It’s rare the fanbase of a team that had a high draft pick at the end of a season and won a title the following season would want to see a draft redone, but that’s exactly what Detroit Pistons fans have been clamoring for since David Stern walked up to the podium June 26, 2003, in the Theater at Madison Square Garden and uttered the now infamous words, “...the Detroit Pistons select...Darko Milicic....”

All I’ve heard from countless fans, who have seen the guys drafted around Darko become all stars, Olympians and contributors on playoff teams, is things like, “We coulda had (insert all-world player’s name here).”

Sure, Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars had plenty of options with the pick, which the team got by way of a trade involving Otis Thorpe (!). His team just finished up a campaign where it won 50 games and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Detroit had a solid backcourt (Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton), a blossoming swingman (Tayshaun Prince), a defensive beast in Ben Wallace and a bench that featured solid veterans (Corliss Williamson and Jon Barry).

What the Pistons needed was a four man to complete their starting lineup. They would acquire that power forward, but not through the draft. Detroit picked up Rasheed Wallace after the 2004 all-star break and rode its starters to the 2004 NBA title.

Two-and-a-half seasons later, Ben Wallace is in Chicago, Billups may opt out of his contract, Rasheed Wallace isn’t getting any younger and the bench is thin. This is where the Darko pick would come in handy, right? You’d think, in his fourth season, Milicic would have turned into a solid, nightly contributor in Motown, right? Well, Darko was traded, along with expendable point guard Carlos Arroyo, to the Orlando Magic for Kelvin Cato (no longer with the Pistons), and a top-five protected 2007 draft pick or a top-two protected ’08 pick.

So let’s play a game of “what if.” The ’03 draft turned out to be one of the deepest in history, being mentioned in the same breath as the ’84 draft (Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, John Stockton) and the ’96 draft (Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Ray Allen, Stephon Marbury, Jermaine O’Neal). Darko was the second pick on the ’03 edition of the draft. The second pick in the other star-studded drafts hasn’t panned out how GMs and owners hoped. Sam Bowie’s 10-year career was injury filled and Marcus Camby (selected number two by the Toronto Raptors in 1996) has turned into a serviceable big man, but not what Isiah Thomas hoped when he drafted him.

Waiting a few years to re-do or grade a previous draft is always a good idea, IMO. Who would have thought Josh Howard and Leandro Barbosa would have turned into stars after their rookie campaigns?

Number one in 2003 was a no-brainer. Cleveland was set to take LeBron James with the first selection. It gets interesting past that point, though, so we’ll start with the second pick. The draftees’ original spot is in parentheses.

 

 

1.      Cleveland Cavaliers — LeBron James (1), St. Vincent/St. Mary’s High School. Original pick: James

2.      Detroit Pistons — Chris Bosh (4), Georgia Tech.  A number of people have said Detroit should have taken Carmelo Anthony here, but the Pistons already had a small forward in Prince. Dwyane Wade may have fit here, too, but his minutes may have been minimal behind Hamilton and Billups. Many people have said Milicic didn’t display any passion or work ethic, which led to him not getting any burn. I think Bosh, Anthony and Wade would have earned some PT. Original pick: Darko Milicic

3.      Denver Nuggets — Dwyane Wade (5), Marquette. We all know Denver took Anthony in the spot four years ago. The 2006 Finals MVP could have worked out for the Nuggets, though. With the 46th pick, Denver could have chosen the undrafted Udonis Haslem, Wade’s teammate in Miami or the undrafted Marquise Daniels. Haslem has stayed healthy throughout his career, which is more than I can say for Nene. Haslem may have not commanded a $60 million deal the way Hilario did, either. Original pick: Carmelo Anthony

4.      Toronto Raptors — Carmelo Anthony (3), Syracuse. Could drafting Anthony have kept Vince Carter in Canada? We’ll never know, but this pick could have given the Raptors a wing tandem for the ages. Haslem was also still on the board when Toronto picked again at 52. Original pick: Bosh

