Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. While life, and the NBA, doesn’t allow for such opportunities, we at Hoops Rumors decided it would be fun to give our readers a second take at picking players, complete with the benefit of hindsight.
We are in the process of taking you on a journey back to June of 2003, and revisiting a draft that saw the likes of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh available to potentially change the fortunes of a few struggling franchises. Wade was the first of that group to win an NBA championship, though James and Bosh would later join him in Miami and go on to win multiple titles together years later, while Melo is still seeking his first trip to the NBA Finals. Detroit, which owned the No. 2 overall pick that season, chose to go with Darko Milicic, who didn’t work out so well for the Pistons. Not all picks pan out, but that one is especially painful given the talent that the Pistons passed over to select the big man, who owns career averages of 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds, and has been out of the NBA since making a single appearance for the Celtics back in 2012/13.
We continue our revisionist history with the Pelicans, known as the Hornets at the time, who used the No. 18 pick in 2003 to select David West. West won’t be an option this time, with the power forward being nabbed by the Heat at No. 5 in our draft. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for New Orleans’ pick and check back Tuesday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Jazz will select with the No. 19 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 18 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did. And, yes, Milicic is now officially off the board thanks to your votes…
Previous Picks
- Cavaliers: LeBron James
- Pistons: Dwyane Wade
- Nuggets: Carmelo Anthony
- Raptors: Chris Bosh
- Heat: David West
- Clippers: Kyle Korver
- Bulls: Mo Williams
- Bucks: Chris Kaman
- Knicks: Boris Diaw
- Wizards: Kirk Hinrich
- Warriors: Jose Calderon
- Thunder: Josh Howard
- Celtics: Leandro Barbosa
- Thunder: Kendrick Perkins
- Magic: Nick Collison
- Grizzlies: Zaza Pachulia
- Suns: Darko Milicic
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Gotta be Ridnour here… much better backup PG and spot starter…
Career Per 36…
Ridnour 12.9 points, 6.2 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 34.9 3pt %, 51.9 TS%, 21623 total NBA minutes
Blake 9.8 points, 5.9 assists, 3.1 rebound, 1.0 steal, 38.5 3pt %, 52.2 TS%, 19837 total NBA minutes
Interesting. Makes you wonder why Blake is still playing and Ridnour is unsigned (and might just retire).
Gotta consider context here too. If my memory serves me correctly, Blake played more starter minutes than Ridnour so he was probably up against better defenders. Blake also has a very solid locker room presence too.
I wonder how we would feel about Darko today if he went No. 17 overall instead of No. 2.