Carmelo Anthony is on the wrong side of history but how differently would it have looked if his career started with the Detroit Pistons?
The Pistons selected Darko Milicic second overall, of course LeBron James went first overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers, in the 2003 NBA Draft. Anthony was the third pick by the Denver Nuggets.
Coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance a few weeks before the draft, the Pistons were primed to go after a key piece in the draft to put them over the top.
Positionally, it made sense to go after Milicic, which gave them extra depth in the frontcourt and a legitimate backup to Ben Wallace.