2013 NBA re-draft: Giannis, Rudy and everyone else, including Alex Len

Look no further than the 2013 NBA Draft to understand the difficulty of scouting.

It was, after all, a draft class where the top pick came as a complete surprise. Four years later, the Cavs’ top pick, Anthony Bennett, is struggling to hold down jobs in the European leagues. But he was far from the only absurd selection.

The player who won rookie of the year, Michael Carter-Williams, is already on his third team. The best two players and the only franchise-altering types, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert, weren’t lottery picks. And from the Phoenix Suns’ perspective, neither fifth overall pick Alex Len nor 29th pick Archie Goodwin lived up to the expectations.

So with the draft upcoming and Len and many of the others that haven’t reached extensions entering restricted free agency this summer, Empire of the Suns writers Kevin Zimmerman and Kellan Olson decided to re-draft the entire first round.

A few notes: We projected how each player would fit on the team drafting them beginning in 2013-14. Also, we kept draft-day trades (Ex. Nerlens Noel was picked sixth to the Pelicans and dealt to the Sixers, so our sixth pick also was traded to the Sixers).

In parentheses, you’ll find where the player we drafted was actually selected.

And if you want to hear us attempt to explain our choices, listen to the podcast at the top of this page.