This was a draft full of duds and some great draft day steals. But this was widely considered one of the worst drafts ever. There was, unfortunately, a lot of injury prone players in this draft. From Andrew Bogut, Deron Williams or even Chris Paul. But nonetheless, this draft was a pretty top-heavy in terms of guards and big men. Let’s get started with the first pick…

1. Milwaukee Bucks- (Original pick- Andrew Bogut) First Overall pick- Chris Paul

Bogut was one of the best defensive players in this draft, but no one can deny that Chris Paul is one of the best true point guards of all time. Think about the offensive tandem of Michael Redd and Chris Paul. The offense would be focused around those two, and with Paul’s playmaking, Redd would be able to get a ton of open looks. Chris Paul was easily the best player in this draft. Out of the six players currently playing from the 2005 draft, Chris Paul is the best player, pretty easily beating out Louis Williams. Lou Williams is a great player, but Paul’s impact on both sides of the ball is much more valuable to his team’s success. The other four are bench players or they are used as a veteran presence. CP3 has enjoyed a great career. His career points per game are 18.6, an amazing 9.7 assists a game, 2.2 steals a game and 47% from the field. Chris Paul was the clear first pick here for the Bucks, they don’t get an injury prone center, and they get a clear hall-of-fame point guard.

2. Atlanta Hawks- (Original pick- Marvin Williams) Second Overall pick- Deron Williams

The Atlanta Hawks whiffed on their second overall pick the first time around. This time they are going to take a great point guard. Deron was a force in the NBA, pretty much until he was dealt with the New Jersey/Brooklynn Nets in the trade that was the start of the senile Nets. But in this dream scenario for the Hawks, the explosive Josh Smith slides down to power forward. Deron, Joe Johnson, and Smith give the Hawks a terrific young core. Johnson and Deron would be a dynamic backcourt that is able to score from anywhere on the floor. This also lets Deron and Johnson become teammates at their youth rather than when they were much further into their career. D-Will enjoyed a great career as well, averaging 16.3 points per game, 9.1 assists a game and on 44.5% from the field. Even with the rocky end to his career, Deron should be remembered as one of the most solid true point guards of his era.

3. Utah Jazz- (Original pick- Deron Williams) Third Overall pick- Monta Ellis

I have a Bay Area bias to Monta, but with the two great point guards off the board, the scoring two guard goes third overall in this redraft. But let me explain myself, Monta was one of, if not, the best player to never make an all-star game. Being a shooting guard back in 2005-2015 was tough in terms of becoming an all-star. There was Kobe Bryant from the Lakers, Brandon Roy of the Blazers, and Tracy McGrady from the Houston Rockets, who were also all-star shooting guards as well. But Monta was still one of the best scoring guards of this era. Monta would most definitely fit with this Jazz team because they lacked a lot of scoring. Carlos Boozer was a decent scorer in his time in the NBA, but without Deron Williams, this team would be much different. Andrei Kirilenko was a brilliant defender but wasn’t too much of an offensive threat. That is where Monta Ellis comes in. He averaged 17.8 points per game and 4.6 assists a game. In his best season, he averaged 25.5 points per game. He was one of the best scorers in his era, but he was never selected to be an all-star.

4. New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans- (Original Pick- Chris Paul) Fourth Overall Pick- Danny Granger

The Hornets back in 2005 were in dire need of a couple different positions. In this redraft, they take Danny Granger because of his ability to spread the floor and score the ball. Granger was before his time because he was such a great shooter. I believe if he had started playing 10 years after, he may have been even better than he actually was. Nonetheless, Granger was still a great player for his time in the NBA. His best season was when he averaged 25.8 points per game and he was also an all-star for the first and only time in his career. In terms of his fit, the Hornets didn’t have a reliable small forward. They did have a reckless, but exciting young guard in J.R. Smith and a young, reliable power forward in David West. Granger would have been a great young piece that the Hornets could have used since Chris Paul was already taken.

5. Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets- (Original pick- Raymond Felton) Fifth Overall pick- David Lee

This was the Bobcats second season in the NBA. To say this team was bad is an understatement. They had just two pieces for their future, and those two weren’t durable whatsoever. Both Gerald Wallace and Emeka Okafor both struggled mightily with durability. On the bright side though, they were both really good defenders. Okafor was a great rim protector and Wallace could take care of things on the perimeter. That is where David Lee comes in. He would compliment Okafor very well because of his amazing post game, as well as his excellent mid-range shot. Okafor would be able to protect the rim and Lee would be able to take on the scoring load. David Lee was also a double-double machine. His ability to grab rebounds was what made him an even more interesting prospect. In his career, he was able to make an all-star team twice. He was an offensive force that would fit well with this poor Bobcats team. In Lee’s best season, he averaged 20.2 points a game, 11.7 rebounds a game, and he also shot 54.4% from the field as well.

