NBA: Redrafting the 2009 NBA Draft
By John Bauman
Guard. USC. DeMar DeRozan. 4. player. 67. <p>The Kings had the best lottery odds for the 2009 draft but lost out to the Los Angeles Clippers. Instead, they got the 4th overall pick, the lowest pick possible that they could have gotten. Who knows how the NBA landscape would have changed if the Kings had landed that pick — without Blake Griffin already in place, would Chris Paul have gone to LA? And what would a Blake and Boogie led Sacto squad look like?</p> <p>In the actual 2009 NBA draft, the Kings selected Tyreke Evans from Memphis. Evans would end up winning the 2009 Rookie of the Year Award and averaged 20.1 points in his rookie season. So why would the Kings select DeRozan in the redraft over Evans? For one, Evans’s scoring production has dropped every single year he has been in the league. Since starting out as a 20 points scorer in 2009-10, Evans has dropped to a 14.5 points per game scorer with the Pelicans last season. DeRozan started off slower but has steadily improved and averaged a career high 22.7 points per game last season. I went back and forth on this one, but I think if they had to do it again, the Kings select DeRozan (who went 9th overall in the actual draft) over Evans. </p>