Published: May 21, 2009
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 dreadful 2000 NBA Draft.
1st – New Jersey Nets
Original Pick: Kenyon Martin, F, Cincinnati
New Pick: Same
Is Martin the best player right now from this draft? No, but the Nets got the most out of Martin’s tenure in New Jersey. He made basketball exciting in the state while he caught lobs from Jason Kidd in those two trips to the NBA Finals.
2nd – Vancouver Grizzlies
Original Pick: Stromile Swift, F, LSU
New Pick: Hedo Turkoglu, F, Turkey
Michael Redd is begging me to take him here, but the Grizzlies had Michael Dickerson playing the two-guard. Turkoglu didn’t play much his rookie year, but had the tools to round out a lineup that consisted of Mike Bibby, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Dickerson.
3rd – Los Angeles Clippers
Original Pick: Darius Miles, F, High School
New Pick: Michael Redd, G, Ohio St.
Redd played a total of 35 minutes his rookie year. The reports are that he played so well in practice that the Bucks were able to say goodbye to Ray Allen. Well, if Redd showed the promise, the Clippers could have made a great choice here.
4th – Chicago Bulls
Original Pick: Marcus Fizer, F, Iowa St.
New Pick: Mike Miller, G/F, Florida
Elton Brand, Ron Artest and Mike Miller. How the Bulls missed the chance to make this happen is beyond me. Why they took a tweener power forward over a guy who could stretch the floor is mind boggling.
5th – Orlando Magic
Original Pick: Mike Miller, G/F, Florida
New Pick: Jamal Crawford, G, Michigan
With Miller off the board, the Magic can get the next best player. He could have done the same thing as Miller and given them the ability to have two guards (Tracy McGrady) over 6-6 in the backcourt.
(NOTE: The remaining picks in the 2000 NBA Draft are completely and utterly awful. The sixth pick in this draft is a a role player at best. I don’t remember a draft being this bad, ever. If you don’t believe me, just read ahead.)
6th – Atlanta Hawks
Original Pick: DerMarr Johnson, F, Cincinnati
New Pick: Quentin Richardson, F, DePaul
Here’s the plan: Let Jason Terry and Richardson jack up shots and then Dikembe Mutombo grab all the rebounds.
7th – Cleveland Cavaliers
Original Pick: Chris Mihm, C, Texas
New Pick: Darius Miles, F, High School
Miles was solid for awhile, but there isn’t much else I see this team doing. Their roster was a mess and there isn’t anyone else that you can build your team around.
8th – Chicago Bulls
Original Pick: Jamal Crawford, G, Michigan
New Pick: Chris Mihm, C, Texas
At least would have given Brand some help inside and allowed him to play power forward every night. This would give the Bulls a team of Brand, Artest, Miller, Brad Miller, Ron Mercer and Mihm. Go trade for a point guard and you’re in the playoffs in a year.
9th – Milwaukee Bucks
Original Pick: Joel Pryzbilla, C, Minnesota
New Pick: Stromile Swift, F, LSU
Swift wasn’t very good in the NBA and has pretty much been a bust. His punishment is playing for the first place Bucks.
10th – Los Angeles Clippers
Original Pick: Keyon Dooling, G, Missouri
New Pick: Joel Pryzbilla, C, Minnesota
They badly need size and Pryzbilla could have platooned with Michael Olowokandi and formed an NBA center. (I kid, I kid. Pryzbilla is actually one of the more underrated players in the league.)
11th – Boston Celtics
Original Pick: Jerome Moiso, F, UCLA
New Pick: Morris Peterson, G, Michigan St.
Pierce, Walker and Mo Pete. It’s better than Pierce, Walker and Bryant Stith. Right?
12th – Dallas Mavericks
Original Pick: Etan Thomas, F/C, Syracuse
New Pick: Same
This team needed a center and thought they took the best one. You want him? You got him.
13th – Dallas Mavericks
Original Pick: Courtney Alexander, G, Fresno St.
New Pick: Jamaal Magloire, C, Kentucky
Another platoon center combination. Seriously, though. This team had Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley, Juwan Howard and Steve Nash. What else did they need?
14th – Detroit Pistons
Original Pick: Mateen Cleaves, G, Michigan St.
New Pick: DeShawn Stevenson, G, High School
I hate to breakup the homecoming, but Cleaves wasn’t very good. And that’s being kind. Stevenson at least gives them a long term backup behind Jerry Stackhouse.
15th – Houston Rockets
Original Pick: Jason Collier, F, Georgia Tech
New Pick: Eddie House, G, Arizona St.
It’s hard to say Collier wasn’t very good considering his life was tragically cut short.
16th – Sacramento Kings
Original Pick: Hedo Turkoglu, F, Turkey
New Pick: Keyon Dooling, G, Missouri
Sure, why not.
17th – Seattle Supersonics
Original Pick: Desmond Mason, G/F, Oklahoma St.
New Pick: Speedy Claxton, G, Hofstra
Uh, huh.
18th – Los Angeles Clippers
Original Pick: Quentin Richardson, G/F, Depaul
New Pick: Ime Udoka, Portland St.
Udoka is a decent NBA rotation guy now, but he didn’t make an impact in the league until a few years ago. Either way, not bad for someone that was taken 39th overall in the 2002 NBDL DRAFT.
19th – Charlotte Hornets
Original Pick: Jamaal Magloire, C, Kentucky
New Pick: DerMarr Johnson, G, Cincinnati
Sorry to do it to you, DerMarr.
20th – Philadelphia 76ers
Original Pick: Speedy Claxton, G, Hofstra
New Pick: Same
Uh, huh.
21st – Toronto Raptors
Original Pick: Morris Peterson, G, Michigan St.
New Pick: Malik Allen, F, Villanova
This is what we call a value pick. Why? Because there isn’t a lot of value left.
22nd – Dallas Mavericks
Original Pick: Donnell Harvey, F, Florida
New Pick: Eduardo Najera, F, Stanford
23rd – Utah Jazz
Original Pick: DeShawn Stevenson, G, High School
New Pick: Marko Jaric, G, Serbia
Adriana Lima in Utah. I dig it.
24th – Chicago Bulls
Original Pick: Dalibor Bagaric, C, Germany
New Pick: Jake Voskuhl, C, UConn
They took him in the second round. I might as well get my man a guaranteed contract.
25th – Phoenix Suns
Original Pick: Jake Tsakalidis, C, Far Away
New Pick: Same
You want him? You got him.
26th – Denver Nuggets
Original Pick: Mamadou N’Diaye, C, Auburn
New Pick: Primoz Brezec, C, Yugoslavia
27th – Indiana Pacers
Original Pick: Primoz Brezec, C, Slovenia
New Pick: Mark Madsen, F, Stanford
This draft is so bad, that Madsen just moved up. (Slaps forehead.)
28th – Portland Trailblazers
Original Pick: Erick Barkley, G, St. John’s
New Pick: Brian Cardinal, F, Purdue
29th – Los Angeles Lakers
Original Pick: Mark Madsen, F, Stanford
New Pick: Mateen Cleaves, G, Michigan St.
Maybe LA would have changed him. Maybe not.
One Comment on "What Could Have Been: 2000 NBA Draft"
Mays on Wed, 24th Jun 2009 10:00 am
This draft was SO horrible. How can this many terrible players all be combined into one ces pool of a draft? Every other draft looks like its the 1996 one compared to this…