Friday, July 31st, 2009 at 11:32 am  |  95 responses

2003 NBA Draft Remix

Where the value of the Euro started its decline.

Darko Milicic

by Jeff Fox

There are numerous angles you can take in writing a recap of the 2003 NBA Draft.  You could debate whether or not 2003 was better than 1984 or 1996 (not better than either of them yet, but gaining rapidly). You could mention all of the Hall of Fame talent that was up for grabs in 2003 (LeBron and Wade are locks, Bosh and Melo on their way). But Draft 365 would rather talk about Dirk Nowitzki. Or, more specifically, how it’s all Dirk’s fault.

Confused? Perhaps we should explain. By the time the 2003 Draft rolled around, Dirk was already an established superstar, which was in no ways a sure thing when he was selected ninth overall in the 1998 Draft. Now NBA GMs were intrigued — maybe a 7-0, skilled European really could become a star in North America. The Euro floodgates had opened. Dirk spawned Nikoloz Tskitishvili who spawned, yes, you guessed it, Darko Milicic. So, if Dirk hadn’t exploded, Darko probably wouldn’t have even been considered at pick No. 2 in 2003. So Detroit fans, next time Dirk rolls into town, give him a nice Motown welcome.

Now, for an even more controversial view of things, was Darko really such a bad pick for the Pistons? Talent-wise, of course it was — the team passed on six future All-Stars to grab him. But, consider this — what is the goal of an NBA team?  To milk every cent it can out of its fans To win a championship, of course. And with Darko on the roster the Pistons won a championship and started a long run as one of the dominant teams in the League. Now, obviously Darko had no direct impact on that team’s production on the court, but imagine taking Darko off the roster and adding Carmelo Anthony. With Anthony the Pistons (more than likely) don’t trade for Rasheed Wallace, don’t become a defensive juggernaut, and don’t become a star-less, “all-for-one-and-one-for-all” squad. While the talent level would have been much higher with Melo, the intangibles (chemistry, selflessness, intensity) may not have been. As a wise man once wrote, chemistry is an important factor that is not always given enough credit in the success or failure of a team.

2003 NBA Draft

Grade: A+

All-Stars: 7 (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, David West, Josh Howard, Mo Williams)
Biggest Bust: Darko Milicic, Detroit, pick No. 2
Second Round Steal: Mo Williams, Utah, pick No. 47
Winning Team (in the long run): Cleveland (LeBron James, Mo Williams)
Career Scoring Leader: LeBron James
Career Rebounding Leader: ChLeBron Jamesris Bosh
Career Assists Leader: LeBron James

Pick No. 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers
Actual Selection: LeBron James
Draft 365 Remix: LeBron James (1)

No second guessing here — James has exceeded any reasonable expectations the Cavs and their fans could have had for him coming out of high school. He’s become probably the most dominant all-around player in the League, and, as sacrilegious as it is to say, is on pace to challenge Michael Jordan as the best player to ever play the game.

Pick No. 2 | Detroit Pistons
Actual Selection: Darko Milicic
Draft 365 Remix: Dwyane Wade (5)

While LeBron is still the King of this draft, it isn’t a landslide victory for him. Dwyane Wade is also on the fast track to the Hall of Fame. And, perhaps most importantly, while the King may still have the crown, Wade has a piece of jewelry glaringly absent from James’ wardrobe.

Pick No. 3 | Denver Nuggets
Actual Selection: Carmelo Anthony
Draft 365 Remix: Carmelo Anthony (3)

Pretty much a toss-up here between Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh. Anthony wins by a nose due to his multiple All-NBA selections.  With Chauncey Billups on board, Melo has his best shot at a title.

Pick No. 4 | Toronto Raptors
Actual Selection: Chris Bosh
Draft 365 Remix: Chris Bosh (4)

The skinny, Snoop Dogg lookalike out of Georgia Tech turned out to be a godsend for the Raptors after Air Canada crashed and burned. With his impending free agency looming, the Raptors need to decide if he is a player they can build a championship around or if he is better suited to be the second-in-command on a team (more likely the latter).

Pick NDwyane Wadeo. 5 | Miami Heat
Actual Selection: Dwyane Wade
Draft 365 Remix: David West (18)

It’s not surprising that David West lasted until the middle part of the first round in 2003 — he was an undersized power forward that didn’t play in one of the power conferences in college. He has blossomed into a two-time All-Star and perhaps the best undersized 4-man in the League.

