

Orlando had three top-13 picks. Chicago had two top-7 picks. Yet neither emerged from the 2000 NBA Draft with a legit prospect to help turn them into a contender. But why?

Because the 2000 NBA Draft sucked, that’s why. Universally panned as the worst draft of the modern era (and if it isn’t considered as such, it should be), the draft produced ok, mediocre and cry-yourself-to-sleep why-did-I-pick-him results. Mark Madsen may be one of the most memorable people to come out of this draft. Yes, the guy who danced a lot as a Laker.

Six picks between seven and fifteen were traded before their rookie seasons, showing just how inconsequential this group was and how no team was really all that interested in anyone.

I come back to write this paragraph after I wrote the rest of this blog. And why? Because this was just plan sad and boring. It made me hate that I decided to do this series and I seriously can’t wait until I get the chance to write about the 2001 class just because they weren’t this pile of whatever this pile is.

Its all just…gross.

Pick 1: New Jersey Nets

Who they took: Kenyon Martin

Who they should have took: Kenyon Martin

Why: Martin was instrumental early on and one of the only plays in this class to achieve any decent level of success. After averaging 12 ppg as a rookie, Martin would lead the Nets to the 2002 NBA Finals in his second season and then post career highs in scoring in seasons three and four, all while helping establish the Nets as an Eastern power. This was the right pick then and remains so now. Even after he left Jersey, Martin has been a helpful performer, posting a career high in field goal percentage during the 2012-2013 season.

Pick 2: Vancouver Grizzlies

Who they took: Stromile Swift

Who they should have took: Mike Miller (5^th pick)

Why: Another guy in this series who ended up there anyway, Miller was a lights out shooter and still is when called upon. His best years were in Memphis, where he shot 50-percent from three-point range in 2003 and averaged 18.5 ppg in 2007. The Grizzlies could have used him earlier to ease their continued pain of bad picks.

Pick 3: Los Angeles Clippers

Who they took: Darius Miles

Who they should have took: Jamal Crawford (8^th pick)

Why: When he scores, he break records. 44 times Jamal Crawford has made four-point plays. It’s a record….because it’s 44 times! Crawford has been here, there and everywhere (including the Clippers) and is a 2-time sixth man award winner. Wherever he ends up, he helps and was a pretty prolific scorer during one of the sets of down years for the Knicks. He led the league in free throw shooting in 2012 in Portland and has averaged over 18 ppg five times, including this last season on a roster that boasts big time scorers Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. He has turned out significantly better than people thought he would and probably still doesn’t get the respect that he deserves.

Pick 4: Chicago Bulls

Who they took: Marcus Fizer

Who they should have took: Hedo Turkoglu (16^th pick)

Why: Because he wasn’t Marcus Fizer? No seriously, Hedo is a guy who can spread the floor and play pretty much any position other than point guard, especially in his younger days. With the Bulls pretty much needing everything right here, Hedo would have helped literally everywhere. He was a terrific role player early on in Sacramento (about the time the Bulls would have had him) and only got better as the contracts got bigger. And my guess is the Bulls would have tried harder to keep him on the payroll than the Kings did. And as good of an unlikely three-point shooter as he always has been, he posted his best numbers there (44%) just this last season.

Pick 5: Orlando Magic

Who they took: Mike Miller

Who they should have took: Deshawn Stevenson (23^rd pick)

Why: Yup, he sure is a lifetime 7.2 ppg guy who didn’t even play in the league last year. But Stevenson has done so many intangible things in his career and has been reliable when a team shows him that he is relied on, playing in and starting all 82 games for three straight seasons from 2005-2008, all while averaging 11 or so points. He was a gifted natural athlete from the get go and true bruiser.

Pick 6: Atlanta Hawks

Who they took: DerMarr Johnson

Who they should have took: Jamaal Magloire (19^th pick)

Why: Magloire ended up being a bust that has been out of the league for 2 years but it seems much longer. But spent his first 5 years in the league (a big part of that rookie contract) as a possible long term All-Star, instead of a one-and-done All-Star (which is still way more than most this class can boast). He played, played often, played a lot of minutes and averaged 13.6 ppg and 10.3 rpg in his fourth season. Magloire would have been a band aid, not any long term care. But he was, at that time, a pretty damn good band aid.

