Re-draft 2003 NBA Draft
F. Florida. Matt Bonner. 21. player. 125.
The early-2000’s Atlanta Hawks were an absolute mess and were simply a miserable team to watch on the basketball floor. In 2003, the Hawks made a good pick drafting forward Boris Diaw out of France.
They would eventually be able to spin Diaw into Joe Johnson, who helped the Hawks make playoff runs in the Eastern Conference. As is the case with most re-drafts, the players that ended up being good picks late in the first round, often go a lot earlier, which means a team doesn’t do as well in a re-draft.
Diaw would have certainly gone much sooner than the No. 21 overall pick and therefore the Hawks probably wouldn’t have had enough to get Johnson in a sign-and-trade after the 2005 season.
If the Hawks were going to have to make a pick here, the smart pick would have been Florida forward Matt Bonner. Although Bonner didn’t take off until a few years in the league and one overseas, he would really begin to find his stroke and would have a bit of an outside game in the league for the Spurs.
While part of his success is playing for Gregg Popovich, Bonner is a smart player and would have likely been a good role player for the Hawks. It’s a step down from Diaw, but that’s the point of a re-draft.
Next: No. 22 Pick