The Indiana Pacers are the only team so far in this 1997 NBA Re-draft to keep their original pick. There’s not a whole lot better available at No. 12 than someone like the 6-foot-9 former Providence Friars power forward Austin Croshere. “The Crusher” would at least wind up playing in more than 600 career regular season games.
He was a decent contributor deeper down the bench for a number of NBA teams over the course of slightly over a decade. Croshere played in nine years with the Pacers and four other seasons with four other teams.
Croshere registered a career 103 defensive rating, 5.6 value over replacement player rating, .115 win shares per 48 minutes, 27.6 total win shares, and a 53.2 true shooting percentage. He would also play in nearly 70 playoff games, posting three win shares.
This Dallas, TX, native and Texas Tech Red Raiders 6-foot-11 power forward/center product was originally picked by the Nuggets fifth overall in the 1997 draft. He is in the top 10 in terms of total number of games played. But he also posted 36.4 career win shares, 12.6 player efficiency rating, .099 win shares per 48 minutes, and a 4.9 percent assist rate.
Most of the NBA career for Battie would be played with the Celtics and Orlando Magic. He would play in more than 800 regular season games, and 56 playoff games (registering 2.1 playoff win shares). The Sacramento Kings do get a good value pick that offered a lot of longevity as a big man off the bench for well over a decade in the NBA.