5.      Miami Heat — Josh Howard (29), Wake Forest. The best defensive player on the list takes a huge jump from his original position. I don’t know if Howard would have led the Heat to the second round of the playoffs the way Wade did his rookie season, but Howard’s all-around, unselfish game would have meshed well with Shaq, assuming O’Neal would have still signed with the Heat. Milwaukee point guard Mo Williams was available at 33, as well. Original pick: Wade

6.      Los Angeles Clippers — Chris Kaman (6), Central Michigan. Kaman was selected here by the Clippers in the ’03 draft. He fit a need with the departure of former number one pick Michael Olowokandi. Kaman parlayed a couple solid seasons into a $50 million re-up before injuries put him on the shelf for much of the current season. Original pick: Kaman

7.      Chicago Bulls — Kirk Hinrich (7), Kansas. Hinrich was originally selected here by the Bulls in 2003. The Jayhawk fit a need after ’02 pick Jay Williams pulled a Rothlesberger before you could call it that. Hinrich has been a key cog in the Bulls’ resurgence, helping lead the team to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Original pick: Hinrich

8.      Milwaukee Bucks — T.J. Ford (8), Texas. Ford was selected here by Milwaukee and fit a need following the departure of Sam Cassell to Minnesota and Gary Payton to the Lakers. Ford was having a solid rookie campaign (7.1 ppg, 6.5 apg) before he suffered a neck injury. Ford was traded to Toronto for Raptors 2006 lottery pick Charlie Villanueva. Ford has piloted Toronto to the top of the Atlantic division and the three-seed in the Eastern Conference. Original pick: Ford

9.      New York Knicks — David West (18), Xavier. The 6’9,” 240-pound West had a quiet first two years with the Hornets, but West had a breakout season last year, averaging 17.4 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 51 percent from the field. Yes, I’m sure having Chris Paul helped, but West seems like a hard worker who’ll do anything to make it in the League. Original pick: Michael Sweetney

10.  Washington Wizards

11.  Golden State Warriors

     Either of these spots could have gone to two players: Boris Diaw (21) and Luke Walton (32). Diaw couldn’t get off the bench in Atlanta, yet he has been a major part of a Phoenix team that has re-introduced “Showtime” to the masses, even garnering Most Improved Player honors at the end of the 2005-06 season. Starting at center for Phoenix that season in the playoffs, Diaw averaged 18.7 points, 6.7 boards and 5.2 assists. Walton has blossomed into one of the better all-around young players in the league. His adept passing skills have been put on display in Phil Jackson’s triangle offense. In 48 games this season, Walton has more than doubled his career scoring (5.1 to 11.4 ppg), and assists per game averages (2.3 to 4.5). The original picks in these slots, Jarvis Hayes and Michael Pietrus, have shown flashes at time, but haven’t played at the level of Diaw and Walton. Original picks: Jarvis Hayes (Wash.) and Michael Pietrus (GSW)

12.  Seattle Supersonics — Udonis Haslem, Florida. I considered slotting Darko here, but Seattle has had a pension to take ####ers the last few years (Reggie Evans, trading for Chris Wilcox). Haslem went undrafted in 2003, after playing overseas in 2002, but has worked his way into the starting PF spot in South Beach for the foreseeable future. Haslem isn’t flashy, but he’s a big body who isn’t afraid to mix it up in the post. It also helps that he can hit an 18-foot jumper consistently. Original pick: Nick Collison

13.  Memphis Grizzlies — Leandro Barbosa, Brazil. As of March 27), Barbosa is averaging 17.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 32.4 minutes per game. Barbosa is widely considered at the favorite to wint he Sixth Man of the Year award. The speedy Barbosa could start on a number of teams, but he’s happy with his role in Phoenix. Ironically, one of his teammates, Marcus Banks, was selected in this spot originally. Banks rarely sniffs the court in Phoenix. Original pick: Marcus Banks

Yes, the fortunes of a number of teams could have been changed had the draft when as I see it. But, hey, hindsight is 20/20. Can you imagine a lineup of Billups, Hamilton, Prince, Rasheed Wallace and Bosh? The Chris Webber deal would have been uncalled for, or Webber would have been relegated to a sixth man role. Now, Detroit has to worry about losing its starting power forward and center in a year or two. I can see Piston fans using old battery acid for eyedrops.

