What if the Warriors had a string of PERFECT drafts with their 1st round picks during the Chris Cohan era of prime suckitude? What if there were no busts and only draft delights for this franchise since Cohan sued his way into owning it back in 1993?
What if this guy never owned the Dubs? [via images.forbes.com]
Why am I so scarred to look up how little my basketball card collection is worth? What can possibly be any better than what lies after the jump?
1994
With the 16th pick in the 1994 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Clifford Rozier.
Rozier was out of the league within 4 season and was the first bust of the Cohan era. Also see We Like Obscure NBA Players: Clifford Rozier [MVN]
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Wesley Person (#23).
Just like his brother Chuck, Wesley Person was a 3-point assasin. Over the course of his 11 year career he shot 41.8% from downtown. Another good option would have been Aaron McKie (#17). McKie was a solid all-around player and a nice defender for nearly a decade. He even managed to collect the 6th Man of the Year trophy for the 2000-2001 season. The key here is that both of these guys actually stuck in the league past their 25th birthday.
1995
With the 1st pick in the 1995 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Joe Smith.
via i16.ebayimg.com
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Kevin Garnett (#5).
via mlb.imageg.net
I don't think much needs to be said about K to the G aside from... BRING KG TO THE BAY!
Rasheed Wallace (#4), Antonio McDyess (#2), Jerry Stackhouse (#3), Michael Finley (#21) ain't no joke either. You could even argue Kurt Thomas (#10) and Brent Barry (#15) has better NBA careers than Ordinary Joe.
1996
With the 11th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Todd Fuller.
You laugh now, but how many people can tell their kids they got drafted ahead of Kobe Bryant?
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Kobe Bryant (#13).
Would the Warriors be in the 2009 NBA Finals if they drafted Kobe?
The list of who they passed on will make you cringe: Steve Nash (#15), Jermaine O'Neal (#17), Peja Stojakovic (#14), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (#20). Shoot I wouldn't be that upset if the Dubs took the Junk Yard Dog Jerome Williams, but TODD FULL-ER?
1997
With the 8th pick in the 1997 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Adonal Foyle.
via www.sportcardsandstuff.net
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Tracy McGrady (#9).
This last one just looks goofy.
Would the Warriors be 1st round virgins from 1997-present?
Putting aside the fact that their draft spot is not independent of who they drafted the year before, do you realize the Warriors could have had a legendary trio of KG-Kobe-TMac?
Excuse me while I jump off the Bay Bridge...
1998
With the 5th pick in the 1998 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Vince Carter. Then they immediately trade him to the Toronto Raptors for Antawn Jamison (#4).
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Dirk Nowitzki (#9).
There's nothing wrong with the Jamison-Vinsanity swap and the Dirk pick via heist of the Milwaukee Bucks by Don Nelson and the Dallas Mavericks was pure (shocking) genius, so I don't fault Gary St. Jean and company one bit for this one. Still having an MVP on the Warriors would make this draft a little more perfect.
via a.espncdn.com
Paul Pierece at #10 ain't too bad either.
1999
With the 21st pick in the 1999 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Jeff Foster. Then they immediately traded him to the Pacers for #26 pick Vonteego Cummings and a future first-round draft pick.
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Andrei Kirilenko (#24).
I hope he's grabbing a rebound, not taking a shot here.
2000
The Warriors traded their pick pre-draft to the Magic. The Magic ended up taking Mike Miller with the 5th overall pick. It must be noted that with the 55th pick the Golden State Warriors selected the incomparable... Chris Porter.
Man I loved this guy's hair.
2001
With the 5th pick in the 2001 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Jason Richardson.
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Gilbert Arenas (#31).
Don't get me wrong. I love that J-Rich pick, but what would have happened if the Warriors had Agent Zero on contract beyond his sophomore season? It wouldn't matter that Cohan couldn't look him in the eye.
Hey even better- what if the Warriors actually kept both J-Rich and Arenas?
Remember this?
With the 14th pick in the 2001 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Troy Murphy.
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Tony Parker (#28).
