Ever wish you could go back in time and change the past? Ever think about how things would have turned out if your team didn’t make that terrible pick with their first rounder? Well, here at Hoops Addict, that is exactly what we’ve done.

We’re going back in time and going through the first round of each NBA Draft starting with 1998. Contributing writer Michael Tiedemann has gone through the picks and taken the following into consideration:

* Who the team already has on their roster. If they needed a center, Tiedemann gave them a center.
* What the player did in their rookie year weighed more heavily than what they did over the span of their career.
* If a player didn’t even play the year he was drafted then they slid down the board.
* The current draft being done will not take into consideration the previous Hoops Addict re-draft. They will be done on the basis that the previous NBA Draft actually took place.
* Some picks will not feature a comment. Something about the 27th pick doesn’t bring a lot to mind in certain cases.

You may not agree with the picks, but that is why we have the comment section. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts and maybe even your version of the draft below.

Today, we tackle the 1999 NBA Draft.

Original Pick: Elton Brand, F, Duke
New Pick: Same

It’s hard to go wrong with what Elton Brand has been in the NBA, especially considering he went for 20 and 10 his rookie year. There really isn’t another player out of the draft that could have done more for the franchise. Of course, Brand is struggling with injuries, but he has been good for the majority of his career.

2nd - Vancouver Grizzlies

Original Pick: Steve Francis, G, Maryland
New Pick: Baron Davis, G, UCLA

Sure, Francis shared the Rookie of the Year with Brand, but Davis is still playing and has been every bit as good as Francis. Not to mention, the Grizzlies picked Francis even when he said he didn’t want to play there. I’m sure if they had the chance, they would have gone with someone else.

3rd - Charlotte Hornets

Original Pick: Baron Davis, G, UCLA
New Pick: Lamar Odom, F, Rhode Island

Odom came into the league and started what has been one of the most consistent, if not frustrating careers. Odom has all the talent in the world, yet has never averaged more than 17.2 points per game. Odom averaged nearly 17 and 8 in his rookie year and would have joined an already formidable team of Eddie Jones, Derrick Coleman, David Wesley, Bobby Phills, Elden Campbell, Anthony Mason and Brad Miller.

4th - Los Angeles Clippers

Original Pick: Lamar Odom, F, Rhode Island
New Pick: Manu Ginobli, G, Argentina

Lose out on an Odom and get a Manu. He didn’t start playing until 2002, but it’s the Clippers. This would have been the least of their worries. They didn’t do much with Odom, so waiting three years for Ginobli to arrive would have given the Clippers in 2002 a team of Andre Miller, Ginobli, Maggette, Brand, Michael Olowokandi and Quentin Richardson. That team definitely wins more than 27 games.

5th - Toronto Raptors

Original Pick: Jonathan Bender, F, High School
New Pick: Shawn Marion, F, UNLV

Marion arrives a few years early. Could you imagine Marion, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady on the court at the same time? Well, it could have happened. And it would have been great, right Ryan?

6th - Minnesota Timberwolves

Original Pick: Wally Szczerbiak, G/F, Miami (Ohio)
New Pick: Richard Hamilton, G, UConn

Garnett gets the help he’s needed his whole career. I was thinking about going with a few other players, but this just made the most sense to me. Maybe Francis in this spot, but they had Terrell Brandon firmly planted in the starting point guard spot.

7th - Washington Wizards

Original Pick: Richard Hamilton, F, UConn
New Pick: Steve Francis, G, Maryland

Francis stays close to home and gets to play with the Wizards. We’re all winners here at Hoops Addict, right Rashad? Just as a sidenote, the 1999-2000 Washington Wizards is an ugly group of guys getting together to play basketball. Mitch Richmond and Rod Strickland on the tail end of their careers and Juwan Howard. That’s about it. Francis would have at least filled some seats.

8th - Cleveland Cavaliers

Original Pick: Andre Miller, G, Utah
New Pick: Ron Artest, G/F, St. John’s

People of Cleveland, lock your houses and hide the children. Shawn Kemp and Ron Artest are in Cleveland at the same time. Artest would have given this team a toughness and, at least, some good stories for the beat writer in Cleveland.

9th - Phoenix Suns

Original Pick: Shawn Marion, F, UNLV
New Pick: Andrei Kirlenko, F, Russia

This was another tough pick. Kirilenko doesn’t come over until 2001 and the Suns won over 50 games with Marion. Still, they had a great core with Clifford Robinson, Penny Hardaway and Jason Kidd. The team Kirilenko would have joined in 2001? Marbury, Marion, Penny, a young Joe Johnson and Rodney Rogers.

