shaggy
Juniors
- Messages
- 885
If you must, call them busts
Kyle Henry
Dime Magazine, Updated 1 day ago
Whenever a guy turns out to be a draft bust, we automatically want to blame the team that picked him for not foreseeing it. But in reality, it's not always the team's fault.
Example: let's assume Kevin Durant goes No. 2 to Seattle this week. Now hypothetically fast-forward seven years: Durant is averaging 9 points a game as an injury-riddled backup, Joakim Noah has a championship ring with the Bulls, and Brandan Wright is an All-Star. How could you possibly blame the Sonics for taking KD when they did?
If they would have chosen Wright or Noah or anyone else, they would have been crucified by the media and fans. So it's not always the fault of the front office; sometimes it's just bad luck, injuries, or an uninspired ballplayer who makes them look bad. Looking back at some of the more recent memorable draft busts, it's a mix of guys whose bust status falls on their own shoulders, and others where blame falls on the team that picked them.
1995 Joe Smith (Maryland), No. 1 to Golden State
The standards are always higher when you're the top pick. Smith has managed some respectable numbers over his career (12 points, 7 boards per game), but considering he was drafted ahead of guys like Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, Michael Finley and Antonio McDyess and that he's been a meaningful player on a good team only twice ('00 and '02 Wolves) he has to be considered a bust.
1996 Todd Fuller (NC State), No. 11 to Golden State
The Warriors have had their share of draft busts (Patrick O'Bryant, Mike Dunleavy, Adonal Foyle, Joe Smith, Cliff Rozier, etc.), but Fuller might be the worst. The 7-footer's career spanned five years and four different teams, where he averaged about 3 points and 3 boards and blocked a grand total of 60 shots in 220-plus games. Oh yeah, and he was drafted ahead of Kobe, Steve Nash and Jermaine O'Neal.
2003 Darko Milicic (Serbia & Montenegro), No. 2 to Detroit You can say he's shown promise since being dealt to Orlando (8.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.8 bpg in '06-07), but face it: he never should have been picked ahead of 'Melo, Bosh, D-Wade, Hinrich, T.J. Ford ... even Chris Kaman. The worst part is that as soon as Cleveland won the '03 Lottery it was a no-brainer they were picking LeBron, so the Pistons had ample time to study the rest of the field and make the right call.
1984 Sam Bowie (Kentucky), No. 2 to Portland
His numbers actually aren't bad (10.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and his potential was snuffed out due to injuries more than anything else, but Bowie will still always be known as the guy picked right before MJ and viewed as a colossal bust.
1993 Shawn Bradley (BYU), No. 2 to Philadelphia
Someday they'll keep a stat for Getting Dunked On, and when that happens, Shawn Bradley will be the standard-bearer. The guy could block shots (2.5 bpg), but as hyped as he was coming out of college and as literally one of the biggest players to ever suit up (7-foot-6), he wasn't worth being chosen ahead of Penny Hardaway, Jamal Mashburn and Sam Cassell. Even Vin Baker, chosen six spots after Bradley, had a better career.
1987 Dennis Hopson (Ohio State), No. 3 to New Jersey
Who? Exactly. In one of the deepest drafts of all-time where David Robinson went first and Armon "Hammer" Gilliam went second Hopson (who dropped 29 ppg at OSU) was picked ahead of first-rounders Reggie Williams, Scottie Pippen, Kenny Smith, Kevin Johnson, Derrick McKey, Horace Grant, Reggie Miller, Muggsy Bogues, Mark Jackson and Reggie Lewis. Hopson had a forgettable five-year run in the League (10.9 ppg) with three teams, and the Nets won an average of 20 games in the three years Hopson played for them.
1999 Trajan Langdon (Duke), No. 11 to Cleveland
When people talk about Duke players not succeeding in the League, the "Alaskan Assassin" always pops up. His impact was last felt about a year ago, when every Blue Devil-hater wanted to peg J.J. Redick as the next Langdon around draft time. While Trajan had one of the purest shots you'll ever see on the college level, he didn't have much chance to show it in the pros; his career lasted all of 110 games as a backup for some bad Cavs teams. And he was picked over the likes of Corey Maggette, Ron Artest, James Posey and AK-47.
