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 solid 2004 NBA Draft.

1st – Orlando Magic

Original Pick: Dwight Howard, C, High School
New Pick: Same

See: NBA Finals, 2009.

2nd – Charlotte Bobcats

Original Pick: Emeka Okafor, F, UConn
New Pick: Al Jefferson, F, High School

The Bobcats thought they were getting a defensive anchor who would develop into a polished scorer. They sort of got something in the middle. Jefferson, meanwhile, has developed into a cornerstone to a franchise.

3rd – Chicago Bulls

Original Pick: Ben Gordon, G, UConn
New Pick: Kevin Martin, G, Western Carolina

The knock on Gordon is that he’s one-dimensional and a tweener. Martin has the same numbers as Gordon, if not slightly better, and is 6-foot-7. His durability has been an issue, but if he stays healthy he’s a solid fit in the backcourt with Hinrich.

4th – Los Angeles Clippers

Original Pick: Shaun Livingston, G, High School
New Pick: Devin Harris, G, Wisconsin

This team desperately needed a point guard and Harris is the best one on the board. He might not be the Chris Paul-type in terms of assists, but you can’t deny the fact that he made a considerable leap this past year.

5th – Washington Wizards

Original Pick: Devin Harris, G, Wisconsin
New Pick: Emeka Okafor, F, UConn

They had their scorers with Arenas, Hughes and Jamison. Okafor could have just protected the paint and grabbed some rebounds. He wouldn’t have to be depended on to score. He’s sort of like Etan Thomas, Brendan Haywood and Kwame Brown…but better.

6th – Atlanta Hawks

Original Pick: Josh Childress, G, Stanford
New Pick: Ben Gordon, G, UConn

Gordon slides a bit, but the Hawks definitely benefit. Like I said above, he’s a pure scorer and you can never have too many of them.

7th – Phoenix Suns

Original Pick: Luol Deng, F, Duke
New Pick: Josh Smith, F, High School

Maybe I’m selfish, but Smith getting passes from Steve Nash would make me watch every single Phoenix Suns game. Add in Amar’e and Marion, well, that’s probably the hottest ticket in the league.

8th – Toronto Raptors

Original Pick: Rafael Araujo, F, BYU
New Pick: Luol Deng, F, Duke

Is the city of Toronto still recovering from this pick? There were a bunch of ways I was thinking about going here. I just think that Deng’s versatility trumps the remaining players.

9th – Philadelphia 76ers

Original Pick: Andre Iguodala, G, Arizona
New Pick: Same

This was a team that was still built around Allen Iverson. Iggy is the type of player that compliments your superstar. It’s up for debate if you can actually build your team around. But he started all 82 games and has given the franchise some stability. The other guys remaining sort of need the ball in their hands to be effective and/or are clones of guys already on their roster.

10th – Cleveland Cavaliers

Original Pick: Luke Jackson, F, Oregon
New Pick: Jameer Nelson, G, St. Joseph’s

I’m sorry, LeBron. Jackson gave that franchise absolutely nothing.

11th – Golden State Warriors

Original Pick: Andris Biedrins, C, Latvia
New Pick: Same

The last thing this team needed was a wing or a guard. Jason Richardson, Baron Davis, Mike Dunleavy, Speedy Claxton, Derek Fisher, Mickael Pietrus were all in the rotation. It took Biedrins a season or two, but he started to contribute for them.

12th – Seattle Supersonics

Original Pick: Robert Swift’s Tattoos, C, High School
New Pick: J.R. Smith, G, High School

Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis were already there. But this team was built around their offense and jacking up 3-pointers [finished second in the league]. Smith does that well.

13th – Portland Trailblazers

Original Pick: Sebastian Telfair, G, High School
New Pick: Josh Childress, G, Stanford

Hopefully Childress wouldn’t have gotten sucked into whatever was in the water in Portland at the time. But could you imagine if the Blazer’s of 2009 held his rights for his possible return next season? Analysts would be gushing at their talent. And, who knows, maybe Childress would have never left.

14th – Utah Jazz

Original Pick: Kris Humphries, F, Minnesota
New Pick: Anderson Varejao, Brazil

Just seems to be the type of player Sloan would love to have on his roster.

15th – Boston Celtics

Original Pick: Al Jefferson, F, High School
New Pick: Delonte West, G, St. Joseph’s

He’s one of the more underrated players in the league. The Celtics were unwise giving him up. Although, I guess they do have Rondo now.

16th – Utah Jazz

Original Pick: Kirk Snyder, G, Nevada
New Pick: Trevor Ariza, F, UCLA

See pick No. 14.

17th – Atlanta Hawks

Original Pick: Josh Smith, F, High School
New Pick: Shaun Livingston, G, High School

This is another case of, ‘what if?’ What if Livingston was never taken by the Clippers? Well, then that injury might not have happened. But it did happen and the slide is reflects that. When he was healthy, though, Livingston showed flashes of brilliance for a point guard out of high school.

18th – New Orleans Hornets

Original Pick: J.R. Smith, G, High School
New Pick: Sasha Vujacic, G, Slovenia

The poor man’s Smith.

19th – Miami Heat

Original Pick: Dorell Wright, F, High School
New Pick: Sebastian Telfair, G, High School

Something tells me that the setting that Telfair was drafted to didn’t help him. Learning from professionals like Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal and Eddie Jones probably would have benefited Telfair.

20th – Denver Nuggets

Original Pick: Jameer Nelson, G, St. Joseph’s
New Pick: Tony Allen, G, Oklahoma St.

A solid guard off your bench.

21st – Utah Jazz

Original Pick: Pavel Podkolzin, C, Russia
New Pick: Beno Udrih, G, Slovenia

The pick was traded, but another guy that could have provided some decent minutes.

22nd – New Jersey Nets

Original Pick: Viktor Khryapa, F, Russia
New Pick: Chris Duhon, G, Duke

He’s a product of his environment in New York, but he’s still an above average point guard in the league.

23rd – Portland Trailblazers

Original Pick: Sergei Monia, G, Russia
New Pick: Robert Swift, C, High School

24th – Boston Celtics

Original Pick: Delonte West, G, St. Joseph’s
New Pick: David Harrison, C, Colorado

25th – Boston Celtics

Original Pick: Tony Allen, G, Oklahoma St.
New Pick: Dorell Wright, F, High School

26th – Sacramento Kings

Original Pick: Kevin Martin, G, Western Carolina
New Pick: Viktor Khryapa, F, Slovenia

27th – Los Angeles Lakers

Original Pick: Sasha Vujacic, G, Slovenia
New Pick: Damien Wilkens, F, Georgia

28th – San Antonio Spurs

Original Pick: Beno Udrih, G, Slovenia
New Pick: Kirk Snyder, G, Nevada

29th – Indiana Pacers

Original Pick: David Harrison, C, Colorado
New Pick: Luke Jackson, F, Oregon

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