Pick 7: Chicago Bulls

Who they took: Chris Mihm (traded to Cavaliers)

Who they should have took: Michael Redd (43^rd pick)

Why: For an Olympic Gold Medalist and NBA All-Star, Michael Redd’s name wasn’t on the tip of people’s tongues nearly as long as it should have been because of back-to-back torn ACLs. Before that ACL tear, he was one of the biggest steals in draft history with five seasons averaging 20+ ppg. Redd established himself, in the mid-2000s, as one of the best players in the NBA no only in scoring, but just working to get to the basket. On top of his ability to create, he was a great shooter, only shooting less than 40-percent from three-point range two seasons, including his rookie campaign. He could have been the fact of the Bulls in an era where they were so desperate for their “new Michael,” before Derrick Rose came in.

Pick 8: Cleveland Cavaliers

Who they took: Jamal Crawford (traded to Bulls)

Who they should have took: Quentin Richardson (18^th pick)

Why: Expectation hurt Richardson early. That and his teaming with Darius Miles that forced that young guns expectation. But under that, Richardson was a charger and the Cavs essentially used this pick to take beat up and boring Chris Mihm. Cleveland was still limping to that light at the end of the tunnel that was a couple of years away and Richardson would have been a great person to have with some experience when LeBron came to town. His best season? LeBron’s rookie year where 17.2 ppg in Cleveland would have gone a long further than it did with the Clippers.

Pick 9: Houston Rockets

Who they took: Joel Przybilla (traded to Bucks)

Who they should have took: Keyon Dooling (10^th pick)

Why: Because I am grasping at straws? No really, I am. The Rockets ended up with Jason Collier with this pick essentially and even though they didn’t know the best player in franchise history (Hakeem Olajuwon) was headed out the door, they really needed a scoring punch that they didn’t have. If it wasn’t for Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley, this team would have been awful. Worse than they were, which despite their 48-34 record in 2010-2011, was pretty bad. Dooling would have provided way more of a lift than Collier, who was the 13^th best player on the team.

Pick 10: Orlando Magic

Who they took: Keyon Dooling (traded to Clippers)

Who they should have took: Joel Przybilla (9^th pick)

Why: Pszybilla is functional. That function isn’t always solid, but it does exist. And that counts for something, right? Who am I kidding; he was a big body who wouldn’t have helped the Magic. Draft him, trade him while he has some stock in 2000 (before he went on to be a top 10 pick who averaged less than one point a game as a rookie)

Pick 11: Boston Celtics

Who they took: Jerome Moiso

Who they should have took: Eddie House (37^th pick)

Why: Because he’s not Jerome Moiso. No seriously, I could put anyone’s name here and it would be valid. House went on to be a reliable third or fourth guy off the bench. That’s not usually worth an 11^th pick, but in this draft it sure is. The Celtics loved him eventually when he was a big-time bench catalyst for their 2008 title team. He played for nine teams and even though he was only good enough to get mostly one-year contracts, there was a reason he kept getting picked up and that is because teams knew he wasn’t going to hurt you and he would work hard. Boston needed him in 2008 and really they could have used him much earlier.

Pick 12: Dallas Mavericks

Who they took: Etan Thomas

Who they should have took: Desmond Mason (17^th pick)

Why: Mason was another solid out of the gate guy who didn’t pan out. After a rookie struggle, he did well in Seattle before being a pawn in the Ray Allen trade which helped him lift off in Milwaukee because while he was the second best name value heading from Seattle (behind Gary Payton), the Glove’s ability was dropping and someone needed to pick up the slack for losing Allen. He put up 17.2 ppg in 2004-05, earning a great contract with the Hornets, where his career started to flounder. Dallas was loaded for that time and he could have slide in nicely to help up backups Juwan Howard and Christian Laettner.

Pick 13: Orlando Magic

Who they took: Courtney Alexander (traded to Mavericks)

Who they should have took: Eduardo Najera (38^th pick)

Why: As noted, Orlando was garbage and Najera was a work horse, though never the best scorer. He was a guy who was brought in for 15 minutes of mid range jump shots. But in this shallow pool, I’d take it.

Pick 14: Detroit Pistons

Who they took: Mateen Cleaves

Who they should have took: Brian Cardinal (44^th pick)

Why: This team had no short term prospects and they knew it. They were a year from putting together their best team and knowing that they were waiting for a good free agency boom, bringing in a misguided and overrated Mateen Cleaves was pointless. They needed a blue collar 20 minute guy who would throw around his weight and back up the emerging Ben Wallace better than the Jerome Williams/John Wallace dud farm.

Pick 15: Milwaukee Bucks

Who they took: Jason Collier (traded to Rockets)

Who they should have took: Chris Mihm (7^th pick)

Why: Because he was 7-feet tall and had some athletic ability. The end.