The tag team duo from our sister site of Hoops Hype behind the series of NBA redrafts is back at it yet again with another focused on the class for the 2008 NBA draft. H/H’s Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon have assembled another such exercise of using career hindsight to put the players from that draft class in the order that is, as they call it, “the way it should have been.”
And as has been the case in their other redrafts, a number of alumni of the Boston Celtics have seen their original draft stock shift up or down the first round hypothesized by the H/H analysts.
Let’s take a look at which Celtics alums went where in this exercise.
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No. 24: Jerryd Bayless
Actual position: No. 11
Career earnings: $48,706,520
Career stats: 8.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.9 apg, 41.1 FG%, 36.1 3P%
“Jerryd Bayless, after a superstar high-school career, was impressive in his one year at Arizona before declaring for the draft,” writes H/H.
“He never really lived up to that billing out of high school, lasting a while in the NBA but just as a role player who could provide some scoring off the bench.
No. 20: Courtney Lee
Actual position: No. 22
Career earnings: $75,428,153
Career stats: 9.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.7 apg, 45.1 FG%, 38.8 3P%
Lee was a “high-flying wing who could defend, provide energy and shoot threes,” per H/H.
“Courtney Lee was a decent NBA player in his career, which is about all you can expect from a first-round pick in the 20s.”
No. 10: Danilo Gallinari
Actual position: No. 6
Career earnings: $177,685,814
Career stats: 15.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 42.8 FG%, 38.2 3P%
“Danilo Gallinari, famously booed on draft night by New York Knicks fans and referred to as the best shooter Mike D’Antoni had ever seen early on in his career, was an above-average starter in the NBA thanks to his great size and elite shooting ability,” suggests H/H.
“Unfortunately, constant injuries plagued him in his NBA career, causing him to miss a ton of action in his prime.”
