Draft pick skeletons in the closet. 2005 revisited

Don’t believe the hype if ANYONE declares “winners and losers” as it relates to franchises in the 2010 NBA Draft. We do not know now. What we can do is look back at the 2005 NBA Draft.   

There were seven players selected that are either stars or superstars. Chris Paul should have been the number one pick. Instead he went fourth behind #1 Andrew Bogut, #2 Marvin Williams, #3 Deron Williams. D-Wil should have been second followed by David Lee (pictured at right), who was taken 30th. Bogut probably should have gone fourth with Danny Granger fifth. Granger was a steal at #17. 

Andrew Bynum is sixth in this five-year hindsight exercise. He was actually selected tenth by the Lakers. From a value standpoint our hindsight seventh pick, Monta Ellis was the best pick of the 2005 NBA Draft. Dude was snatched at #40 in 2005. 

The next tier of players begins with the hindsight eighth pick. (It becomes subjective as all get up so just roll with it.) #8 Ersan Ilyasova. You might say, “huh?”. Ilyasova is coming off a terrific season for the Bucks and he ranked as the eighth most efficient Small Forward in the NBA in 2009-10. Ilyasova was the 36th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.   

Lou Williams of the Sixers probably should have been the ninth pick. He went 45th. Jarrett Jack is our hindsight tenth pick. The pro’s pro ranked 20th (EFR) in 2009-10 among Point Guards. Jack was taken 22nd. 

The eleventh pick  in the do-over is Nate Robinson. “Little Nate” went 21st in `05. ...Andray Blatche should have been 12th. He was the 49th pick in 2005.  ...13th should have been Linas Kleiza. He was actually picked 27th. ...Raymond Felton was picked fifth but 14th would have been about right for the former North Carolina star. 

We’ll go with Marcin Gortat (pictured at left) as the should-have-been 15th pick. Gortat made nearly six million dollars to play behind Dwight Howard this season past. He has roughly 28 million still coming to him after a massive haul last summer in free agency. Gortat was the 57th pick in 2005. Brandon Bass is the 16th choice in this do-over of 2005. Bass was chosen 33rd on the forrealla. ...We’ll go with Francisco Garcia as the should-have-been 17th pick. Cisco went 23rd in `05.  

Ryan Gomes comes in as the 18th pick in the do-over. Traded to Portland yesterday, Gomes was originally the 50th pick in 2005 by the Boston Celtics. ...Ronny Turiaf gets the nod as the 19th selection in the re-do. He went 37th in 2005. 

The most subjective pick in our do-over is Charlie Villanueva slipping to 20th (not hating—just not a fan. He was only the 49th rated PF in 2009-10). Charlie V was seventh in 2005. ...Painfully for the Atlanta Hawks, we rate Marvin Williams as the should-have-been 21st pick. ...Hakim Warrick feels right as the 22nd pick. He was 19th in `05. ...Give us C.J. Miles 23rd in the do-over. Miles, who still has not touched his potential, was grabbed at #34 in 2005 by Utah. That closes out that “tier”. 

We will finish the do-over first round with: #24 Channing Frye (8th in `05), #25 Martell Webster (6th in `05), #26 Jason Maxiell (26th in `05), #27 Sean May (13th in `05), #28 Antoine Wright (15th in `05), #29 Joey Graham (16th in `05), and #30 Johan Petro (25th in `05). ...Be sure to follow us (click the “follow” button on upper left.)

Moultrie would not benefit from a UTEP return + notes

I feel compelled to speak on a few things I’ve read recently. Chad Ford of ESPN.com had this to say about players who should go back to school. On Arnett Moultrie from UTEP: “Now that Tim Floyd is at UTEP running the show and Derrick Caracter has left for the NBA, Moultrie should be featured more offensively.” I’ll disagree. It’s not that I think Moultrie is a guy that should be drafted for sure but I would never say that going to a Tim Floyd coached team could help one’s draft stock. Floyd plays slow-ball and his players statistical output always reflects that. If Moultrie returns to UTEP - his already pedestrian numbers could take a hit and that will not improve his draft stock.

Two players I like more than the average scout: Luke Babbitt of Nevada, and Robert Glenn from IUPUI.

I feel bad for Tim Welsh - the former ESPN commentator who had just taken the head coaching gig at Hofstra. Welsh was arrested for driving drunk on Friday and he has since resigned as Hofstra’s coach. I’ve always enjoyed Welsh as one of the most honest analysts in the game and if he is honest with himself in this situation he will realize that as bad as his current predicament is it pales in comparison to what could have happened had he continued to drive drunk.

The first round of the NBA Playoffs had only one surprising result to me. The Utah Jazz beating the Denver Nuggets was not something I saw coming. Deron Williams continues to be the poster child for NBA guys that were good but not GREAT in college. Many considered Dee Brown the star of the Illinois team that also included Luther Head.

Who put Stephen Jackson fifth on their ballot for MVP in the NBA post-season voting? They should have their right to vote revoked for life. It was probably the same person who was the only one to list Lebron James third on their ballot. ...The voting also reveals that Tim Duncan is no longer viewed by the media as an elite player. He did not receive one point in the voting that allows for listing your top-five players in order. Duncan’s minutes may be down in the regular season but the truth is—he was more efficient (that’s per-minute across the board) than Dwight Howard was in the 2009-10 regular season. Howard finished fourth overall in the voting.