MAIN MENU

On the eve of the 2007 NBA Draft Camp in Orlando, FL, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on past drafts. Maybe taking a look at how teams have drafted in the past ten years will help explain the mysteries of the NBA draft, like why the Spurs continue to get better despite picking 30th every year and signing free agents like Francisco Elson.

The NBA Draft is truly an inexact science. To build their dynasty, the Spurs had to not only make smart picks, but they had to get lucky as well. As smart as it was to pick Manu Ginobili (57th overall in 1999) and Tony Parker (28th overall in 2001), the Spurs were equally lucky to land the top pick in 1997 and draft some guy named Tim Duncan.

To put together a team as disgraceful as the Grizzlies, Memphis (well actually the mess started in Vancouver) was not only stupid, but very unlucky in their past drafts. The Grizzlies sandwiched a wise pick of Shareef Abdur-Rahim (3rd overall in 1996) with two bonehead selections of Bryant "Big Country" Reeves (5th in 1995) and Antonio Daniels (4th in 1997). Granted, Reeves was almost the default selection in '95, considering Kurt Thomas, Michael Finley, and Damon Stoudamire were the only other legit pros taken after Reeves, who was a tremendous college player. Mike Bibby was taken in 1998, a good pick, but at such a young age, he wasn't able to lead a team of underachievers out of the quicksand.

So the fact that they missed out on Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse, who were all drafted in the Top 5 that year, is just bad luck. On the other hand, the fact that they drafted Daniels over Tracy McGrady had nothing to do with luck. The Grizz continued to employ their foundation draft strategy- taking the biggest reach available- into the new decade, when they chose Stromile Swift 2nd overall in 2000. This pick could also be an example of bad luck, however, because the 2000 draft, in which Memphis landed the highest pick in team history also turned out to be the weakest draft in history (its best players are Mike Miller and Pau Gasol). One year earlier, the Grizzlies had a ultimate stroke of bad luck, when they chose Steve Francis 2nd overall and Francis refused to play in Vancouver and demanded a trade to Houston.

Now that I've gone over the complete history of the Vancouver/Memphis franchise, a good place to start would be the worst picks ever. So here they are.

The Ten Worst Picks of the Last Ten Years

10. Mike Dunleavy 3rd overall by Golden State in 2002

The Warriors were looking for a SF, and they should have looked no further than Caron Butler.

9. Everyone except Minnesota in the 2000 Draft

The T'Wolves were the only team to get the 2000 Draft right...they forfeited their pick as every other team should have done.

8. Rodney White 9th overall by Detroit in 2001

25 ppg scorer Joe Johnson was taken with the very next pick. In his one season with Detroit, White scored a total of 56 points.

7. (Tie) Aleksander Radojevic 12th by Toronto and Frederic Weis 15th in 1999

One was drafted with a bad back out of community college and played 12 games in his sorry excuse for an NBA career. The other became famous...for being Vince Carter's jock strap rest.Seattle SuperSonics Drafts

6. Nicoloz Tskitishvilli 5th overall by Denver in 2002

Taken over Amare Stoudemire. Skita was a member of five teams, averaging 3 points per game before David Stern sent him back to the Soviet Union.

5. Rafael Araujo 8th overall by the Toronto Raptors in 2004

With steroid allegations (he was banned from participating in Brazilian competitions) and a general concensus around him that was he was a mid to late first rounder with limited upside, the Raptors drafted for need and took Araujo anyway. Players such as Andre Iguodala, Josh Smith, Andres Biedrins and Al Jefferson were still available.

4. Celtics, Magic, Nets and Jazz all looking for their PG of the future in taking Joseph Forte, Jeryl Sasser, Brandon Armstrong, and Raul Lopez respectively with the 21st-24th picks in the 2001 Draft.

Unfortunately for these teams, the next three point guards off the board were Tony Parker, Jamaal Tinsley, and Gilbert Arenas. Whoops. And it's not like PG was the only position left, Gerald Wallace and Sam Dalembert were taken with the 25th and 26th picks.

3. Mavericks, Warriors and Cavs taking Samaki Walker, Todd Fuller, and Vitaly Potepenko 9th, 11th, and 12th in 1996.

Why was this so bad? Not only did all three of these players turn out to be awful, but 4 of the next 5 picks to come off the board were Kobe Bryant, Peja Stojackavic, Steve Nash and Jermaine O'Neal. Ouch.

2. Darko Milicic 2nd overall by Detroit in 2003

Detroit won a championship in spite of this pick, but imagine if they had taken Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony or Chris Bosh.

1. Michael Olowokandi 1st overall by the LA Clippers in 1998

Just a rule of thumb...never use the top pick in the draft on a British guy who went to Pacific.

Picks I would term as "unlucky" rather than bad:

5. DaJuan Wagner 6th overall to Cleveland in 2002

Wagner once scored 100 points in a high school game and was one of the best players in the country as a freshman at Memphis. He averaged 13.4 ppg as a rookie with the Cleveland, but his career was shortened by injuries and health problems. After recently undergoing surgery to remove his colon, Wagner is attempting a comeback into the NBA. Had he remained healthy, he would have been a great compliment to LeBron James.

4. Kwame Brown 1st overall to Washington in 2001

OK, it was MJ's first draft. And though Kwame Brown turned out to be a disappointment, it's not like there were countless superstars he passed up for Kwame Brown. Unless Jordan decided to draft Pau Gasol with the top pick, pretty much all of the top-rated players turned out to be busts. (Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler, Shane Battier, DaSanga Diop, Eddie Griffin).

3. Jonathan Bender 5th overall to Indiana in 1999

Like Shaun Livingston, Bender showed a great deal of promise in his first few years straight out of high school, but a problematic left knee forced him to retire early. Had Bender continued to develop without the injuries, his career could have taken a much different path.

2. Jay Williams 2nd overall to Chicago in 2002

Williams was one of the most dominant point guards in College Basketball over the last ten years. It's not the Bulls' fault that he decided to give up basketball to become the next Evil Knievel.

1. Shaun Livingston 4th overall to the Clippers in 2004

Shaun Livingston showed All-Star potential in his first few seasons. His career likely will be cut short by a gruesome knee injury suffered during the 06-07 regular season.

 

 

See more at http://nbadraft.net