But they’re not the only people I’m worried about. With the number of second overall picks that have done squat in the League (Bowie, Steve Stipanovich and Milicic come to mind), I’m going to say a prayer for both Greg Oden and Kevin Durant on draft night.

Sorry, Brendan Wright.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's the most famous phrase I have been subjected to at numerous points of my life.

After that fight Saturday night-let's not call it a brawl, please-I had an inkling that the inevitable suspension of NBA leading scorer Carmelo Anthony would push the Nuggets to swing a deal for Allen Iverson to stay afloat in the tough Western Conference.

Well, it happened. Allen Iverson, who spent 10-plus seasons as a Sixer; who suffered countless bumps, bruises and injuries for that team; who, along with head coach Larry Brown, willed a team of cast-offs and journeymen to the 2001 NBA Finals; who, like Kevin Garnett, had become disgusted with the less than mediocre cast he had been surrounded with, is now a Denver Nugget.

The West just became that much more interesting.

The trade just went down, and all I'm hearing from talking heads is that AI won't get along with George Karl. I can understand the reasoning behind that: Old School and New School, yada, yada, yada; but think about this: who'd Sixers GM Billy King enlist as a consultant in his mission to trade The Answer?

Brown.

Larry Brown was hired as a consultant in Philly last week to help in the trade process. The same Larry Brown who, supposedly, couldn't deal with Iverson during his tenure in Philadelphia.

Why do I bring this up? It's connected to the color of Iverson's new uni.

Carolina Blue.

Karl and Brown are boys from Tobacco Road. Brown saw that Karl would be losing his two leading scorers, Anthony for 15 games and J.R. Smith for 10, so he decided to help his boy out a bit. You don't think Brown, Iverson and Karl haven't been on three-way already working things out?

Iverson will be able to thrive in the more wide open West. Honestly, he could still have more mileage left on his body if this deal had been made a couple years ago. This deal should help Denver stay alive in the West playoff race until Melo comes off his suspension, and I don't think he and AI will have trouble meshing together once the latter returns.

Anthony, only in his fourth year in the league, will be the best player Iverson has been paired with. The difference between he and the likes of Larry Hughes and Jerry Stackhouse is that Melo really doesn't need the ball at all times to be effective. His game has changed this season. He is less reliant on his J and more willing to hit the post and body his man for a high-percentage shot. He's willing to #### in lieu of staying on the perimeter.

I don't think putting the two together will get Denver to the finals. I'm not even sure it can propel them past Utah in the Northwest Division. But would you want to see (likely) two of the top 5 scorers in the game in a seven-game series?

That's thinking a little far ahead. What about some of the great individual match ups this gives us for the next couple years.

Iverson/Paul

Iverson/Nash

Iverson/Davis

Iverson/Parker

Iverson/Alston (for the streetball heads)

This move could jumpstart AI's career. It also signals Philly's willingness to "start over" for the second time in 14 years. Remember what happened after Charles Barkley left the City of Brotherly Love for the Land of the Rising Sun in '92. Philly didn't sniff the playoffs for nearly a decade.

Who was it that brought the Sixers out of the ashes?

The Little Dude with the cornrows.

Now he's gone, too.

I wonder if the League will freeze the envelope for Philly like they did for the Knicks in '85.

Ok, we got the lottery teams out of the way, along with a few teams who have shots to make the playoffs, but won't for whatever reason.

Next, we delve into a group of teams that should play past mid-April unless their star suffers a career-ending injury or shoots up a strip club or gets a knee broken from owing his online poker lone shark.

15. Denver Nuggets: The Mile High crew won the Northwest division last season with 44 wins. I see a similar amount being enough to take that divison this year, too. But I don't see the Nuggets taking home back-to-back division titles. Carmelo Anthony will continue to blossom, and finally earn his first All-Star appearance come February. His performances in the World Championships showed me that he's ready to take The Leap and be mentioned in the same breath as Kobe, LeBron and D-Wade. Yes, i see a playoff berth for Denver, but what have they done to get past the first round? Kiki Vandewedge traded for high-schooler J.R. Smith, who couldn't get burn on a young New Orleans team. Now he's being asked to put out effort on a playoff squad. Kenyon Martin-12.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg in 56 games-is a malcontent and is injury prone. So is Marcus Camby-one of the better shot-blockers in the game. Camby has averaged 50 games over the last five seasons. They have toughness up front with Reggie Evans and Eduardo Najera, but not much else. I still don't know what the big deal is about Nene.