Pick No. 6 | Los Angeles Clippers
Actual Selection: Chris Kaman
Draft 365 Remix: Josh Howard (29)

One of the many mid to late first round steals in this draft, Josh Howard is the perfect second option for a team, if you ignore the off-court headaches he causes.

Pick No. 7 | Chicago Bulls
Actual Selection: Kirk Hinrich
Draft 365 Remix: Mo Williams (47)

The absolute steal of the draft, Mo Williams had himself an All-Star year last season in his role as LeBron’s vice president.  Too bad his playoff performance (on the court and with his mouth) has taken some of the lustre off of his golden season.

Pick No. 8 | Milwaukee Bucks
Actual Selection: T.J. Ford
Draft 365 Remix: Kirk Hinrich (7)

His play the past two seasons has been abysmal, but before that Kirk Hinrich was one of the best both-ends-of-the-court point guards in the NBA.

Pick No. 9 | New York Knicks
Actual Selection: Michael Sweetney
Draft 365 Remix: T.J. Ford (8)

And the Knicks slide into oblivion begins.  T.J. Ford may have had an injury plagued career thus far, but, unlike Michael Sweetney, he’s still pulling down a NBA paycheck.

Pick No. 10 | Washington Wizards
Actual Selection: Jarvis Hayes
Draft 365 Remix: Leandro Barbosa (28)

Maybe he hasn’t developed into the point guard the Suns were hoping for, but Leandro Barbosa is the League’s fastest player and one of its most explosive scorers of the bench.

Barely missed the Top 10 Remix: Boris Diaw, Chris Kaman, Travis Outlaw, Kyle Korver.

Next on the Remix: 2002 and the Ming Dynasty.

2003 NBA Draft Green Room invites

Read more of Jeff Fox at The Hoops Manifesto.

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  • cmsen

    If Hinrich were not drafted by the Bulls, he would look much better, because the Bulls never had a quality SG for the past 5 yrs. That said, I have no sympathy for Hinrich anymore, because he allows the stupid GMs and coaches and a selfish teammate take advantage of him and ruin his career for years, and he never strives to put himself in a better situation for success. Now he lets people pushed him to be a backup PG forever. Do you think B Davis would settle to be CP3 backup? Absolutely Not; he would get himself traded ASAP. Hinrich has the physical talent to be an elite PG, but doesn’t have the brain to do so. He always worries to try to please everyone (that’s why he is a underachiever). I have no respect for a person who doesn’t care to be the best he can be, and will stop waste my time to defend him.

  • http://groups.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=groups.groupProfile&groupID=104091021&Mytoken=DDF795E1-BAA9-4AA4-A658D26EF5D70607132654176 clapzilla

    Everyone That Knew The Nuggets Still Were An NBA Team In ’03 Was Crazy About Us Possibly Getting Melo. We Never Considered Anyone Else. If Bosh Was Taken At 3, He Would’ve Already Been Playing For A Different Team And The Nuggets Would Be Back To 20 Wins.

  • http://www.broy7.com nate the great

    this was a great post Jeff.
    in my mind, i really dont think chris bosh is a H.o.f. he shouldnt even be the face of your franchise, at best a side kick.
    and i believe if hinrich went to.. like say the blazers, he would be a great fit.
    he is a victim of the bulls.
    hinrich is way way better than mo. mo is only an all star cause he is with lebron, in the same fact that mike brown is coach of the year.. cause of lebron.
    in that cause kirk is better than mo.
    and i also agree with whoever said Darko will flourish in D’antoni’s offence.

  • Clay

    clapzilla – Please don’t ever post here again. Are you retarded? Why does every word in your post start with a capital letter?! It gave me a headache trying to read that garbage.

  • Clay

    Wade should be number one pick on this list. All LBJ has done so far is fall short of winning it all. When did Jordan make the finals and not win it all? NEVER! That is why LeBron will never be anywhere near the player Jordan was.
    Oh yeah, when you lose, you shake the hand of the man that beat you! This is not high school you punk! All that did was show how immature you really are

  • http://www.boogiewilliams.com Boing Dynasty aka Free Lester Hudson

    @Clay, do talking directly to Lebron in your comments, but calling Clapzilla stupid? Um?

