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I'm not sold he was a first round lock in 2003.
Posted on: May 26, 2020 at 20:44:11 CT
zodiac6 JC
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If he had left after his junior season, he would've been in the same draft class as Josh Howard. Howard was 6-7 and coming off a season in which he averaged 19+ points per game. He was the final pick in the first round.
The next closest comparison for Paulding would be Dahntay Jones, who went 20th. (In between Jones and Howard, there were three international guys, three high school kids, and Brian Cook, a college post player; those teams were clearly looking for something different than what Paulding offered.)
Jones was coming off a season that was almost identical to RP's statistically, but he did that at Duke.
Maybe Paulding's final game vs. Marquette would've pushed him above Jones, but it's possible he's still a second rounder.
As evidence: Keith Bogans. He averaged about 16 ppg as a senior that year and 17+ as a sophomore two years prior. Kentucky went 32-4 that year and made the Elite Eight (also falling to Marquette). He didn't put up a performance like Paulding's, but he had a long and successful resume as the best player on one of the best teams. Still went midway in the second round.
Speaking of Bogans, he played 11 years in the NBA and made something in the neighborhood of $20 million.
Unfortunately for Paulding, he was drafted by the Pistons coming off an NBA title. They had a pretty deep roster already, and they used their 2003 first rounder on Carlos Delfino, an Argentinian player who stayed overseas for one year. He came over to Detroit the same year they drafted Paulding, which probably took his spot on the roster.
Had RP been drafted by a team that had more room on the roster, I think it's quite likely that he has a career like Bogans at least. Even if he is still drafted in the second round.
The next closest comparison for Paulding would be Dahntay Jones, who went 20th. (In between Jones and Howard, there were three international guys, three high school kids, and Brian Cook, a college post player; those teams were clearly looking for something different than what Paulding offered.)
Jones was coming off a season that was almost identical to RP's statistically, but he did that at Duke.
Maybe Paulding's final game vs. Marquette would've pushed him above Jones, but it's possible he's still a second rounder.
As evidence: Keith Bogans. He averaged about 16 ppg as a senior that year and 17+ as a sophomore two years prior. Kentucky went 32-4 that year and made the Elite Eight (also falling to Marquette). He didn't put up a performance like Paulding's, but he had a long and successful resume as the best player on one of the best teams. Still went midway in the second round.
Speaking of Bogans, he played 11 years in the NBA and made something in the neighborhood of $20 million.
Unfortunately for Paulding, he was drafted by the Pistons coming off an NBA title. They had a pretty deep roster already, and they used their 2003 first rounder on Carlos Delfino, an Argentinian player who stayed overseas for one year. He came over to Detroit the same year they drafted Paulding, which probably took his spot on the roster.
Had RP been drafted by a team that had more room on the roster, I think it's quite likely that he has a career like Bogans at least. Even if he is still drafted in the second round.
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I'm not sold he was a first round lock in 2003. - zodiac6 JC - 5/26 20:44:11