Carmelo Anthony wanted to play for Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons took Darko Millicic in the 2003 NBA draft instead of Carmelo Anthony, a decision Anthony wishes the Pistons could take back.
What if the Detroit Pistons would have selected Carmelo Anthony in the 2003 NBA draft instead of Darko Millicic?
That is one of the most interesting draft night questions ever given the ramifications.
The Detroit Pistons would go on to win the 2004 NBA Finals–the season directly after the draft–without much of any help from Millicic–and would go on to play in seven straight Eastern Conference Finals.
Anthony, Chauncey Billups, and LeBron James weighed in on the what-ifs recently.
Their thoughts–especially Billups’–might surprise you.
"Anthony would have given the Pistons a longer window of contention and he has been at his best playing beside strong point guards and veteran leaders. Anthony eventually became teammates with Chauncey Billups as members of the Denver Nuggets.“That’s why I was a little bit disappointed,” Anthony said, “because I really wanted to go to Detroit. You had Chauncey, you had all those guys over there…Detroit, they had something going over there.”Anthony would have been perfect for the Pistons as a truly great individual scorer to complement their defense.“It would have been at a whole other level,” LeBron James said of their rivalry.“I was told that Detroit was going to take me,” Anthony said. “Once Cleveland made the pick, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to Detroit.'”“That ball-stopping mentality that Carmelo has? He wouldn’t have had that if he was a Piston,” Billups said. “We wouldn’t let him play like that. He would have been a much better player than he is now—and he’s a great player now.“This guy would have been,” Billups said, pausing to chuckle for a moment, “he would have been an absolute icon, because winning takes you there.”"
Every Piston fan has contemplated what a do-over would have done for the franchise. I’m sure Joe Dumars has even done so once or twice–how could you not? After all, Anthony is an 11-time all-star with a career average of 25 points per game and seven rebounds.
I think Billups’ comments are the most interesting. Not only would the Pistons have likely had a longer championship window (and probably another one or two more championships), but it probably would have taken Anthony’s career to even greater heights.
A championship would have changed popular opinion on Anthony’s career–because when you win, people tend to forgive your weaknesses–but think about what a veteran presence would have done for Anthony for a moment.
Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace, and Lindsey Hunter–these would have been the players making sure that Anthony plays winning basketball in the early part of his career.
I think Anthony would have had a very similar, if not more successful, career as Dwyane Wade had things turned out differently.
Perhaps, Anthony would have been revered as even an equal to James with a couple championships under his belt.
There’s no changing the past–and even if you could, there’s no guarantee things would be different for either party– but 12 years later, the decision not to draft Anthony still haunts both the Pistons, and Carmelo Anthony.