2017 NBA Re-Draft: Where Do Former, Current Spurs Land?
The 2017 offseason seems like ages ago in the eyes of San Antonio Spurs fans. The team was just coming off an appearance in the Western Conference Finals after being swept by the eventual champion Golden State Warriors following the series-ending ankle injury for Spurs star Kawhi Leonard.
This created a catastrophic snowball effect that saw Leonard sit out for most of the season before demanding a trade ahead of the 2018-19 season.
Spurs fans know the rest.
But in that 2017 offseason, there was still hope on the horizon for the Spurs despite Leonard's injury, future departure, and a sweep in the Conference Finals. San Antonio had the No. 29 overall selection in the first round and there was hope that the pick could bring exciting youth to the team.
With that 29th pick, the Spurs selected Colorado guard Derrick White. But as his career has taken him on a different path with the Boston Celtics and the league now knows the kind of player he's become, should he have been selected higher?
Bleacher Report recently did a redraft of 2017 and has White pegged as the No. 9 overall selection in a draft that included elite-level talents like Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox, Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, and forward Jayson Tatum, White's current teammate on the Celtics.
Here's the re-drafted top 10:
1. Jayson Tatum (originally No. 3)
2. Bam Adebayo (originally No. 14)
3. Donovan Mitchell (originally No. 13)
4. Jarrett Allen (originally No. 22)
5. John Collins (originally No. 19)
6. De'Aaron Fox (originally No. 5)
7. Lonzo Ball (originally No. 2)
8. OG Anunoby (originally No. 23)
9. Derrick White (originally No. 29)
10. Luke Kennard (originally No. 12)
There's another former Spurs buried deeper in the re-draft, who was originally a top-10 selection of the Portland Blazers in 2017. Spurs forward Zach Collins was picked No. 10 out of Gonzaga, but his injury-riddled career in Portland never panned out.
In this redraft, he's the No. 24 overall selection.
He averaged 5.7 points and four rebounds in four seasons with the team before signing a three-year, $22 million contract with San Antonio in Aug. 2021.
For White, his career reached new heights this season. After being traded to the Celtics in February, he emerged as a key backcourt piece for the eventual Eastern Conference champions.
In 26 regular-season games with the team, White averaged 11 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. In the postseason, he helped Boston advance to the NBA Finals with averages of 8.5 points, three rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. This included a 21-point performance in Boston's Game 1 win over the Golden State Warriors in the Finals.
The Celtics eventually lost the series in six games.
As the Spurs now enter a rebuilding year, they'll be hopeful that No. 9 pick and rookie forward Jeremy Sochan can live up to his top-10 expectations alongside fellow first-round rookies Blake Wesley and Malaki Branham.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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