  • Clay

    Had to get it off my chest… maybe one of his boys reads this site. Who knows! hehe

  • jdstorm

    Personally i think wade goes 3. i know he has been better than melo and bosh so far, but we saw how much better billips made Melo. imagine if that happened from his rookie year. And Bosh fit a need on that team. and when choosing between three players this good you can afford to draft for need.
    my top 10
    Bron, Bosh,Melo,Wade,west,howard,hinrich, ect.

  • COLT6

    LeCrybaby James (and Kobe) will never be better than MJ but this draft class is deeper than ’84 and ’96. Yeah, Captain Kirk plays point better at both ends than MoUTH Willams. D Wade should be number 1 in the remix with the championship run in ’05 (Jordanesque, I must say) and this year’s playoff push (with 2 rooks and J.Old). Come to think of it, he should’ve won the MVP this year.

  • The D Train

    this site is screwing me Peter North-style. not good. if my original post does not show up, let me repeat: cmsen…your anti-Hinrich rant was the dumbest thing I have ever read on this site, which is no small accomplishment.

  • http://fsdklf.com Jukai

    There’s no way Wade should be number 1. I mean, not even close. C’mon now. You think if Lebron had the talent Wade did in 2006, they would have obliterated the Mavericks?
    (although, in fairness, I guess that’s debatable, since Dallas was the better team but Wade summoned the spirit of Baylor and West and just went balls to the wall crazy for four games).

  • http://fsdklf.com Jukai

    But stop and think of this— imagine if Joe Dumars had a vision when he was sleeping, woke up in a cold sweat and shouted “I’M PICKING DWAYNE WADE!”
    Now imagine if all those trades to get Billups and Rasheed still happened.
    You’d have a starting five of Billups, Wade, Tayshun, and the Rasheeds, with Rip as a sixth man.
    Dynasty, anyone?

  • CDef28

    Yes Jukai, dynasty

  • Jj

    One thing I want to add:

    The Jazz sure seem to be one of the best teams picking in the second round, at least in the past 15 years, along with the Spurs (Scola, Ginobili, etc):

    Bryon Russell, Shandon Anderson, Mo Williams, Paul Millsap…

    Granted they’re not all all-stars, but they sure contributed and became regulars in the league!

  • COLT6

    Jukai: You know D Wade wins ball games by sheer force of will. LeBron, for all the hype that he commands (and the NBA’s constant boost) could not even win a single finals game. I play ball and I could not discount James’ game but character counts most hoopin’ especially if you are the franchise player. With Dunkgate and the ‘sportsmanship show’ at Orlando, you can’t say much about LeCrybaby now can you? Get this, put on the same team, D Wade’s star even shone brighter than your “King” at Beijing. I meant the championship run in 06 though. On your other point, a lot of factors to be considered but Billups-Wade-Hamilton would have gone down as the greatest backcourt in League history because all three play excellent defense, create and execute plays. One question though: Who gets the ball in crunch time?

    Jj good take on the Spurs and the Jazz. Scola and Manu both have rings. Russell and Anderson (Stockton and Malone too, I must add)? Zip. That’s because of the greatness of the real 23, LBJ can never surmount.

    Basketball is about championships.

  • Samcobillybob

    Shut up Anton. KB24 is the King!!!

  • http://fsdklf.com Jukai

    COLT6: First off, get your history right. Wade was the reason we lost to Spain in the 2006 Worlds. He missed so many open dunks it wasn’t even funny. Was it Wade’s fault? Not really– he had hurt his wrist. Still, he demanded to be there, and as Lebron and Carmello began making a huge comeback, he missed two straight dunks.
    And what’s up with “willing your team” to victory crap? Your holding it against Lebron that, after WILLING HIS TEAM TO EVEN BE IN THE FINALS AGAINST A SUPERIOR SUPERIOR SUPERIOR DETROIT TEAM that the Spurs defensive scheme of “three men on Lebron” created a situation where Lebron couldn’t? Like in the Magic situation (albeit the Cavaliers had a good team and just had matchup problems during the Magic situation), Lebron James would pass out of double teams to open teammates, only to see them hesitate and miss open shots. It’s upsetting, but you can’t win like that.
    D-Wade had a supreme cast of talent: Jason Williams, uninjured and at his height, O’Neal right before his falloff in stats, Antoine Walker in the one year he finally ‘got it,’ Haslem, Posey, Kappono, Anderson, and even the ghosts of Gary Payton and Alanzo Mourning. I give all the credit in the world on Wade who carried his team to those championships, but if it wasn’t for Mourning blocking five shots in a quarter and Payton hitting two game-sealing clutch shots in two separate games, the Heat would have gone home.
    Now, let me ask you, do you remember Lebrons teammates, outside of Damon Jones, having any great moments in the playoffs? I can think of all those roster guys having insane games in the Heat’s 2006 title run, but for the life of me, I can’t think of any great playoff games that the Cavaliers have had in their entirety with Lebron.
    So just use your bonehead about this– maybe it’s really not about “willing your team” but having your team compliment you enough that your star can shine?

