NBA Draft: Re-drafting the 2008 NBA Draft’s first round
By Zach Wilson
#29 Pick – Detroit Pistons: Kosta Koufos (Originally: D.J. White)
Due to his quickly receding hairline, Kosta Koufos probably wasn’t taken as seriously by the average fan as he should have been. Not that he was amazing by any means, but he played out a solid career. Another player who the back-up center fan club would be proud of.
He stayed in the league until 2019, and you wouldn’t believe me if I told you that he wasn’t even in his age 30 season yet.
Koufos was often good for anywhere from five-to-eight points per game and about five-to-seven rebounds per game. He was only a consistent starter for two seasons of his career and was often taken out of the rotation when the playoffs rolled around.
The peak of Koufos’s 11-year career came as part of a surprising 57-win Nuggets team in 2012-13. In 81 starts, he averaged 8.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, helping Denver to the No. 3 seed in the west.
If you’re picking this late in the first round, a consistent back-up center is truly all you can ask for. That is exactly what Detroit would be getting with a selection of Koufos.