2002 Nikoloz Tskitishvili (Italy), No. 5 to Denver
Single-handedly did more to kill the NBA's obsession with European players than any one player. Skita hardly got any clock for his Euroleague team, and became a hot commodity based on potential (a 7-foot small forward) and private workouts. How'd that pan out? After the Nuggets picked him over Amare Stoudemire, Caron Butler and Tayshaun Prince, Skita only really played one full year in the League (3.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg) and parts of three others before fizzing out and going back overseas.
2000 Stromile Swift (LSU), No. 2 to Vancouver
Seven years into his career, it's tough to argue that Stro will ever reach the heights projected for him when he came out of LSU hyped as the school's best big man since Shaq. Physically, Swift has every gift someone his size could ask for including some ridiculous hops and a wingspan that belongs on the National Geographic channel but Stro's biggest flaws are internal. He just doesn't look like he cares. He's good for putting a few guys on YouTube every year with some crazy dunks, but as a whole, he's never put it all together. Even a "change of scenery" season in Houston didn't do anything to jump-start Swift's career. When he's not injured (he's played 67 games a year on average) he's been only mildly productive (8.8 points, 4.9 boards).
2001 Kwame Brown (Glynn Academy H.S.), No. 1 to Washington Like Stro, Kwame has all the tools to be great, but hasn't made it translate to the court. His biggest shortcomings are basketball IQ and slippery hands. Kwame is only 25 and has time to turn it around, but it seems every time he takes a step forward, an injury or his own mistakes takes him two steps back. The five players taken directly after Kwame (Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol, Eddy Curry, J-Rich, Shane Battier) have all made significantly more of an impact in the League
1998 Michael Olowokandi (Pacific), No. 1 to L.A. Clippers Maybe the biggest bust of all-time, considering he was a questionable top pick to begin with (putting up 22 and 11 at Pacific isn't exactly 22 and 11 at Kansas), Kandi Man never did anything for the Clippers when they had him, and hasn't done anything since except become one of the poster boys for the lazy ballplayer who's just there to pick up a check. What possessed L.A. to take him over Bibby, Vince, Jamison, Dirk and Pierce? Most likely because it was the year after Tim Duncan went No. 1 overall, and the Clips thought they had their own franchise center.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6960306?MSNHPHCP>1=10136
Kyle Henry
Dime Magazine, Updated 1 day ago
Whenever a guy turns out to be a draft bust, we automatically want to blame the team that picked him for not foreseeing it. But in reality, it's not always the team's fault.
Example: let's assume Kevin Durant goes No. 2 to Seattle this week. Now hypothetically fast-forward seven years: Durant is averaging 9 points a game as an injury-riddled backup, Joakim Noah has a championship ring with the Bulls, and Brandan Wright is an All-Star. How could you possibly blame the Sonics for taking KD when they did?
If they would have chosen Wright or Noah or anyone else, they would have been crucified by the media and fans. So it's not always the fault of the front office; sometimes it's just bad luck, injuries, or an uninspired ballplayer who makes them look bad. Looking back at some of the more recent memorable draft busts, it's a mix of guys whose bust status falls on their own shoulders, and others where blame falls on the team that picked them.
1995 Joe Smith (Maryland), No. 1 to Golden State
The standards are always higher when you're the top pick. Smith has managed some respectable numbers over his career (12 points, 7 boards per game), but considering he was drafted ahead of guys like Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, Michael Finley and Antonio McDyess and that he's been a meaningful player on a good team only twice ('00 and '02 Wolves) he has to be considered a bust.
1996 Todd Fuller (NC State), No. 11 to Golden State
The Warriors have had their share of draft busts (Patrick O'Bryant, Mike Dunleavy, Adonal Foyle, Joe Smith, Cliff Rozier, etc.), but Fuller might be the worst. The 7-footer's career spanned five years and four different teams, where he averaged about 3 points and 3 boards and blocked a grand total of 60 shots in 220-plus games. Oh yeah, and he was drafted ahead of Kobe, Steve Nash and Jermaine O'Neal.
2003 Darko Milicic (Serbia & Montenegro), No. 2 to Detroit You can say he's shown promise since being dealt to Orlando (8.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.8 bpg in '06-07), but face it: he never should have been picked ahead of 'Melo, Bosh, D-Wade, Hinrich, T.J. Ford ... even Chris Kaman. The worst part is that as soon as Cleveland won the '03 Lottery it was a no-brainer they were picking LeBron, so the Pistons had ample time to study the rest of the field and make the right call.