  • http://fsdklf.com Jukai

    History correction: we lost to Greece. Caught that one.

  • The D Train

    lets not forget that Wade AND the refs willed Miami to the title. Wade shattered the free throw record in a 6 game NBA Finals with 97 attempts. He averaged over 16 free throw attempts a game. Even LBJ would have a hard time pulling that off over the course of 6 games. The phantom call by senior Salvatore at the end of game 5 was one of the worst calls ever, considering the circumstances, the fact that Salvatore wasn’t even in position to make the call, and oh yes, lest we forget, NOBODY FOULED HIM!

  • knock knock

    D-Train-

    Lebron broke the free throw record again of a playoff series of ALL TIME vs. orlando don’t you remember? something like 16.8 ft attempts throughout the series and LOST 4-2. That is…pathetic.

  • http://www.shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com/ TADOne

    Yup, i’ll never be able to forgive Dumars for this one.

  • Ben

    Hinrich shouldn’thave been drafted. Biggest douche in the league. A straight cancer and he tried to sabatoge Rose.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Todd Spehr

    Chris Bosh is not a Hall of Fame talent.

  • The D Train

    94 attempts for LBJ vs O-Town in the ECF this year. impressive…most impressive, but still not enough to knock off Wade.

  • G I I

    what a bunch of godawful suits…

  • Alan

    “Where the value of the Euro started its decline”

    it only started to decline when teams made stupid decissions (Milicic???? why????? u had melo…..)

    and same goes to HS prospects (remenber kwame? not? well, me neither…)

    so u could say the same with players who have played all 4 years at college…nowadays it seems those doesn’t have potencial, as they spent too much time at college…??? stupid, as I said. teams fail, sorry, the GM’s. but hey, it’s the euro who is declining…

  • bigdoggchad

    Saying D-Wade is a HOF lock is a little premature isn’t it? Not saying anything bad about him, but he has missed 97 games already in his 6 seasons in the NBA. He turns 28 in January so he is a little older than most in this draft class. I am just wondering is he going to be healthy enough to have a long HOF career. He is in his prime right now and relies on his athleticism to be effective. He has a track record of injuries and we have all seen what happens to guys that rely on their athleticism lose it.(Steve Francis) Wade is a better player than Francis, but look where Francis is out of the league and he is only 31.

  • bigdoggchad

    Should say when they lose it.

  • http://www.mynameinblue.blogspot.com Hisham

    That line about the decline of the Euro would have been funny if it was true about the actual currency. Now it’s just funny because the DOLLAR is the one that has fallen like a suicidal dude off a tall building.

  • http://djsklfl.com Jukai

    bigdoggchad: jesus dude… look at whose in the hall of fame… it’s not as hard as you think to get in. Melo is probably a lock too, for chrissakes.

  • COLT6

    Jukai: WTF? You are telling me that D-Wade had a better team than Dallas in ’06? Yes, willing your team to victory. With a bunch of oldies at that. Didn’t the Heat beat in Detroit in the rematch of the ’05 ECF on their way to the ’06 championship? You know Lebron and the Cavs got swept by the Spurs in ’07 right? Not one single win.
    Greece were a SUPERIOR team than the rebuilding U.S. squad at the ’06 worlds but you are missing the point here mor.. (I won’t call names because I am better than you). D-Wade played better ball than Lebron at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The former led (read, LED) an aging team to win 4 games en route to the Larry O’Brien trophy against a more talented team. The latter hides video tapes of him getting dunked on, wears narcissistic prints on his t-shirts to cover up his losses. Now tell me, WHO DO YOU THINK DESERVES TO BE PICKED NUMBER ONE SHOULD THE 2003 NBA DRAFT BE REDONE?

