With the injury to Ranidel de Ocampo, the 2004 PBA draft is down to three active players in James Yap, Marc Pingris and Joachim Thoss. There is a good chance that only two will remain after this season because Thoss already announced that he is only good for another season.
So, what we are going to do in this article, is to assume that the 2004 batch are the guys that are available in the 2019 PBA draft. We are not assuming that the 2004 PBA draft did not happen. It happened but in 2019, the same type and quality of players showed up. How should the draft go?
#1 Columbian - Ranidel de Ocampo
This is a hard choice to make but it will be hard to say no to a bigman who has a plethora of skills and one of them is to connect on three-pointers. With RDO's presence, he will create driving lanes for CJ Perez and Rashawn McCarthy.
#2 Blackwater - James Yap
Blackwater does not have the face of their franchise. So, it is perfect for them to get a prospect with the potential of becoming not only the face of Blackwater but the entire league. They also have a lot of shooters that will give a lot of breathing room for Yap.
#3 NLEX - Marc Pingris
NLEX has a scorer in Kiefer Ravena. What they need is an anchor of their defense like the potential of Marc Pingris. Pingris is the type of player that can defend multiple positions and he can easily act as the Gabe Norwood of this squad of coach Yeng Guiao.
#4 Alaska - Sonny Thoss
With Sonny Thoss impending retirement, Alaska needs to get a replacement for him. So, it will be a gift from the basketball-gods of the PBA if the skilled 6'7 prospect of this draft will fall to them. Thoss has a lot of scoring moves at the post and even a midrange shot.
#5 Rain or Shine - Gary David
#6 Rain or Shine - Rich Alvarez
#7 Rain or Shine - Carlo Sharma
With three 1st round picks in the middle of the 1st round, Rain or Shine should get different types of prospects. David is the scoring dynamo that they need to support Javee Mocon and Rey Nambatac. He has also the marketability to takeover the face-of-the-franchise role from James Yap. Alvarez is the athletic forward that they can develop into a versatile player. It is crucial for them to develop his skills or else, he could be exposed right away. And Sharma is the 6'7 giant that they need to support their frontline.
#8 Northport - Ervin Sotto
Even though they already have a competent frontline with Christian Standhardinger, Kelly Nabong and Bradwyn Guinto. It is a good opportunity for them to hoard centers like Sotto. By grabbing the 6'7 center, they will avoid other teams in adding a budding giant center.
#9 Magnolia - Nelbert Omolon
Without a giant available at this point, the best choice for Magnolia is Omolon. He is an energetic forward who is a very good defender and a ball-mover. He can be the under-study of Marc Pingris, who can then mold him as his replacement.
#10 Ginebra - Paul Artadi
Ginebra wants to be faster with their offense. So, Artadi could be a good choice because he is the fastest guard in this batch. He is really good at maxing out the pace of a game and has the basketball IQ to lead in the half-court.
#11 TNT - Willy Wilson
With the acquisition of Wilson and with a lot of guards at their disposal, TNT needs someone who can strengthen their middle positions. Wilson will be that guy as he is more than capable of being a small forward or power forward. Heck, he can even be a small-ball center.
#12 Columbian - Wesley Gonzales
After adding a very skilled center in RDO, they will not add to their firepower by choosing Wesley. He is a smooth operator that could be a good running-partner of CJ. He is also long, which will help Columbian on defense.
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