Tag: 2009 NBA Draft

On this day: Rozier, Billups, Mercer, Kreklow, Hunter, Mickey drafted

On this day, the Boston Celtics drafted several players in multiple drafts, including Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, Ron Mercer, and Wayne Kreklow.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise took just one player of note in the 1979 NBA draft, held in New York City at the Plaza Hotel, after having traded away their first-round draft pick. The sole player selected by the Celtics that year was 6-foot-4 shooting guard Wayne Kreklow, taken with the 53rd overall pick in the draft’s third round (drafts went on much longer then than they do today).

A native of Neenah, Wisconsin, Kreklow had been playing college ball at Drake before being drafted by Boston. He did not initially make the team, not unusual for a prospect drafted so late. But, instead of being waived, he would play a season with the Maine Lumberjacks of the Continental Basketball Association (the equivalent of the G League in that era), where he averaged 9.6 points per game.

Kreklow would join the team for the 1980-81 season, helping to win a championship in a reserve role that saw him average 1.2 points over 25 games with the Celtics in his sole season with the franchise.

Four Boston Celtics alumni shifting places in 2009 NBA redraft

Some Celtics alumni have improved their position considerably, while others have slipped a bit with the benefit of career hindsight.

The tag team duo of Hoops Hype NBA analysts Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon are back at it again on our sister site with a new NBA redraft, this time focused on the 2009 NBA draft class with a number of Boston Celtics alumni on the move compared to where they were actually taken in the draft back on that fateful day in the summer of 2009.

And as has been the case in each prior re-draft we have taken note of from Hoops Hype, some Celtics alumni have improved their position considerably, while others have slipped a bit with the benefit of career hindsight.

Without further ado, let’s see which former or current Celtics players ended up where.

Boston big man veteran ranked eighth-best player from the 2009 NBA draft class

He’s also known to be a stand-up guy.

NBA analyst Alberto De Roa of HoopsHype, our sister site, put together a new metric he dubbed global rating.

“(The metric) combines players’ and teams’ statistics to rank players according to their productivity on the court.”

It also factors in the number of contests a given player has been unavailable for in a season (for a more detailed breakdown, check this out).

For the 2022-23 NBA season so far, De Roa has not only used global rating to compare NBA players, but also how each draft class remaining in the league stacks up against its peers.

In the 2009 draft class, Boston veteran big man Blake Griffin checks in as the eighth-best player remaining in the league, behind (in order) Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday, James Harden, Patty Mills, Wesley Matthews and Patrick Beverley.

The onetime Oklahoma standout checks in ahead of James Johnson and Taj Gibson, but is ranked the 321st-best player in the NBA this season at this late stage of his career.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Stephen Curry admits he wanted to be drafted by the Knicks in 2009

Ouch, Knicks fans.

Stephen Curry is the heart and soul of the Golden State Warriors. Over their five year run, Curry has been the centerpiece for everything the Warriors empire stands on.

He’s won three championships, two MVPs and broken record after record over the last half decade as a Warrior. But that’s not how he always envisioned everything going down, apparently.

Before he was drafted, not only did Curry think he was going to the New York Knicks, he WANTED to go to the Knicks.

On Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes’ “All the Smoke” podcast, the Warriors’ guard told the two former NBA vets that New York was his preferred destination.

“Thinking back, I wanted to go to New York and thought I was going to New York.”

The 2009 draft was already a nightmare for Knicks fans — they were just one pick away from getting Curry, who was selected with the seventh overall pick. Now, they know he actually wanted to come there? Ouch. Just twisting the knife, honestly.

The Knicks ended up selecting Jordan Hill at No. 8, one pick before the Raptors landed DeMar DeRozan. Hill was traded away in his rookie season in a deal that resulted in Tracy McGrady joining the Knicks.

At this point, it’s alright for Knicks fans to beef with the Warriors. Golden State beat them to Curry, they pulled Steve Kerr away. Who’s next?

The only thing that could be worse is losing out on LeBron James ….oh wait.

Fret not, Knicks fans. Your time will come eventually!

It could be worse? Well, probably not. But it could be! Think of it this way. If the Knicks DID get Curry, he’d probably just turn out to be nothing but Jimmer Fredette with busted ankles.

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