I was thinking today about the Darko draft pick and how that did not pan out. We always talk about Melo, Wade or Bosh vs. Darko. I starting thinking about what if we had gotten the #1 draft pick that year instead. Certainly Joe D. would have taken LeBron wouldn't he? 1)So if LeBron was a Piston how would this team look? I think this team would be unstoppable. Unfortunately, I think there would not be enough money to go around. So I question whether guy's like Tayshaun would still be around. 2) I think you would have to think that we beat beat the Spurs with LeBron in 2005. While they would likely shut him down there would be too many other guy's to deal with Rip, Sheed, and Chauncey. You can argue that we take out the Heat the following year in the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals with LeBron and facing Dallas in the Finals a soft team chalk up another title. So that brings us to the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. It gets dicey there as you don't really know what team would rise up in the Cavs place. I guess we can argue that we would face the Heat again. So we would face the Spurs once again chalk up another title. So I count 4 titles back to back to back to back. 3) Is there a team currently out there that could stop the Pistons with LeBron? NO
I think that we would be one of the best teams in the league if we had james.... but i also bet our team would be totally different... I doubt prince wallace or dyss would be here... chances are one of the two back court wouldn't be either.... But Dumars understands the game and he would surrond james with players that he needs.... A point guard that could get james the ball in his sweet spots, instead of having james running around with the ball outside the top of the key for 15 secs waiting for a lane... (and having the rest of his team stand around and watching) Its so sad/so good... depending on how you look at it, how Cleveland has gone about building a TEAM....
I think we're one of the best teams in the league right now. I hope I can say we're the best team in the league in a few weeks!
I still get upset when I think about that. Stern even relaxed the age restriction so we could draft Darko, something about him not turning 18 in time. I never understood the hype and have never saw anything resembling the hype. I wish he would have kept himself oversees. Would have been better off not drawing a top 3 and just getting the regular 6th or 7th pick placement that the Grizz had that year. If we got #1? There would have been some clashes with LB right off. So who knows how it would have went.
What if. I hate to think how much more powerful we would've been if Joe Dumars was allowed by Ownership to draft the guy he wanted, which was Chris Bosh, I believe. Now, that wouldn't have been as great as LeBron, but we would've been winning Championships without question, with the talent Joe D has put on this team.
So nobody has yet said that we wouldn't have had the pick if it was #1, Memphis would have kept it... ??? Really? How can I have the most brain cells left? This is a scary place.
I don't remember that stipulation. I am not saying it is not true, I just don't remember. I thought the pick was compensation for the 1997 trade of Otis Thorpe and that the pick had been delayed and delayed until it was no longer protected. I could be wrong.
yea it was number 1 protected so it was the best pick we could have gotten, what if games are so hard to play though.... I can go back thru the last 20 years and redo our draft picks so we could be on a 15 year title run....
Joe wouldn't want LeBron or Kobe for that matter. He would draft a Big again out of college if he had the high draft pick. He believes in team concept and really wants that big in the middle.
Yep think back to the 1998 draft when we had the #11 pick. Just think if the Celtics had decided to take Bonzi Wells at the 10th spot and left Paul Pierce on the board for us to take?? Would we have taken Pierce with Grant Hill and Stackhouse already on the roster? Why not, we took Bonzi next.... The question is would PP still be on the roster?? I just love the what if speculation game
it was top 5 protected the year before, #1 overall in 02' and if it hit #1 Mem would have kept in and their 03' pick would have been uprotected property of Detroit. The best possible scenario occured, we got the highest pick possible... #2 And took "The next Wilt Chamberlain" - Chad Ford... Yeah, not so much.