6. Portland Trailblazers- (Original pick- Martell Webster) Sixth Overall pick- Andrew Bogut

Andrew Bogut finally gets selected after slipping a couple of spots. He still gets selected in the top 10, and he would go to the Portland Trailblazers. This was also a very bad team back in 2005. They did have a couple of young point guards in Steve Blake and Sebastian Telfair. To be fair, the Trailblazers had no idea of the bust that Telfair was, but for this redraft, let’s pretend they still believe in him. So they end up taking Bogut, who will give the young guards a big target down low to help with the scoring and defense. The Trailblazers also have Zach Randolph and Darius Miles. They are both young pieces that could be kept for the future. Bogut was a highly touted because of his defense. He was a big body that was able to bock a lot of shots as well as makes the offensive player uncomfortable when taking a shot. He and Randolph would be a great tandem because of Randolph also being a good defender as well. They would be a great pair in terms of defense and offense. Bogut’s best season was when he averaged 15.9 points a game, 10.2 rebounds a game and 2.5 blocks a game. The only reason Bogut slips so far is his durability. He only played every game in a season once in his career.

7. Toronto Raptors- (Original pick- Charlie Villanueva) Seventh Overall pick- Andrew Bynum

The Raptors were pretty solid at this point in 2005. They had Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon as some young pieces to build upon. Andrew Bynum was not the smartest player, but to deny his talent is wrong. He was a great player when he was healthy and he was able to impact both sides of the ball. The older he got, the more polished his offensive game became. I would say that he and Chris Bosh would be a great pair because of their offensive and defensive games. Chris Bosh is still one of the best players in Raptors history and arguably the best power forward in their history. I believe that maybe Andrew Bynum would have helped Bosh’s case as well. Bynum was a much better player than Charlie Villanueva because of his defense and fit. Bosh would be able to slide down to power forward and Bynum could fit in as the center. In Bynum’s best season, he averaged 18.7 points per game, 1.9 blocks a game, 11.8 rebounds a game and he also shot 55.8% from the field. This was also the season he appeared in his only all-star game.

8. New York Knicks- (Original pick- Channing Frye) Eighth Overall pick- Marvin Williams

Marvin Williams was the second overall pick in this draft, but in my redraft, he falls down to the eighth pick. He may have been a slight bust, but he still has played the most games out of this entire draft class. For the Knicks, I would have played him at small forward instead of power forward. With solid pieces like Jamal Crawford, Stephon Marbury and (at the time) Eddie Curry, maybe Williams could have thrived. He wouldn’t have been one of the main options on the offense and he might have been able to slowly assimilate to the NBA life. Marvin Williams has been a very reliable option for his entire career. As the second overall pick, he was considered a bust, as the eighth overall pick, he could have been a good pick. In his best season, Williams averaged 14.8 points per game, 5.7 assists a game and he also shot 46.2% from the field.

9. Golden State Warriors- (Original pick- Ike Diogu) Ninth Overall pick- Raymond Felton

The Warriors were a pretty solid team at this time. The only clear need in terms of positions is small forward, but with all the quality ones taken, they go best available. Raymond Felton is best available at this point in the draft. The Warriors have two quality point guards in Derek Fisher and Baron Davis. Of course, Baron Davis was one of the most exciting players and one of the best Warriors in my opinion. Derek Fisher was not in the future of the Warriors as the trade for Baron Davis made him expendable. A younger, cheaper guard like Felton would be much better instead of Fisher. Raymond Felton could eventually be groomed to be a starting point guard in the future. Felton could also be used at the shooting guard position because of his scoring. He was also an effective shooter as he made 32.8% of his threes for his career so far. Raymond Felton is still playing today, and his best season was 15.5 points per game, 8.3 assists a game, and 1.7 steals a game.

10. Los Angeles Lakers- (Original pick- Andrew Bynum) Tenth Overall pick- Nate Robinson

Nate Robinson is only listed at 5’9 but he plays much bigger than that. He was an explosive, scoring guard that was able to score at will. The Lakers didn’t have a good point guard back in 2005 and Nate Robinson would be able to start right away. I think fit wise, it would be pretty solid. I do think the most needed position for them was small forward. With no quality ones left, they go for the next need which was a point guard. Nate Robinson and Kobe Bryant in the frontcourt would be a really interesting fit. Both were great scorers, Kobe is, of course, one of the best players to ever play the game of basketball. I would say that Nate Robinson would fit in terms of the offense, but defensively this team would still struggle. Nate Robinson’s best season was when he averaged 17.2 points per game, 4.1 assists a game and 1.3 steals a game.