Bust is a strong word for all of them, inconclusive is more like it. At the beginning of the season I would have said Babbit, but he seems to have found a nitche for himself and I dont cringe when he is on the court anymore. Give the list maybe Williams due to his injurys which may end up knocking him out of the NBA.
None of them are busts Smith, Claver, Williams were all take in the 20's Babbitt was a non lottery pick Leonard comes closest, but he hasn't played enough to be labeled a bust, although he is American, white and tall, so chances are looking good for him
I don't consider any player picked outside the lottery a "bust" because it implies high expectations. Drafting is a crap shoot once you are out of the lottery (and really once you are out of the top 10 or so). Leonard is the only lottery pick on that list. He's young and raw, but has all the upside I was hoping for. That throw-down dunk he had last night was pretty damned nice. But other than him, I would describe the overall list (plus our lame Limey "power" forward) a bust. You expect a lot of failure, but you also expect at least 1 or 2 successes as well. Babbitt has shown a few glimpses, but you want to see more than that out of 5 non-lotto first round draft picks. I'm skeptical that any of them outside of Babbitt will be in the NBA in 4 years.
Despite OP's disclaimer, answer is still Oden. Even now, I'm still conditioned to think "maybe, hopefully he can come back NEXT YEAR and 'beast'..."
Oden and a plus 20 PER when healthy. Injuries don't make a bust, or Len Bias would be the ultimate bust
Gonna say Williams because he's been injured for so long. It's like how we see Oden as such a bust. When playing, E Will did some marvelous things; but he hasn't been able to get on the court because of injury after injury. At least the other players could play.
Rather than refusing to answer the question, can we just mentally rephrase it "most disappointing" and proceed as intended? For me, it's Nolan Smith, because I think he's been given ample time to show that he can be an NBA player, and he simply hasn't done it. I still hold out more hope for Williams than for Smith.
Semantics. When you have the #1 pick and they flame out spectacularly, it's a bust regardless of whether it's because of injuries, drugs, poor work ethic or lack of talent. In the end, the dreams and hopes of an entire fan base are crushed all the same.
I agree with the "these don't fit bust criteria" people. For a player to be a bust, I think they should be top 5 pick. I don't excuse injury from the list, so players like Oden would be high up the list. It's too early to lable anyone from this past draft a bust, so players like Beal and Robinson get more time to prove themselves. The year before, Derrick Williams seems like the only likely bust, but he too can turn things around. From 2010, Wesely Johnson seems like a bit of a bust. The year before Thabeet, but I think he has been actually playing better lately, he might just be a late bloomer. And from 2008 Beasley is a bit of a bust even if he will end up having a bit of a career.
