NBA Draft: Re-drafting the historic 2009 NBA Draft

Re-drafting the 2009 NBA Draft: 10) Darren Collison, Brooklyn Nets

Like the other non-Stephen Curry guards in this class, Darren Collison is far from a needle mover in regards to altering the trajectory of a franchise. He’s had a nice career — 12.5 points and 5.0 assists per game through a decade in the league — but there’s a reason why he’s spent a considerable part of his career as a backup.

Perhaps, if he were drafted by the then-New Jersey Nets, he would’ve usurped Devin Harris in the starting lineup. After all, there is a lot to like about Collison’s game: supercharged speed, a steady hand in the pick-and-roll and a deadly stroke from 3-point range (albeit in small doses).

If he received the number of touches that Harris did in 2008-09, he could have easily matched Harris’ 21.3 points and 6.9 assists per game at a more efficient rate.

Most draft boards listed Collison as a second-round pick, as he was yet another victim of the “four years in college” stigma. Despite the early misgivings, Collison — whose parents were top-level track and field athletes, with his mother even competing in the 1984 Summer Olympics — sped past those tepid expectations and provided various teams with a dependable option in a bind.

It doesn’t seem like a big move on the surface, but the Nets could have used a player like Collison down the line when Deron Williams’ health began to sap him of his explosion.

Perhaps things would’ve blown up the way they did if Collison were around to shepherd the team through some of their leaner years? Then again, these are the Nets, so they would’ve found some other way to muck up their immediate future.