  • COLT6

    Check the ‘in’ before Detroit but bonehead can write, he can ball better than you too. PUSTA MO PA ANG BAHAY MO!

  • http://djsklfl.com Jukai

    Dwayne: 16.0/4.0/1.9/1.6/0.1 73% shooting and 47% threes
    Lebron: 15.5/5.3/3.8/2.3/1.0 67$ shooting and 47% threes
    Looks pretty even to me. Oh, and if you asked anyone who was the best player outside the stats, all 12 would say Lebron was the unanimous leader of the team.
    And, to reiterate my statement, Lebron James had a FAR WORSE TEAM than the Heat and took that team to the Finals and played against a better team than the Dallas Mavericks. That’s the truth. Just cause you clearly don’t like James, doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
    I mean, honestly, James all-in-all has had SUPERIOR success in the playoffs than Wade. It’s the truth, once again.

  • Dan vito

    seriously jukai-, lebron is ONLY the leader of his cavs teams. He can act like he’s leading team usa, but he’s obviously not. Just because he’s the face of the nba, does not mean he’s a “leader” LOL.

    ALso, james was given every foul in the orlando series, and lost. that sir, is pathetic.

  • Dan vito

    seriously jukai-, lebron is ONLY the leader of his cavs teams. He can act like he’s leading team usa, but he’s obviously not. Just because he’s the face of the nba, does not mean he’s a “leader” LOL.

    ALso, james was given every foul in the orlando series, and lost. that sir, is pathetic.

  • http://djsklfl.com Jukai

    Dan vito: What about Kobe/Wade/Carmello saying he’s the leader? Does that help add credence to the theory that he was the leader of the US team?
    I mean, really, get your damn facts straight man. Lebron played a Scottie Pippen-esque role on Team USA, being the glue guy– he maintains being a super star yet still gets everyone involved. He also does that at the all-star games. It’s an incredible talent. People like you will never appreciate just how good of an on-the-court leader Lebron is.

  • COLT6

    Jukai: (1) LEBRON CAN’T LEAD SH$T! Great players demand excellence from everyone on their team making them overachieve need be. More importantly, real ballers WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS (read: Jordan, Magic, Big O).

    (2) YOU DON’T KNOW SMACK ABOUT THE TRUTH! Wade played better defense than Lebron in Beijing. Watch the games again if you must. D-Wade caused too many steals that enabled the Redeem Team’s dreaded fastbreak and he came off the bench too.

    (3) lEADERSHIP? KID, YOU HAVE PLENTY MORE TO LEARN. BUT ENOUGH BITCHIN’, WHAT IS DONE IS DONE. F#CKOUTTAHERE WIT THAT B*LLSH!T.

  • COLT6

    Jukai: (1) Lebron can’t lead sh@t! Great players demand excellence from everyone on their team making them overachieve need be. More importantly, real ballers WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS (read: Jordan, Magic, Big O). (2) You don’t know smack about the truth! Wade played better than James because he played better defense causing too many steals that enabled the Redeem Team’s fastbreak. (3) Leadership? KID, YOU HAVE PLENTY MORE TO LEARN. BUT ENOUGH B$TCHIN’. WHAT WAS DONE IS DONE.

  • Thomas

    Enjoyable article…I still think that the 1996 is the second best draft, behind, of course, the 1984 draft and all of its majesty. But we will have to wait and see; the 2003 draft could turn out to be arguably the best draft ever…only time will tell.

  • sabri

    i think is miss MP2.0 mickeal pietrus

  • C-Mac

    Colt6: Some of the greatest players to ever play this game havn’t won championships. since there is a huge number of variables that apply to a team trying to win championships, a players greatness should not be measured by championship rings, (AI, Barkley, Ewing etc). If you are going to measure it, how about MVP’s? or more games played? DWade played with the most dominant player ever on his team and had an easier team to beat. we all know the Spurs rep. I’m sorry i’m a big Wade fan but Lebron is ahead for now.

  • http://hotmail ld5

    Why Darko #2 over wade,anthony,bosh just imagine the pistons if they got one of those

  • Maya

    They would certainly win a championship with Wade (if they even had a brain to pick him)

  • AJBALLER

    pistons should of got dwade

  • http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2009/07/2003-nba-draft-remix/ ryan

    James may be the best player but for a championship team I would take Wade.

    1. Wade
    2. James
    3. Anthony
    4. Bosh

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