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 Knicks, who used the No. 9 overall pick to select Michael Sweetney, whose tenure in the Big Apple lasted two unremarkable seasons. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for New York’s pick and check back Wednesday night for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Wizards will select with the No. 10 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. 9 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.
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
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I’d go with Boris Diaw, but as mercurial a career as he’s had, I’m not sure the madness of Madison Square Garden would have been the right place for him to be at his best.
Are people voting based off of the current value of these players? Because Kaman was really really good out of the gate with the Clippers, where Korver didn’t become a top tier player until he arrived in Atlanta (his 4th team).
If you look at it from the perspective of the team drafting, would you take the 5 years Korver served in Phi? or would you take the 8 years which Kaman served in LA?
It’s gotta be Josh Howard. Only guy left to make an all star game and fairly good scorer. Diaw was not very good until he got in the correct role.