Rethinking the 1996 Draft

It has been one decade since what is one of the greatest drafts ever took place.

After 10 years in the NBA, these players are either at their peak performance or slightly past it. So I thought it would be interesting to look back and re-pick the draft with the knowledge we have now. After 10 years in

It was difficult deciding the top two picks, and in my mind they are pretty darn even. For the most part I just went ahead and put the picks in order of the best player available, disregarding team need.

It would be interesting to see your guys’ thoughts/picks as well. Anyways, here is my first round:

1. Philadelphia – Allen Iverson. Ok, I realize I am going to get hammered by some Kobe fanboys on this one (and I know there are plenty of them), but here is my reasoning.
AI career stats: 28 points (3rd best in NBA history), 6.1 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 42.1% fg
KB career stats: 23.9 points, 4.5 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 45.1% fg
I think they are about even in all star appearances. AI has an MVP, Kobe has 3 Titles. But honestly, you could have traded the two during those years and the Lakers would have won just as many (maybe more titles). Iverson has meant more to his teams than Kobe (think Kobe could have taken the Sixers to the finals in 01? Think again)
2. Toronto – Kobe Bryant. See above. I realize that he is still hitting his peak and could eventually warrant being number 1, but as of now he is number 2.
3. Vancouver – Steve Nash. MVPx2, a great team player, plays the kind of basketball that is a blast to watch.
4. Milwaukee – Ray Allen. May be the deadliest shooter to play in the NBA over the past decade
5. Minnesota – Jermaine O/Neal. Great post player although he should have gone to college for a few years instead of riding the Portland pine while averaging 4 ppg and 3 rpg in his first four years
6. Boston - Predrag Stojakovic. Though he had a tough season last year, he is one of the leagues more dangerous 3 point men
7. LA Clippers - Antoine Walker. Good scorer and rebounder, though he does have a bad habit of tossing up threes
8. New Jersey - Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Plagued with injuries the past couple of years, but is a career 20/8 guy
9. Dallas - Stephon Marbury. Has put up good stats, but is he has never really made his team successful. Should have stayed with KG in Minnesota.
10. Indiana - Marcus Camby. Not very skilled offensively (career avg 10ppg) but he is a beast when it comes to D.
11. Golden State - Zydrunas Ilgauskas. A solid post player who has been consistent over the years.
12. Cleveland – Kerry Kittles. Has actually had a pretty solid career, though ever quite lived up to his billing.
13. Charlotte – Derek Fisher. Ran the point for the Lakers back in their title days. Not spectacular numbers, but he did have the knack for hitting some big shots.
14. Sacramento – Jeff McInnis. A solid performer over the past decage
15. Phoenix – Erick Dampier. Not a star, but he does get the job done in Dallas
16. Charlotte – Lorenzen Wright. Pretty good on the boards but definitely not a top ten pick.
17. Portland - Othella Harrington. Showed promise early on, but never developed into more than a good option of the bench
18. New York – Malik Rose. Great hustler and off the court guy. Good player coming off the bench.
19. New York – Tony Delk. Could put up double digits on any given night…when he wasn’t injured…
20. Cleveland – Shandon Anderson. He was definitely a steal at 54.
21. New York -. Vitaly Potapenko. What a name! Nothing else to say really…
22. Vancouver – John Wallace. Was “ok” during his NBA career, now plays overseas
23. Denver – Jerome Williams. I always associated he and John Wallace for some reason, I guess I just felt they played similar…or maybe it was just because the have the same initials.
24. LA Lakers – Moochie Norris. A surprisingly durable player. Played in 274 strait games by the end of last year.
25. Utah – Samaki Walker. Has played rather horribly lately…plus he had bad team chemistry when I signed him onto the T-Wolves in Live 07
26. Detroit – Walter McCarty. Meh
27. Orlando – Travis Knight. Won a few titles…while watching from the sidelines
28. Atlanta – Todd Fuller. Meh
29. Chicago – Priest Lauderdale. Just because I think his name is flippin sweet.

