Hi guys, I was thinking about the 2004 draft the other day and wanted to get your thoughts. Knowing how good of a player Tayshaun Prince has turned into and how perfect his style of play is for this team, would you have drafted Anthony over Milicic if you could do it all over again? Let's keep guys like Wade, Heinrich, and I guess Bosh out of the picture for now, since none of them were thought of as being in the same tier as the big three (though some people thought Bosh could have been). Personally, I think Brown would have started Prince over Anthony, and Saunders would probaby continue to do so. Anthony wouldn't have made nearly the impact he's made in Denver, and Darko probably would have done much better in Denver than he did in Detroit. Thougths?
Hell yes, then we could have had Prince as a 6th man. But I'm happy with Prince, he plays well, he fits well on our team, no use dwelling on what might've been.
Tayshaun's an excellent defender, alot better than carmelo. But carmelo's a great offensive player, with a killer clutch shot. It'd be good if we could have both, but i guess if we had carmelo on the bench behind tayshaun he wouldn't be as good as he is now.
If we got 'Melo I don't think we could afford our starting 5, and I'd rather have our Allstar team than Melo anyway
That'd be clean if Pistons drafted Wade instead of Millicic. What made them draft such a sorry player??.. they could've had Melo!.. Why draft Milicic. he didnt turn out to be anything. Useless pick.. but it would've been tight if Pistons had: Billups, Wade, Hamilton, Wallace, and Big ben.. Clean starting lineup
Hindsights always 20/20..Coming out that year Darko was considered the second best player in that draft, what he was supposed to be was a great shooting big man, we know now that he's more or less a bust but at the time he was thought to be better than Wade and Bosh, and more or less Melo...I think the fact that he's a 7 footer is why he was drafted higher than Melo. Regardless, he'll probably never be on par with others drafted after him.
Alot of it boils down to Larry Brown aswell, he forced the kid to sit on the bench for 2 whole seasons which would've really hurt his confidence. He has shown that he is still a pretty good player since going to Orlando, scoring points, grabbing boards, blocking shots. He finally had his rookie season.
If we had drafted Melo, he would've started from game 1. And Tayshaun would be on the bench. And we would've never won a championship. Remember the block on Reggie Miller? I still think it was the most important play in the 3 wonderful years the Pistons have had. So I'm glad we drafted Milicic.
Prince is a way better defender and he fits in Detroit pretty much better. Melo can only shoot and sometimes drive, too. Detroit have Ben, Rasheed and Tayshaun - all great defenders. THIS IS THE DETROIT TEAM, Melo won't fit in there. Melo needs to be alone or have somebody beside him. Not 4 all-stars.;D
Prince out played everyone in game 7. That guy stepped it up big time. I mean, were talking about a team that actually beat the cavs here. No need for Melo on that team.
I always thought this was Detroit's thought process heading into the 2004 draft: 1. When two players are considered equal talents and one is a big man, you draft him, because big men are harder to come by. and 2. The Pistons were going to have to choose between Okur and Prince, because a) Okur's was in line for a new contract and they couldn't afford to resign Okur and Prince (because Detroit also had to resign everyone else), and since Milicic played the same position as Okur and Anthony the same as Prince, whoever they drafted, it was going to force the incumbent player out. So the Pistons decided that Prince was more valuable to the team than Okur, and a big man who can shoot is harder to come by than a sf that can score, and that is why they went with Milicic and ultimately let Okur go. Personally, I think they made the right choice. Sure hindsight is 20/20, but if we're talking hindsight, I don't think the Pistons would have had the #2 pick at all, because Vancouver/Memphis, in hindsight, would have protected it.
I also think Melo would be a different player had he been drafted by Detroit over Denver. Not saying he would be a lockdown defender, but I'm sure his defense would have benefited from playing and practicing in that system.
Prince shooting 60+% and 28+ points in a crutial game 5 against the heat. I'm not surprised. This guy knows how to step up and make up for Sheed's piss poor performance.
