NBA 2004 Redraft: Picking between high school and college champions
By Corey Rausch
#3 Pick: Luol Deng (Originally: Ben Gordon)
In Chicago’s first pick in this top ten they take the guy they originally took with their second selection. Luol Deng was somehow only a two-time All-Star for the Chicago Bulls but he was so much more than that.
He bridged the gap between a semi-successful time with Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Andres Nocioni to the Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah teams that were some of the best in the league.
The biggest change that would need to happen in this scenario involves Tom Thibodeau listening to any doctor as he continued to run his players into the ground, with Deng being the most egregious example. Deng had three consecutive seasons where he averaged 39.1 minutes, 39.4 minutes and 38.7 minutes per game.
Thibodeau criticism aside, Deng was a stellar defensive player, oftentimes tasked with guarding the top forwards in the league while having to be one of the offensive hubs for the team.
During his Bulls tenure, he averaged 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game and embodied the toughness of his teams every step of the way. Taking him four spots higher in the same situation is an easy choice in this redraft.
With the fourth pick in the 2004 NBA Redraft, the LA Clippers select…