Re-drafting the 2006 NBA Draft Lottery picks

Instead of taking on Roy, the Trail Blazers get the chance to draft a player in 2006 that has more longevity in his NBA career. The former Kentucky Wildcats 6-foot-1 point guard Rajon Rondo had a stellar NBA career in stops with multiple teams since 2006. The Suns would dish him out to the Celtics soon after drafting him.

Rondo spent nine years with the Celtics, and is now in his second year with the Lakers. Each of the other four teams he’s played for was for one season or less. And Rondo has 59.9 career win shares, 22.9 value over replacement player rating, 1.3 box plus/minus rating, and .106 win shares per 48 minutes.

One of the best distributors of this generation of players is Rondo. He’s a four-time All-Star selection, one-time NBA Champion, three-time assist champ, four-time All-Defensive Team selection, and one-time steal champ. Rondo was also an All-NBA selection in 2011-12.

The Charlotte Hornets/Bobcats had the third overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, and they also likely had the biggest whiff of any team in the top 10. Drafting Adam Morrison was not the right move for the Bobcats, but that franchise had a lot of misses at the time when they had just moved back to Charlotte.

But the Hornets/Bobcats get the opportunity to right the ship by drafting the former Louisiana Tech Bulldogs big man Paul Millsap. The Jazz got an absolute steal in the second round of the 2006 draft when they picked up Millsap 47th overall. Millsap is back in the division he started in now, playing for the Denver Nuggets. Most of his golden years came with the Hawks, though.

During his NBA career thus far, Millsap has 91.6 win shares, 2.0 box plus/minus rating, 29.2 value over replacement player rating, and .153 win share per 48 minutes. Millsap also has four All-Star selections, 2006-07 All-Rookie Team honors, and 2015-16 All-Defensive Team honors.