14. Indiana Pacers: Three seasons ago, the Pacers had the best record in the league-61-21-and were the only team that won 60-plus games. Two seasons ago, they started out 7-2 and Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal looked like the best combo in the League. Then "The Palace Brawl" happened. Indy went 35-36 the rest of the way and finished at .500 last season, putting them sixth in the East both times. Yes, I know Jermaine O'Neal missed 31 games due to injury last year. Yes, I know they brought in Al Harrington to presumably "revitalize" the franchise. But I also know Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird brought in 10 new players, none of whom piqued my interest. The door's closed for the Pacers title chances. It's sad that the ugliest event in basketball history locked it.

13. Utah Jazz: Jerry Sloan will retire before his squad misses the postseason for a fourth straight year. Utah is my pick to take the Northwest division and lock up the three seed out west. Not because they have eye-popping talent, but because I think they're the best of a bad bunch. The Jazz do have talent, though, and have gotten younger since Stockton to Malone left. Andrei Kirilenko is becoming a quadruple-double threat every night. Mehmet Okur is relishing his starting role after his days in Detroit-15.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg in two seasons with the Jazz. Newly acquired Derek Fisher won't start-second-year guard Deron Williams has the point spot on lock in Salt Lake City-but he'll provide stability and a championship pedigree to a relatively youthful group. Veteran Matt Harpring--13 ppg, 5.9 rpg over his eight-year career-provides scoring puch and toughness off the bench. Look for rookie Ronnie Brewer (Arkansas) to crack the starting lineup by the New Year.

12. Los Angeles Lakers: Hate their point guard situation. There, that's out of the way. But I know how Phil Jackson drools over big guards, so I guess I've have to live with a guy named Smush starting in the League. Jackson is putting his stamp on this group in the second year of his second stint in La La land. They have a number of guys who can play multiple positions (Luke Walton, Lamar Odom, Maurice Evans, Vladimir Radmanovic and Brian Cook). The 6'10" Radmanovic gives L.A. the ability to stretch the floor with his range-41 percent from three in 05-06. Kwame Brown was serviceable in the playoffs last year (12.9 ppg, 6.6 boards in seven games against Phoenix). If this young group limits mistakes and keeps its head in games, L.A. could make some noise next spring. I know they lost in the first round, but I honestly think they can build on having a 3-1 lead on one of the best team's in the league. Oh, and they have that Kobe guy, too. Hopefully he's not rusty after the long layoff due to knee surgery. From what happened for most of the Phoenix series last May, I see Kobe becoming more of a team player and leader. No he won't average 35.4 again, but that will mean he doesn't have to. That could translate into increased confidence in teammates, an increased number of wins, an increase in playoff TV appearances and an MVP award.

11. Washington Wizards: Losing Jared Jeffries won't hurt as much if Washington has a healthy Jarvis Hayes (21 games in 05-06). Hayes can provide scoring off the bench from both wing positions, which could take some pressure off Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas. I've been perplexed by Brendan Haywood since his days on Chapel Hill. The guy's huge. A "space eater" if you will. But he averages 7 points and 5 boards a night for his career. I think he's missing a set, if you know what I mean. If healthy, Darius Songalia could be a nice pick up, since I have no faith in Antawn Jamison starting at power forward. Gilbert Arenas is a beast. I shouldn't have to say anything else about him. The biggest question is can Eddie Jordan get this bunch to play on both ends of the floor. Washington gave up nearly 100 points a game last season. Not good. They're not Phoenix. I don't think the Wizards can outscore teams like that. Play some zone. Have Calvin Booth be your "goon." Do somethin.'

Top ten teams coming Monday