10th - Atlanta Hawks

Original Pick: Jason Terry, G, Arizona
New Pick: Andre Miller, G, Utah

Atlanta has needed a point guard ever since I could remember and finally just solved that problem last year with Mike Bibby. Well, they just got one a few years early.

11th - Cleveland Cavaliers

Original Pick: Trajan Langdon, G, Duke
New Pick: Jason Terry, G, Arizona

Maybe it is because I don’t like Duke, but this pick is laughable. Seriously, I know I’m biased because I’m a UConn fan, but did anyone watch the National Championship game that year? At any rate, Langdon was a dud and Terry gives the Cavaliers a nice trio to go along with Kemp and Artest.

12th - Toronto Raptors

Original Pick: Aleksander Radojevic, Barton Community College
New Pick: Corey Maggette, G, Duke

Maggette joins Marion in Toronto in 1999. The Raptors definitely need size considering that original pick of Bender netted them Antonio Davis, but you’re telling me that Maggette, McGrady, Marion, Carter, Doug Christie, Kevin Willis (yes, you heard me) and Charles Oakley couldn’t win some games? If anything, they have the wings to move to get a player just like Davis and be in the same exact boat.

13th - Seattle Supersonics

Original Pick: Corey Maggette, G, Duke
New Pick: Wally Szczerbiak, G/F, Miami (Ohio)

They wanted a wing, and they got a wing. I’m a problem solver.

14th - Minnesota Timberwolves

Original Pick: William Avery, G, Duke
New Pick: James Posey, G/F, Xavier

William Avery really went 14th? Sigh. Posey, Garnett, Hamilton and Brandon. Garnett might still be in Minnesota if that was the case.

15th - New York Knicks

Original Pick: Frederic Weis, C, Vince Carter’s Nether Region
New Pick: Jon Bender, F, High School

Sure, Bender only played a few seasons, but the Knicks didn’t need much this year. Not to mention, there’s not much else in this draft that an Eastern Conference Finalist could use.

16th - Chicago Bulls

Original Pick: Ron Artest, G/F, St. John’s
New Pick: Jeff Foster, Southwest Texas St.

The first big loser of the draft? Probably. Going from Artest to Foster is like going from Artest to Foster. At least the Bulls wouldn’t have had to start Brand in the middle of the floor.

17th - Atlanta Hawks

Original Pick: Cal Bowdler, F, Old Dominion
New Pick: Devean George, F, Augsburg

Championship.

18th - Denver Nuggets

Original Pick: James Posey, G/F, Xavier
New Pick: Kenny Thomas, F, New Mexico

And the second biggest loser of the draft is the Nuggets. Sure, Thomas can rebound, but Posey started over 70 games for them this year. Anyone expect Thomas to do that?

19th - Utah Jazz

Original Pick: Quincy Lewis, G, Minnesota
New Pick: Gordan Giricek, G, Croatia

Giricek didn’t appear in the States until 2002, but this is another team that could wait. Plus he wound up playing for the Jazz anyway. Again, I make things happen.

20th - Atlanta Hawks

Original Pick: Dion Glover, G, Georgia Tech
New Pick: Chris Andersen, F, Blinn College

Birdman. The Hawks. Someone should hire me to head their PR department.

21st - Golden State Warriors

Original Pick: Jeff Foster, F/C, Southwest Texas St.
New Pick: Jumaine Jones, F, Georgia

22nd - Houston Rockets

Original Pick: Kenny Thomas, F, New Mexico
New Pick: Scott Padgett, F, Kentucky

23rd - Los Angeles Lakers

Original Pick: Devean George, F, Augsburg
New Pick: Todd MacCulloch, C, Washington

24th - Utah Jazz

Original Pick: Andrei Kirilenko, F, Russia
New Pick: Rodney Buford, F, Creighton

25th - Miami Heat

Original Pick: Tim James, F, Miami
New Pick: Francisco Elson, C, California

26th - Indiana Pacers

Original Pick: Vonteego Cummings, G, Pittsburgh
New Pick: Lee Nailon, F, TCU

27th - Atlanta Hawks

Original Pick: Jumaine Jones, F, Georgia
New Pick: Vonteego Cummings, G, Pittsburgh

28th - Utah Jazz

Original Pick: Scott Padgett, F, Kentucky
New Pick: Michael Ruffin, F, Tulsa

29th - Dallas Mavericks

Original Pick: Leon Smith, F, High School
New Pick: Calvin Booth, C, Penn St.

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