It seems like just yesterday that Stephen Curry was a junior from Davidson University declaring for the 2009 NBA Draft.
Known as a prolific shooter who carried his team to the Elite Eight, Curry was selected by the Golden State Warriors, who took a chance on him with the seventh overall pick. The rest, as they say, was history.
However, to get us all through this NBA-free month of September, I thought it’d be fun to re-live and re-draft the 2009 NBA Draft, five years after the fact.
Quick disclaimer: These picks are being made with the current knowledge we have of these players’ experience and skill sets.
2009 NBA Draft Top 10 Actual Results
- Los Angeles Clippers – Blake Griffin, PF
- Memphis Grizzlies – Hasheem Thabeet, C
- Oklahoma City Thunder – James Harden, SG
- Sacramento Kings – Tyreke Evans, SG
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Washington Wizards) – Ricky Rubio, PG
- Minnesota Timberwolves – Jonny Flynn, PG
- Golden State Warriors – Stephen Curry, PG
- New York Knicks – Jordan Hill, PF
- Toronto Raptors – DeMar DeRozan, SG
- Milwaukee Bucks – Brandon Jennings, PG
2009 NBA Draft Top 10 Revised Results
- Los Angeles Clippers – Blake Griffin, PF. The Clippers took the most tantalizing prospect in the draft class at the time. They ended up with arguably the best player from the entire draft as well. Everyone knows about his dunks, but his mid-range shooting has improved tremendously in the past two years. Great selection then, great selection now.
- Memphis Grizzlies – James Harden, SG. It goes without saying the Grizzlies swung and missed selecting Thabeet. While many people can argue that Curry should be selected here, it’s worth noting the Grizz already had rookie Mike Conley and two-year veteran Kyle Lowry at the point guard position. Even with 21-year-old OJ Mayo at shooting guard, Harden would have made a great sixth man for a team that began to struggle to score.
- Oklahoma City Thunder – Stephen Curry, PG. OKC Thunder takes Stephen Curry to stockpile even more offensive talent. Pairing Curry with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant gives them a ton of options offensively and realistically moves Curry to the shooting guard. While it’s obvious to any basketball fan that Curry is a “purer point guard” than Westbrook, Westbrook would have a year under his belt as the point guard, making it more difficult to move him to the two guard. A Westbrook-Curry-Green-Durant-Nick Collison small ball lineup would be scary.
- Sacramento Kings – Tyreke Evans, SG. Although Evans eventually fell out with the Kings’ management, he is still the most talented player on the board. While he didn’t mesh with his starters as a point guard, he was largely playing out of position. He is still the right pick at No.4.
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Washington Wizards) – Demar DeRozan, SG. Although DeRozan would have had to compete with Randy Foye, he would have ultimately taken over the starting role after a season or two. Named a 2014 NBA All-Star, DeRozan can contribute on both ends of the court and is one of the most athletic players in the league. A solid pick at the fifth spot.
- Minnesota Timberwolves – Ty Lawson, PG – If I’m Minnesota and I have a chance to do it all over again, I’m not going to draft Ricky Rubio and his historically bad shooting. I’d rather have a point guard who pushes it in transition with DeRozan, possesses a jump shot and finish, and can set up Kevin Love.
- Golden State Warriors – Jrue Holiday, PG. The Warriors would be wise to take Jrue Holiday in this position as a good distributor who wouldn’t take too many shots away from Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson, Holiday would gel well with this team. He is the last remaining All-Star selection in the draft pool. Hopefully his injury history wouldn’t repeat itself with the Warriors in this alternate reality.
- New York Knicks – Danny Green, SG. Danny Green has come a long way as a player and defender since being drafted out of North Carolina. He has worked hard on the defensive end and become a quality, reliable on ball defender, generating steals with his long, active arms. The Knicks would have been wise to get someone to replace Jamal Crawford and his gaudy production.
- Toronto Raptors – Darren Collison, PG. Unfortunately the Raptors miss out on DeRozan in this situation and end up selecting point Darren Collison. He would have come off the bench and spell Jose Calderon, who had some of his best years in Toronto. It’s not a great fit for their roster, but the best player on the board.
- Milwaukee Bucks – Taj Gibson, PF. This team needs a lot of help everywhere. Gibson would have helped out immediately with a lot of gritty play and finishing around the rim a la Kenneth Faried. Gibson, paired with Andrew Bogut, would help control the glass. A good, not great value at 10th overall.
Notable players outside of the top 10: Ricky Rubio, Brandon Jennings, Jeff Teague, Tyler Hansbrough, Jordan Hill, Patrick Beverley, Hasheem Thabeet, and Gerald Henderson.