First of all dont get me wrong this draft had some great players(Rodman, Hornacek, Price, ect) But the future of some of these players, made this possibly the worst NBA draft ever, player wise, drug wise, and death wise. Heres why...-Len Bais(Boston Celtics, 1st Round, 2nd Pick) Was quote to be the next African American version of Larry Bird after he leaves. Within 2 days after he gets drafted he dies of a drug overdose. -Chris Washburn(Golden State Warriors, 1st Round, 3rd Pick) Yeah, he was the guy that would always sat on the bench and yawned and look bored when the cameras came on him. He had no heart to play basketball, thats why he only last 2 season and got shiped to the Hawks. A 3rd pick simply thrown away.-Roy Tarpley(Dallas Mavericks, 1st Round, 7th Pick) You reward Mavs with your 6th man award then baned from the NBA for cocaine abuse, thanks. You're offered a second chance, the Mavs offer you 20+ million for 6 years, now you fail alcohol tests. Rehab and you dont even take the opportunity.-John Salley(Detroit Pistons, 1st Round, 11th Pick) Obvious reasons, LMFAO-Arvydas Sabonis(Portland Trailblazers, 1st Round, 24th Pick) Not here to talk about how bad of a player he was or about drug problems. "Big Red" drafted by Hawks in 85, couldnt play because he was to young. After drafted by Blazers in 86 he couldnt play because of the political issues between USSR and the United States. Finally the 32 year old rookie gets a shot at the NBA, alittle to late and with his knees falling off. If only he had been in the NBA around 10 years before, easily could have been one of the best centers in the NBA.-Cedric Henderson(Atlanta Hawks, 2nd Round, 32nd Pick) I forgot what happend to this guy, would be nice if someone reminded me. But you could not have a worse career than him, 1 year of college and 2 season in the NBA(8 games total)-Drazen Petrovic(Portland Trailblazers, 3rd Round, 60th Pick) Also, another player im not here to talk about how bad of a player he was or about drug problems. He had a big impact in the NBA for someone who was only here for 4 season, not so much with the Blazers though. This guy had alot to look forward to in the NBA with already success behind him before coming to the NBA. 2 silver medals in the Olympics and plenty of European championship and awards. Unfortuanately he died in a car accident in Germany when he was 28. He's now in the Hall of Fame.
I was interested in this as it was the year of my birth, and it's not that bad of a draft. Some of it was just freak accidents(Bias, Petrovic).But John Salley and Sabonis weren't bad players, the other guys just were dumbasses who took their careers for granted.I think the 2000 draft was far worse, look at it and Michael Redd is the only one you can make a case for being a top player. And he was taken in the 2nd round!
I wouldn't go as far as a shaq-stopper, but he was nice, 7 more years would have made a huge difference though. Sabonis definately was a help for the Blazers in his few years.Salley wasn't that bad. Did dirty work, he helped get Detroit 2 titles.Petrovic was amazing. What a shame that he could only play 4 years. He still made the HOF too.
