4, what does the number 4 have to do with life? Well what
happened every 4 years? Let’s see… every 4 years we elect a new president.
Every 4 years we have the summer and winter Olympics. Oh don’t forget that every
4 years we have a leap year. And this kid could spend 4 years of his life in
jail for cheating on the SAT.
Besides all that we can redo the 2008 NBA Draft and redraft
it. I am going to redo the top 15 picks in the 2008 NBA Draft and explain why
they should go there and where they did go. Then at the end I’ll give you the
19 players who I considered in this re-draft.
1) Bulls: Actual Pick:
Derrick Rose; Should Pick: Derrick Rose
The Bulls made the best choice, Rose turned out to be the
youngest MVP ever and he the third best Bulls player behind Scottie Pippen and
some guy named Michael Jordan.
2) Heat: Actual Pick: Michael
Beasley; Should Pick: Russell Westbrook
The Heat took Beasley thinking he could be the Robin to the
Batman Dwayne Wade. Westbrook has turned into the second best scoring point
guard in the NBA behind just the number one pick, Derrick Rose himself. A
backcourt of Wade and Westbrook would be the best in the NBA by far.
3) Timberwolves: Actual
Pick: O.J. Mayo; Should Pick: Kevin Love
The Timberwolves traded O.J. Mayo to the Grizzlies (picking
number five) for Kevin Love so they did do the right thing. Love has turned
into one of the best if not the best power forward in the NBA. His ability to
grab double digit rebounds and shoot three pointers is a rare combo you almost
never see.
4) Supersonics
(Thunder): Actual Pick: Russell Westbrook; Should Pick: Roy Hibbert
While the Supersonics, now the Thunder would have wanted
Westbrook still at number four he is gone so they take Hibbert who made his
first All Star game this year and could have been the inside scoring player the
Thunder still need.
5) Grizzlies: Actual
Pick: Kevin Love; Should Pick: Dabnilo Gallinari
The Grizzlies wished they had kept Love instead of trading
him for Mayo but with Love gone they take Gallinari. Now yes he and Rudy Gay
both play small forward and neither can really play the power forward spot but
Gallinari would come off the Grizzlies bench and be a 30 minutes a game sixth
man the Grizzlies really need.
6) Knicks: Actual Pick:
Danilo Gallinari; Should Pick: Serge Ibaka
The Knicks can’t play defense to save their playoff asses.
With Ibaka they would have likely sent him to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony
trade like they did with Gallinari but if they didn’t have to he and Center
Tyson Chandler would form the best defensive front court in the NBA even with
Melo not being able to play defense.
7) Clippers: Actual
Pick: Eric Gordon; Should Pick: Nicolas Batum
Again like the Knicks whoever this pick was they would be in
a Hornets uniform today so that Chris Paul could be in a Clippers uniform. But
Batum is better than Gordon at this point of both players careers because
Gordon has injury concerns and Batum is a long wing span small forward who can
guard anywhere from the point guard spot to even some power forwards.
8) Bucks: Actual Pick:
Joe Alexander; Should Pick: Ryan Anderson
The Bucks took Joe Alexander after a great play in the NCAA Tournament
but he turned out to be a bust. Ryan Anderson has turned into one of the spread
power forwards in the NBA for the Magic. Pairing him with Brandon Jennings and
Monta Ellis he defenses would have to decide between giving Anderson open
threes or not helping on Jennings and Ellis penetration.
9) Bobcats: Actual
Pick: D.J. Augustin; Should Pick: Eric Gordon
Now at the time the Bobcats had Raymond Felton (number five
pick in 2005 draft) and if they could pair Gordon with Felton that backcourt
could have been the starting point of the Bobcats franchise taking off and being
a player in the playoffs. Gordon would give the Bobcats some scoring to a team
that doesn’t have a true number one option on its roster.
10) Nets: Actual Pick:
Brook Lopez; Should Pick: DeAndre Jordan
Lopez is a good young player, aside from all the foot
issues. But Jordan is the rim protector and rebounder the Nets want, aka Dwight
Howard. With Jordan the Nets can play defense as bad as they do, which is
pretty bad, and still have a last line of defense at the rim.