Original Results:
http://www.sportsstats.com/jazzyj/greats/96/index.html

Charlotte had 2 picks in the top 16, and with them they trade Kobe Bryant for Vlade Divacs, and pass on Jermaine O Neal for Tony Delk.

Amazing how these little decisions shape franchises...Charlotte could have had both Kobe & JON on the same team.

Moochie Norris should go way higher, he was actually pretty good for several years.

HAHA Drew BArry... I remember him. Definitely the rotten apple of Rick Barry's children, not being able to make it in the NBA. My favorite quote from Slam Magazine was "Does anyone wish that Drew Barry would marry Drew Barrymore?"

Randy Livingston was a decent PG in Houston too.

28. Atlanta – Todd Fuller. Meh

No success for Fuller in Australia as well. LoL.

2. Toronto – Kobe Bryant. See above. I realize that he is still hitting his peak and could eventually warrant being number 1, but as of now he is number 2.

What would have happened...T-Mac and Kobe ...and yes, I do realize the two of them would sooner or later be fighting over for shots, and the Raptors probably I think would not have got Vince Carter.

I'd bump Camby up 2 spots, other than that agreed. Bold move with Iverson number 1, but I agree. Plus I don't know if Kobes numbers would have been as good as they were as quick as they did if he didn't have big brother Shaq around lmao

interesting fact, some of you may know this already: there was a chance that t-mac might've ended up in chicago during michael jordan's last season. jerry krause wanted to trade scottie pippen for toronto's #9 overall pick, but jordan threatened to retire if the deal went through.

interesting fact, some of you may know this already: there was a chance that t-mac might've ended up in chicago during michael jordan's last season. jerry krause wanted to trade scottie pippen for toronto's #9 overall pick, but jordan threatened to retire if the deal went through.

T-Mac in Chicago would be sweet. Though I doubt Bulls fans would like it, because it means giving up Pippen. Unless Chicago could see into the future (....2001 Bulls.....) I doubt the trade would have ever happened, along with the final championship.

Why would the Bulls trade a winner for a loser?

Why would the Bulls trade a winner for a loser?

They ended up letting Pippen go anyway, might as well get something out of it. Anyway, you can't really say T-Mac would have ended up in Chicago cause they might have not even picked him.

13. Charlotte – Derek Fisher. Ran the point for the Lakers back in their title days. Not spectacular numbers, but he did have the knack for hitting some big shots.

a combined 15-20 3 pt. fgm/fga in a 4 game sweep against the spurs back in 2001 [/quote]

I wish they had done that trade with the Raps pick, because then the Pacers would have won it all that year.

definitely. as great as jordan was in that series, pippen was the saving grace. i don't think anyone on that bulls roster (other than jordan) could've defended mark jackson as well as he did. bulls were lucky as hell pippen's back did not give out during that series.

i need to get that game on dvd, i have highlights of it from my chicago bulls dynasty collection, but i remember i was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

that, the 76ers/raptors, kings/lakers, 76ers/bucks are my favourite series of all time.

Pippen was the guy that won that series for Chicago. (You're catching me on a rare moment where I'll actually really discuss that series). I don't know if you remember, but in game 7 we had a nice big lead at halftime, it was 18 if my memory serves me correctly, and Pippen took over in the second half and the bulls ended up winning. Not to mention the fact that Smits missed two layups in the fourth quarter and McKey had a couple terrible turnovers.

That season is so painful for me to think about because we handed some games over to really bad teams and if we hadn't done that we would have finished with a better regular season record then Chicago and had the homecourt advantage, which really turned out to be the difference in that series. Each game was won by the home team. We also got off to a really tough start that season I remember. I think we were something like 6-8 at the start of the year, and we just weren't playing well.

They ended up letting Pippen go anyway, might as well get something out of it. Anyway, you can't really say T-Mac would have ended up in Chicago cause they might have not even picked him.

The way that story goes, it was specifically for McGrady. The Bulls were not rebuilding so they had no need of random high draft picks, they still had a championship team.

