Draft Day Special: 5 Dynasties that Never Were

Prerequisites:

• Player had to be selected sometime between the 1985 and 2010 drafts.
• Player has NOT won/did NOT win an NBA championship
• All-Star/All-NBA caliber player

In order to talk about or analyze a situation that “could’ve been, but never was,” you must utilize speculative and assumptive techniques (AKA educated guesses) based on statistics to arrive at a hypothetical conclusion that is as accurate and well-founded as possible.

5) Kevin Durant was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder) in 2007 with the 2^ndst overall pick. Oden was supposed to be the “cream of the crop” center in the ’07 draft, but has failed to meet expectations. His career has been plagued by injury, as evidenced by Oden’s career 82 games played. This would be a great number for someone who just finished his rookie year, but Oden has been in the league for 4 years. He has averaged 15pts, 12rebs, and 2blks in the 2 seasons that he’s participated in, but again, he’s missed 3 season’s worth of games.  Durant on the other hand, has been arguably one of the Top 10 players in the league during this same span with averages of 26pts and 6rebs a game. Durant has led the league in scoring the past 2 seasons, while shooting about 47% from the field and 89% from the line. He is currently one of the league’s most premiere scorers (along with players like Carmelo Anthony, LBJ and Wade). Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge were received in the previous draft, which could’ve made this one of the league’s most frightening and dominant 3-somes. Roy has averaged over a solid 19pts, 4rebs, and 4assts even when taking into account his unproductive season this past year. Aldridge has averaged over 17pts and 7rebs during his 5 year career, and this past season proved to be his coming out party as he put up career highs of 21.8pts, 8.8rebs, and 50% shooting. The Trailblazers have failed to get over the 1^st Round playoff hump throughout the B-Roy/Aldridge years. The Blazers struggles can be boiled down to one thing: injuries. Greg Oden and Brandon Roy are especially responsible for this team’s title of being injury plagued. The replacement of Durant with Oden though, could’ve removed years of uncertainty and substituted them with assurance and confidence. A Durant/Roy/Aldridge combo could’ve proved enough to win it all this year when considering the Lakers’ struggles in the Western Conference. 

4) Tracy McGrady was drafted by the Toronto Raptors with the 8^th pick in the 1997 draft. The 76ers had the 2^nd overall pick in that year’s draft and took Keith Van Horn, who was later traded for Jim Jackson, Eric Montross, Anthony Parker, and Tim Thomas. Instead of trading Van Horn for these pieces, the team could’ve landed Tracy McGrady. T-Mac, a 7 time all-star and 7 time All-NBA recipient, could have provided the 76ers with the best duo in the NBA at the time (not including the Kobe-Shaq Lakers). McGrady, a 2-time scoring champion, averaged over 21.5ppg, 6rebs, and 4assts during the 9 year span that he and Iverson would’ve played on the same team. During that span, Iverson averaged over 28.5ppg, 2.4stls, and 5.9assts. This would make Iverson and McGrady the highest scoring duo in the league during that duration. Also, Iverson’s 76ers reached the Eastern Conference Semis 3 times and the NBA Finals once. T-Mac’s presence could’ve reduced Iverson’s defensive attraction and provided a second 20pt + scorer, as well as another playmaker. Holding all things constant (and yes, I understand that is very unlikely considering it would be hard to get Iverson and McGrady their necessary amount of shots per game), the 76ers would’ve had the leading scorer in the NBA 6 of those 9 years! They would’ve arguably been the best scoring and most dreaded backcourt of all time.

3) Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh each had the potential to be an instrumental piece in this next “dynasty that never was” scenario. This dynasty could’ve been made through the drafting of 3 different players, but only 2 meet the qualifications stated at the beginning of the article. Carmelo Anthony was drafted by the Denver Nuggets with the 3^rd overall pick in the 2003 draft, while Bosh was drafted with the 4^th overall pick by the Toronto Raptors. The Detroit Pistons took Darko Milicic with the 2^nd pick in that year’s draft. Calling Milicic a bust would be an understatement. In a draft featuring 4 of the top 20 current players in the league, and 3 of the top 10, Darko did anything but live up to expectations. He has career averages of about 6pts and 4rebs per game, and has bounced around more times than a Russell Westbrook dribbled ball. Anthony and Bosh on the other hand, have produced All-NBA numbers. Melo has been putting up about 25pts and 6rebs throughout the course of his career, while Bosh has averaged about 20pts and 9rebs. Anthony could’ve been an upgrade from Tayshaun Prince, while Bosh could’ve provided more front court depth and scoring. The Pistons did win the 03-04 championship without the services of either of these guys, but the franchise’s next 4 seasons were characterized by deep playoff exits. During the 04-05 season, the Pistons made it all the way to the Finals again, before losing in 7 games to the Spurs. The Pistons’ late postseason runs didn’t end there though, as the team made it to the Eastern Conference Finals each of the next 3 seasons. A combination of Billups/Hamilton and either Carmelo or Chris would’ve proved deadly, especially when adding in competitor/role-players like Prince and the Wallace duo. The scoring threat and star power of either player might have been just what the Pistons needed to get over the hump and tag the franchise as a dynasty.

2) Reggie Miller was drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 11^th pick in the 1987 draft. Chicago had both the 8^th and 10^th picks in the 1986 draft. With the 8^th pick they took Olden Polynice, who they later traded for Scottie Pippen (the 4^th pick in that year’s draft), and with the 10^th pick they took Horace Grant. Now, although Grant was an instrumental piece in the Bulls’ first three-peat, the Bulls could have taken Reggie Miller in his place. Imagine a trio of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Reggie Miller. During the Bulls first three peat years (91-93), Miller averaged over 21pts, 3rebs, 3assts, 49% shooting and 88% free throws, while never missing a game. Grant averaged over 13pts and 9rebs, 54% shooting, and 69% free throws. Miller had 5 all-star appearances and 3 All NBA 3^rd Team selections throughout the course of his career, while Grant only had one all-star appearance. The offensive production that Miller would have provided might have been unnecessary considering that the Bulls had the greatest scorer of that era in MJ, but Miller’s presence and impact really would’ve been felt during the years that Michael left to pursue baseball (the ’94 and ’95 seasons). The duo of Pippen and Miller could’ve provided enough fire-power to push the team over the mountain which Jordan’s absence left.

1) Karl Malone was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 13^th overall pick in the 1985 draft. The Chicago Bulls, who had acquired Michael Jordan with the 3^rd pick in the previous year’s draft, selected Keith Lee with the 11^th pick. Lee, in a draft day trade, was sent to Cleveland for Charles Oakley. Charles Oakley was an average player throughout his career, with a stat line of 9.7pts and 9.5rebs, and only played for three years on the Bulls. The Bulls could’ve instead selected Karl Malone whose career was defined by longevity and greatness. Malone is the 2^nd all time leading scorer in NBA History, and averaged a staggering 25pts and 10rebs in his 19yr career. The Mailman’s inside presence, matched with the greatest player of all time, could’ve been a greater duo than Pippen and Jordan. This hypothetical combination is extremely interesting and ironic considering the Bulls and Jazz had somewhat of a rivalry going on during the late 90s. The Bulls beat the Jazz twice in the NBA Finals, and proved to be the sole reason Malone never won a championship. With Malone on the Bulls, the threat of the Jazz would’ve been removed and Malone would’ve had a relatively easier path to the Finals. So much 90s NBA History would’ve vanished if the Bulls selected Malone… most notably the Stockton/Malone combo and Jordan’s pull back “J” on Byron Russell in the 1998 NBA Finals.