Re-Do: 1999 NBA Draft

The 1999 NBA Draft is considered one of the deepest drafts in in history. There are nine All-Stars from this draft and players like Lamar Odom and James Posey who were cornerstones in helping their teams win an NBA Championship. Who goes #1 if this draft was redone today? Who would pick the same players if everyone is reshuffled? Here is the 1999 NBA Draft redone if it happened today.

1. Richard Hamilton – Chicago Bulls – I think Hamilton gets the edge over the rest of the class because he is a winner and has been very productive for years. Elton Brand was originally picked here, which was a decent pick. (Hamilton was picked #8 to Washington)

2. Baron Davis – Vancouver Grizzlies – Maybe if the Grizz drafted Baron “The Beard” Davis, the team would have stayed in Vancouver instead of moving to Memphis. Steve Francis was drafted by them, but promptly traded to the Rockets. (Davis went #3 to Charlotte)

3. Manu Ginobli – Charlotte Hornets – Maybe the Spurs wouldn’t have been so dominate the last 5-7 years without Ginobli. He would have been #1 or #2, but he has been a sixth man for most of his career in San Antonio. Baron Davis went here in the real 1999 NBA Draft. (Ginobli went #57 to San Antonio)

4. Ron Artest – Los Angeles Clippers – I love playing revisionist history because L.A. is really where Artest wanted to be nearly his entire career. Maybe if they pick Artest here instead of Lamar Odom, he would have stayed with the Clippers and they would have been much better of a team for the past decade. (Artest went #16 to Chicago)

5. Elton Brand – Indiana Pacers – He would have been a much better pick here than Jonathan Bender was at this pick. The Pacers have been searching for a post-man during this time, they could have had a franchise player in Brand at #5. (Brand went #1 to Chicago)

6. Lamar Odom – Minnesota Timberwolves – Odom has been lucky because he has played his entire career either in L.A. or Miami, so thinking that he would do well in Minnesota would be ridiculous, but he would have been a nice compliment to Kevin Garnett during this time. They ended up picking Wally Szczerbiak here, who was a nice player for them. (Odom was picked #4 by L.A. Clippers)

7. Shawn Marion – Washington Wizards – I’m not sure if Marion would have done well in Washington during the 1999 period. He did well in Phoenix because there weren’t any real plays set up for him. He was the garbage man and Washington was better off with their actual pick of Richard Hamilton (Marion was picked #9 to Phoenix)

8. Andre Miller – Cleveland Cavaliers – This was the one of two picks in this re-do that was the actual pick by the team. Although he only spent three seasons in Cleveland, if he would have stayed there, he would have been a nice role player with Lebron James. (Miller was picked #8 to Cleveland)

9. James Posey – Phoenix Suns – No matter where James Posey plays, he is well-liked by his teammates and completely over-achieves. If he were on the Suns, maybe they would have won a Championship, but Phoenix can’t complain, Shawn Marion did a great job with them with this actual pick. (Posey was picked #18 to Denver)

10. Jason Terry – Atlanta Hawks – This is the other pick during this re-do that actually happened in the 1999 NBA Draft. During Terry’s stretch in Atlanta, he spent his time in and out of the doghouse. His most productive years have come as a member of the Dallas Mavericks (Terry was picked #10 by Atlanta)

11. Corey Magette – Cleveland Cavaliers – Maggette would have been a very in compliment to Lebron James and Andre Miller, if those players were still on the Cavs. Cleveland’s actual pick was a swing and a miss. They took Trajan Langdon also out of Duke, but couldn’t stick in the league. (Maggette was picked #13 by Seattle)

12. Andrei Kirilenko – Toronto Raptors – Kirilenko has the potential to be a triple-double machine and he plays stout defense for Utah. He would probably have seen more playing time in Toronto and would have been a better pick for them than Aleksander Radojevic, who they picked at this spot in 1999. (Kirilenko was picked #24 by Utah)

13. Wally Szczerbiak – Seattle Supersonics – No one was hotter coming off an amazing NCAA tournament in this draft than Szczerbiak. He was a scoring machine for Miami of Ohio. In his prime, he was one of the best 3-point shooters in the league, but the Sonics actually picked Maggette with this pick, but didn’t stick with the Sonics. (Szczerbiak was picked #6 by Minnesota)

14. Jeff Foster – Minnesota Timberwolves – I put Foster in this slot over Steve Francis because of longevity of career, plus Foster is a very under-rated basketball players. He can play both Center and Power Forward effectively and is very durable. Minnesota could have used a guy like that and would have gave Garnett another big man in the paint. Their actual pick, William Avery, didn’t last in the NBA very long. (Foster was picked #21 by Atlanta)

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