Re-Drafting the 2008 NBA Draft Class

That year, he averaged 26.0 points, 13.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists while hitting 37.2 percent of his threes.His best season came in 2013-14 when he averaged 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds and juiced his assists up to 4.4 per game. His box plus-minus of 8.9 ranked second in the league to MVP Kevin Durant and was the second-best BPM produced by anyone in the 2008 class—in any year.Love could stretch the floor with his career 37.0 percent hit rate from deep, operate as a pick-and-pop release valve and run an offense from the elbow or low block. Actual Pick: OJ Mayo (traded to Memphis Grizzlies)Love's Actual Draft Slot: No. 5, Memphis Grizzlies (traded to Minnesota Timberwolves)Named to the All-Defensive first team three times and twice the league leader in blocks per game, Serge Ibaka is the most decorated defensive player in this class.Ibaka didn't come to the NBA until 2009, and had he arrived a few years later, he would have immediately been made a center and become one of the single most valuable commodities in the game: a switch-everything shot blocker with three-point range and the hops to finish lobs as a roll man.That's unicorn stuff.We can't necessarily credit Ibaka for what he could have been if not for the league norms of the time, but we don't really have to. He was vital to Toronto's 2019 championship run and was scoring a career-high 16.0 points per game on (another) career-high 39.8 percent shooting from deep for the 2019-20 Raps.Ibaka ranks first in blocks, fourth in rebounds and seventh in points among 2008 selections. Actual Pick: Danilo GallinariJordan's Actual Draft Slot: No. 35, Los Angeles ClippersIf efficiency matters at all (it does), Danilo Gallinari is the best scorer in this draft.He has three seasons of at least 15.0 points per game with a true shooting percentage north of 60.0; nobody else picked in 2008 has more than one.Persistent health problems have held Gallinari under the 60-game mark in six different seasons, including a completely lost 2013-14 campaign following a torn ACL. He shot 43.3 percent from long range in 2018-19, scoring a career-high 19.8 points per game and posting a 63.3 true shooting percentage. Actual Pick: Joe AlexanderDragic's Actual Draft Slot: No. 45, San Antonio Spurs (traded to Phoenix Suns)It's a shame Nicolas Batum is as notable for underperforming on the massive contract he signed in 2016 as he is for being one of the most complete wings in the league earlier in his career.In his best years for the Portland Trail Blazers, Batum paired rangy, disruptive defense with terrific passing instincts and top-notch three-point shooting. It's true he has four seasons with a higher scoring average than Hill's career-best 16.9 points per game. And his higher-volume three-point shooting might make him a more valuable spacer even if his 37.0 percent hit rate trails Hill's 38.5.But Gordon has never been confused for a quality defender, and he's well behind Hill in most catch-all advanced metrics.This is still a good get for the Kings as Gordon was a viable No. 1 option early in his career and has matured into a quality secondary weapon for some high-scoring Rockets teams over the last several seasons. Golden State Warriors: D.J. AugustinAugustin is the only player in this draft with career averages of at least 9.0 points, 4.0 assists and 37.0 percent shooting from deep. A rare combination of length and athleticism makes him an elite finisher and lob threat, and when he stays focused on positioning, he can go up and reject shots with the best of them.A remarkable 17.7 of his 36.4 career win shares have come in the last five seasons, a stretch in which McGee has been the only player in the league with a block rate above 7.0 percent and a field-goal percentage over 62.0 percent (among those with at least 100 games started). He shot 37.2 percent from deep on 3.4 attempts per game for the Los Angeles Lakers that year then hit 36.9 percent of his 4.5 deep tries per contest the following season with the Orlando Magic.That was the last year he played.Speights was always a perimeter-oriented big, but he'd only attempted 141 threes in his first eight years. To his credit, the skilled 6'9" forward honed his shot selection and posted four of his five most efficient scoring seasons in the final four years of his career, which he spent bouncing between the Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers.Beasley ranks 16th in his class in total points, but he has more career turnovers than assists and never contributed meaningfully to a winning team.