It's most likely true because Krause has *always* tried his hardest to get rid of Pippen. It started by refusing to give Pippen an appropriate contract because they had to save money to sign Toni Kukoc, who plays Pippen's SF spot. Then later Krause tried to trade Pippen for Shawn Kemp, and was stopped by Jordan returning to the Bulls. And during the Jordan's return Krause then tried to trade Pippen for McGrady. And when Krause finally was able to boot Phil Jackson out & Jordan retired, he finally got his wish and traded Pippen for nothing (a bunch of guys who didn't even make the roster).

It's hard to think of a player who has played so well but was as hated by his own bosses as Pippen.

The way that story goes, it was specifically for McGrady. The Bulls were not rebuilding so they had no need of random high draft picks, they still had a championship team.

Last time I checked, when Michael left the team got torn apart lol. Anyway, you can't really say the pick was for McGrady, not a guarantee he would be there at 9.

Last time I checked, when Michael left the team got torn apart lol. Anyway, you can't really say the pick was for McGrady, not a guarantee he would be there at 9.

You're getting confused with the Houston trade. When Michael & PJ left the team was taken apart...but this is years earlier. Michael & PJ were still in town and winning Championships and destroying other teams. Krause wanted to trade Pippen in the middle of the 2nd championship threepeat.

If McGrady was taken earlier Krause would have tried to trade his pick and somebody else for McGrady. Point is, they wanted to give up Pippen for McGrady. GMs don't trade away Hall of Fame players in their prime for random rookies.

krause was a dick and an attention seeking whore. just some stuff i found on him :

As the success piled up for the Bulls, Krause became more and more hungry for attention. Jealous of the attention received by Jordan and Head Coach Phil Jackson, a man who Krause believed was indebted to him because he got him his initial job with Chicago, Krause did several things to alienate Jackson and the players. Some examples include:

* During the summer of 1997, Krause's stepdaughter married. All of the Bulls assistant coaches and their wives were invited to the wedding, as was Tim Floyd, then the head coach at Iowa State, whom Krause was openly courting as Jackson's successor (and would eventually succeed Jackson). Jackson and his wife were not only not invited, but Krause did not tell them of the snub; they found out from the wife of assistant Bill Cartwright.

* During contract negotiations for Jackson's final year with the Bulls, when the topic of a potential extension past the 1997–98 season came up, Krause reportedly told Jackson, "I don't care if you go 82-and-0, you're fucking gone."

* Krause, publicly portrayed Jackson as a two-faced character who had very little regard for his assistant coaches, a perception that certain Krause associates in the Bulls organization had sought to spread about Jackson. At the height of the hard feelings in the spring of 1998, one of Krause’s scouts went to press row in Chicago’s United Center to explain to a reporter the insidious nature of Jackson’s ego.(excerpt from my Phil Jackson biography Mindgames)

* It was during the 1997-1998 season that Krause was quoted by the media uttering the statement "Players don't win championships, organizations win championships", which raised the ire of Michael Jordan. Later, however, Krause said that his original statement was "players and coaches alone don't win championships; organizations win championships"

Wow, Krause was an ass to Phil... wat the fuck, he should be the one on his knees and bowing down to Jax for bringing 6 fucking rings to the Chi.

You're getting confused with the Houston trade. When Michael & PJ left the team was taken apart...but this is years earlier. Michael & PJ were still in town and winning Championships and destroying other teams. Krause wanted to trade Pippen in the middle of the 2nd championship threepeat.

If McGrady was taken earlier Krause would have tried to trade his pick and somebody else for McGrady. Point is, they wanted to give up Pippen for McGrady. GMs don't trade away Hall of Fame players in their prime for random rookies.

I recall a Scottie Pippen and Luc Longley for Antoine Walker swap being talked about around the time of the 1997 Draft as well. He'd really lost the plot by that point.

Yeah I forgot about all that. Pippen was in trade rumors every offseason for years.

Wasn't there a trade of Shawn Kemp for Pips one season like in 96 or something?