1984 Sam Bowie (Kentucky), No. 2 to Portland
His numbers actually aren't bad (10.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and his potential was snuffed out due to injuries more than anything else, but Bowie will still always be known as the guy picked right before MJ and viewed as a colossal bust.
1993 Shawn Bradley (BYU), No. 2 to Philadelphia
Someday they'll keep a stat for Getting Dunked On, and when that happens, Shawn Bradley will be the standard-bearer. The guy could block shots (2.5 bpg), but as hyped as he was coming out of college and as literally one of the biggest players to ever suit up (7-foot-6), he wasn't worth being chosen ahead of Penny Hardaway, Jamal Mashburn and Sam Cassell. Even Vin Baker, chosen six spots after Bradley, had a better career.
1987 Dennis Hopson (Ohio State), No. 3 to New Jersey
Who? Exactly. In one of the deepest drafts of all-time where David Robinson went first and Armon "Hammer" Gilliam went second Hopson (who dropped 29 ppg at OSU) was picked ahead of first-rounders Reggie Williams, Scottie Pippen, Kenny Smith, Kevin Johnson, Derrick McKey, Horace Grant, Reggie Miller, Muggsy Bogues, Mark Jackson and Reggie Lewis. Hopson had a forgettable five-year run in the League (10.9 ppg) with three teams, and the Nets won an average of 20 games in the three years Hopson played for them.
1999 Trajan Langdon (Duke), No. 11 to Cleveland
When people talk about Duke players not succeeding in the League, the "Alaskan Assassin" always pops up. His impact was last felt about a year ago, when every Blue Devil-hater wanted to peg J.J. Redick as the next Langdon around draft time. While Trajan had one of the purest shots you'll ever see on the college level, he didn't have much chance to show it in the pros; his career lasted all of 110 games as a backup for some bad Cavs teams. And he was picked over the likes of Corey Maggette, Ron Artest, James Posey and AK-47.
2002 Nikoloz Tskitishvili (Italy), No. 5 to Denver
Single-handedly did more to kill the NBA's obsession with European players than any one player. Skita hardly got any clock for his Euroleague team, and became a hot commodity based on potential (a 7-foot small forward) and private workouts. How'd that pan out? After the Nuggets picked him over Amare Stoudemire, Caron Butler and Tayshaun Prince, Skita only really played one full year in the League (3.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg) and parts of three others before fizzing out and going back overseas.
2000 Stromile Swift (LSU), No. 2 to Vancouver
Seven years into his career, it's tough to argue that Stro will ever reach the heights projected for him when he came out of LSU hyped as the school's best big man since Shaq. Physically, Swift has every gift someone his size could ask for including some ridiculous hops and a wingspan that belongs on the National Geographic channel but Stro's biggest flaws are internal. He just doesn't look like he cares. He's good for putting a few guys on YouTube every year with some crazy dunks, but as a whole, he's never put it all together. Even a "change of scenery" season in Houston didn't do anything to jump-start Swift's career. When he's not injured (he's played 67 games a year on average) he's been only mildly productive (8.8 points, 4.9 boards).
2001 Kwame Brown (Glynn Academy H.S.), No. 1 to Washington Like Stro, Kwame has all the tools to be great, but hasn't made it translate to the court. His biggest shortcomings are basketball IQ and slippery hands. Kwame is only 25 and has time to turn it around, but it seems every time he takes a step forward, an injury or his own mistakes takes him two steps back. The five players taken directly after Kwame (Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol, Eddy Curry, J-Rich, Shane Battier) have all made significantly more of an impact in the League
1998 Michael Olowokandi (Pacific), No. 1 to L.A. Clippers Maybe the biggest bust of all-time, considering he was a questionable top pick to begin with (putting up 22 and 11 at Pacific isn't exactly 22 and 11 at Kansas), Kandi Man never did anything for the Clippers when they had him, and hasn't done anything since except become one of the poster boys for the lazy ballplayer who's just there to pick up a check. What possessed L.A. to take him over Bibby, Vince, Jamison, Dirk and Pierce? Most likely because it was the year after Tim Duncan went No. 1 overall, and the Clips thought they had their own franchise center.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6960306?MSNHPHCP>1=10136