Notice any uncanny resemblance to a current Warrior combo guard?
Still this was easily Gary St. Jean's one shining moment as GM of the Warriors: J-Rich, T-Murph, and Arenas. Simply amazing.
2002
With the 3rd pick in the 2002 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Mike Dunleavy Jr.
I bet Rick Barry didn't find this amusing.
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Amare Stoudemire (#9).
Well I guess there would be no Funleavy Foto Fun. That wouldn't be any fun now, would it?
The Dubs also passed on Caron Butler (#10), Nene Hilario (#7), Drew Gooden (#4)
With the #16 pick in the 2002 NBA Draft the Warriors selected... Jiri Welsch (via trade with the 76ers).
FUTURE (not so) PERFECT.
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Carlos Boozer (#35).
Amare and Boozer wouldn't been NASTY. Who cares if they don't play any D?
2003
With the 11th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Mickael Pietrus.
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected David West (#18).
via i3.ebayimg.com
Josh Howard (#29) a superior wing player to MP2 would have been nice too. But remember none of these guys have MP2's goofiness.
2004
With the 11th pick in the 2004 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Andris Biedrins.
Loading up on hair gel was a good move.
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Josh Smith (#17).
via i7.ebayimg.com
This draft actually went had some nice late picks: Al Jefferson (#15), Jameer Nelson (#20), Kevin Martin (#26), Anderson Varejao (#31), and Trevor Ariza (#44).
2005
With the 9th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Ike Diogu.
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Danny Granger (#17).
Marlon Wayans!
Seriously how did Granger slip so far in this draft? Other people of note who the Warriors passed on in the 1st round: Andrew Bynum (#9), Hakim Warrick (#19), Nate Robinson (#21), Jason Maxiell (#26), Linas Kleiza (#2 7), David Lee (#30). Redemption of course came later on in the second round at pick #40 with a guy by the name of Monta Ellis.
2006
With the 9th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Patrick O'Bryant.
How about we "throwback" this pick instead?
via i13.ebayimg.com
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Rajon Rondo (#21).
This was a bad, bad draft.
2007
With the 8th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Brandan Wright (via trade with Charlotte Bobcats).
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Joakim Noah (#9).
With the 18th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Marco Belinelli.
via i1.ebayimg.com
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Ramon Sessions (#56).
Some of the other names the Warriors passed on include Thaddeus Young (#12), Al Thornton (#14), Rodney Stuckey (#15), Wilson Chandler (#23), Rudy Fernandez (#24), Aaron Brooks (#26), Carl Landry (#31), Glen Davis (#35), and Marc Gasol (#48).
The jury's still out on all of these draft picks and Wright could be better than Noah when it's all said and done, but as of right now the 2007 Warriors draft class isn't looking very impressive. We shall see soon enough.
2008
With the 14th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors selected... Anthony Randolph.
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected Patrick Ewing (#43).
Oh I missed the "Jr" part on this Patrick Chewing. Seriously though, this pick is looking real good right now.
So here's how THE PERFECT WARRIORS 1st Round NBA DRAFT HISTORY over the Cohan years would look:
- 1994: Wesley Person
- 1995: Kevin Garnett
- 1996: Kobe Bryant
- 1997: Tracy McGrady
- 1998: Dirk Nowitzki
- 1999: Andrei Kirilenko
- 2001: Gilbert Arenas and Tony Parker
- 2002: Amare Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer
- 2003: David West
- 2004: Josh Smith
- 2005: Danny Granger
- 2006: Rajon Rondo
- 2007: Joakim Noah and Ramon Sessions
Now obviously no one's going to have a perfect draft history (not even Nellie or Isiah Thomas- ESPN), but all those misses over the years... ouch.
Taking you back... way back... The Temptations- "Just My Imagination". For more draft day reflection check out: Nellie Knows NBA Draft: The Warriors and Mavericks Years. Head on over to NBADraft.net's History section for endless hours of draft fun too.
2009
With the 7th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft the Golden State Warriors select... ______________________.
IMAGINE if the Warriors selected ______________________.
Fill in the blanks in the comments.