NBA Draft: 2013 historical redraft shows vast differences

Actual selection: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG, Georgia

While it’s not like the Detroit Pistons completely whiffed on the selection of scoring wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at the No. 8 spot, the fact remained that Detroit took a shooting guard who, well, couldn’t. Caldwell-Pope shot just 33.4 percent on 4.6 3-point attempts per game over four seasons with the Pistons and just 40.5 percent overall.

His career-high of 14.5 points per game in 2015-16 came on 12.6 shots per night, not ideal in terms of efficient offense, but at least he offset that with a whole 1.8 assists per game, so he wasn’t really moving the ball around either.

Mason Plumlee was a four-year player at Duke, a throwback of sorts to the days of Christian Laettner and other before Mike Krzyzewski’s program became one of the one-and-done capitals of the NCAA. He was a consensus All-America as a senior, as well as a finalist for the Wooden Award and a two-time All-ACC selection.

In the real draft, he lasted until No. 22 overall (because the mentality of four-year players having little to no “upside” had already become deeply rooted in the NBA mindset). He’s been both a starter and a reserve in his seven seasons with the Brooklyn Nets, Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets.

He’s a very bouncy big who doesn’t need the ball, will defend and crash the glass and is an above-average playmaker for his size. While many scoff at his career averages of 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, he’s also a two-time member of USA Basketball, earning spots as a reserve on both the 2014 and 2019 FIBA World Cup squads.

Actual selection: Trey Burke, PG, Michigan

Another traded pick that opens up a whole can of what-if, the Minnesota Timberwolves selected Trey Burke at No. 9 and swapped his rights to the Utah Jazz for the rights to first-rounders Shabazz Muhammad (14th) and Gorgui Dieng (21st).

Would a selection of Gonzaga big man Kelly Olynyk have yielded the same result? Or would he have followed his actual path of being traded to the Boston Celtics? The Dallas Mavericks got a package that included the rights to No. 16 overall pick Lucas Nogueira along with two 2014 second-round picks (Boston’s own along with a pick acquired from the Nets in 2011).

Dieng lasted longer in Minnesota than did the more-hyped Muhammad, but neither was more than a role player. Olynyk — the WCC Player of the Year and a consensus All-America as a redshirt junior — has been similarly cast throughout his career, first with the Celtics and now with the Miami Heat. He’s a stretch big who has shot 37.5 percent from 3-point range in his career.

Over the last two seasons has taken more than half his attempts from the great beyond, making 35.4 percent last season and 43.2 percent in a smaller role this season. He won’t give you a lot of board work — 8.2 per 36 minutes is not great for a 6’11”, 240-pound player — but he can stretch a defense, a skill that has become more valuable as his career has progressed.