2009 NBA Draft: 3 moves teams wish they didn't make
With the NBA having announced dates for the league to resume play at the end of July, they have also brought out a timeline for when Free Agency and the NBA Draft will take place.
The NBA Draft can prove to be an unforgiving blessing for those with a lottery pick as there is always pressure to draft the next superstar to build your franchise around if you're scraping the bottom of the NBA standings.
Today, we will take a look back to the 2009 NBA Draft, which saw two MVPs and four All-NBA players drafted within the first 10 picks, and see which teams regret their choices.
3 teams who probably regret some of their choices in the 2009 NBA Draft
#3 The New York Knicks
2009 NBA Draft Pick 8: Jordan Hill
2009 NBA Draft Pick 9: DeMar DeRozan
The New York Knicks found themselves with the 8th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, and at the time, there were still 3 future All-Star players on the board to take. Unfortunately for the Knicks, they drafted a player who would only reside in New York for a singular season after playing 24 games off the bench for them in his Rookie Season: Jordan Hill.
The Knicks were a poor team at this point, only managing to win 29 games the season before, and while DeRozan had never been an MVP candidate player, he was a great addition to the Toronto Raptors at pick 9. In contrast to Jordan Hill's sole season playing for New York, DeRozan became one of the most loyal Raptors of all time, sharing many of the franchises' total records with backcourt running mate Kyle Lowry.
It was assumed that DeRozan would have played his entire career with the Toronto Raptors after leading them deep in the playoffs multiple times in recent years, while Knicks failed to make them, if it had not been for the trade which sent him to San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard.
This trade was obviously vital to Toronto being crowned the 2019 NBA Champions. Perhaps, the Knicks could have found themselves in a similar position had they not opted for Jordan Hill instead.