11) Pacers: Actual
Pick: Jerryd Bayless; Should Pick: Goran Dragic
The Pacers traded Bayless to the Trailblazers (picking
number 13) but the Pacers wish they had taken Dragic. Dragic is a poor man version
of Steve Nash, which is what the Pacers need to go from a good team in the East
to a real threat in the East. The player the Pacers got back in the trade for
Bayless got traded to the Warriors for a player who plays 12 minutes a game.
12) Kings: Actual Pick:
Jason Thompson; Should Pick: Michael Beasley
The Kings have either a future star or a solid starter at
both guard spots and the center spot. Beasley can play either forward spot and
he could play outside opposite of DeMarcus Cousins on the block.
13) Trailblazers:
Actual Pick: Brandon Rush; Should Pick: Brook Lopez
The Blazers had drafted Greg Oden with the first pick in the
2007 draft over Kevin Durant, to say that was a dumb decision was a MAJOR
UNDERSTATEMENT!!! Durant is a MVP player and Oden has played a total of 82
games since he entered the NBA and now is a free agent after the Blazers
released him. With him gone the Blazers are looking for a future at center,
while Lopez has had foot issues (something you don’t want to hear your starting
center has) but he still is a young player with a future if he stays healthy.
14) Blazers: Actual Pick: Anthony Randolph; Should Pick: JaVale McGee
Anthony Randolph has been traded twice in his four year
career, and he hasn’t developed into the star player the Warriors hope he would
have. The Warriors traded to sign DeAndre Jordan in the offseason to a huge
deal but the Clippers matched it. So the Warriors should have passed on
Randolph for McGee, even though McGee is a clown he can easily block three or
more shots a game.
JaVale McGee, now plays for the Nuggets, is a true clown as
he runs back on defense while his former team, the Wizards, still had the ball.
15) Suns: Actual Pick: Robin Lopez; Should Pick: George Hill
The Suns took Lopez hoping he turn into the player his twin,
Brook, was slated to be. Well both Lopez brothers have failed to turn into
great players. Robin sits on the bench behind current starting Center Marcin Gortat
plays great basketball and is the second best player on the Suns roster behind
Steve Nash. Hill would give the Suns a scoring punch off the bench and can give
Nash rest at the point guard spot.
Now below I have given you a chart with the top 20 players
from the 2008 NBA Draft and where I rank them and where they went in the real
draft and where they went in my re-draft.
|
My Rank
|
Player
|
Actual Pick
|
Should Pick
|
|
1
|
Derrick Rose
|
1
|
1
|
|
2
|
Russell Westbrook
|
4
|
2
|
|
3
|
Kevin Love
|
5
|
3
|
|
4
|
Danilo Gallinari
|
6
|
5
|
|
5
|
Roy Hibbert
|
17
|
4
|
|
6
|
Serge Ibaka
|
24
|
6
|
|
7
|
Nicolas Batum
|
25
|
7
|
|
8
|
Ryan Anderson
|
21
|
8
|
|
9
|
George Hill
|
26
|
15
|
|
10
|
Eric Gordon
|
7
|
9
|
|
11
|
DeAndre Jordan
|
35
|
10
|
|
12
|
Michael Beasley
|
2
|
12
|
|
13
|
O.J. Mayo
|
3
|
Not Picked
|
|
14
|
Goran Dragic
|
45
|
11
|
|
15
|
Brook Lopez
|
10
|
13
|
|
16
|
JaVale McGee
|
18
|
14
|
|
17
|
Mario Chalmers
|
34
|
Not Picked
|
|
18
|
Nikola Pekovic
|
31
|
Not Picked
|
|
19
|
D.J. Augustin
|
9
|
Not Picked
|
|
20
|
Marress Speights
|
16
|
Not Picked
|
In four more years from now we are going to see these 20 players broken down into four groups, the great All Star players who will play in many All Star games (Rose, Westbrook, Love), the very good players who will have a few All Star appearances (Hibbert, Gallinari, Batum, Gordon), the solid players (Ibaka, Anderson, Jordan, Beasley, Mayo, Dragic, Chalmers) and the players who career could turn out good or could turn out bad (the rest).
So once again we are back to the number 4, 4 years later I
give you 20 players (which is 4 multiplied by five, the number of players on
the court at a time for a team) into 4 groups that 4 more years later we will
see.
