NBA 2004 Redraft: Picking between high school and college champions
By Corey Rausch
#15 Pick: Delonte West (Originally: Al Jefferson)
This change certainly puts Boston in a tough place as Al Jefferson ended up being a crucial piece in the trade for Kevin Garnett. Trying to project what would make friends in Danny Ainge and Kevin McHale agree to a deal again seems like a fool’s errand because they likely would have agreed no matter what, so taking the best player available is the goal.
The Celtics ended up taking Delonte West later in this draft and he fits perfectly here. After a slow first season in Boston, he improved to 11.8 points along with 4.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
The following season he improved again to 12.2 points, 4.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.1 steals. He grew as an offensive player which led to him being part of the Ray Allen trade.
West’s career is marred by multiple controversies and apparent issues with mental health, which has led to people forgetting that he was an actual productive member of playoff-contending teams. Being productive for multiple seasons for Boston and then Cleveland specifically shows he was worthy of being taken this high in the draft.
With the sixteenth pick in the 2004 NBA redraft, the Utah Jazz select…