Aren't all future draft picks potential busts? that's the fun part of this discussion, if someone would know what would happen to these guys in the future he would be a very rich man, if someone would believe him. Chiriaev and Podkolzine haven't played a single minute in the league, so I don't think that they should be mentioned in a 'Worst recent draft picks' discussion.
How did this thread go from worst draft pick to biggest bust? Joe Smith was a big bust. He started well at GS, but just fell off terribly after.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting notMuchgame:</div><div class="quote_post">Joe Smith was a big bust. He started well at GS, but just fell off terribly after.</div> Actually(although I see where's you're coming from), Joe is nearly having a career year this season in Milwaukee. His blocks are the second highest of his career, while he's recording career high's in rebounding. His scoring is way down from early in his career, but that's partially because he's playing with scorers in Michael Redd, Tim Thomas and Desmond Mason, whereas in GState he was the 2nd option after Sprewell. He's not what you'd expect from a #1 pick, but I wouldn't say he's necessarily a bust. He is putting up better numbers this season than the 2nd and 3rd picks of his draft class to boot.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting starman85:</div><div class="quote_post">No, not really. They're a bad pick if they don't produce at a contribution level, not if they don't produce at a star level. You're saying that if a player is picked before someone who ends up being better, than they were a bad pick. In that case, Hakeem Olajuwon was a bad pick. No. </div> No, thats now what I am saying. Hakeem was a great pick, as he will be a HOFer. Same with MJ. What I am saying is that, if Joe Schmoe, who averages 6/4 for his career, is picked ahead of of a superstar with a high pick, then its a wasted pick. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Not all lottery picks are expected to be stars. They're merely the picks from each class who are most suited to contributing in the NBA. All those guys I listed ended up contributing. </div> When you are picking high in the lottery, higher picks are expected to turn into stars(not all the time, as you mentioned the weak draft class with Duncan, Van Horn, etc....it makes it impossible) <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Ok, I should have said 'arguably top five.' You can't deny that. </div> You could have said, he is a "contributor, therefore, a good pick....(my turn for biting sarcasm). <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> That's been going on for a lot longer than since '98, when Kandi was drafted. Shawn Bradley ring a bell? </div> I didn't mean Kandi was the first pick taken looking for potential. I meant he was the start of what now has been a recent trend. Look at some of the higher lottery picks since that draft; many have been 'potential filled' players. I didn't mean Kandi was the first player drafted like that... And Bradley's size was bigger than his potential.(no pun intended) That had more to do with his drafting. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Brilliant idea! You really shouldn't keep that all to yourself Vintage, you may be on to something...(sorry for the biting sarcasm) </div> No apology needed. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> But seriously, there's no way to really do that. Guys like O'Bannon seem just as sure-fire as a Glen Rice or Jamal Mashburn, who turn into perennial all-stars.</div> The draft is a crap shoot. But scouting help elimate some of that. Its not perfect, no. But O'Bannon was a bust. How can you not say that was a wasted pick, when looking back there were better players over their careers that could have been taken. Yes, I know hindsight is 20/20. But thats what makes it fun, looking back.
does this Include trades on draft day? First of all the topic is stated "worst RECENT draft picks"... So why is everyone talking about the past? 1990, 1984, all kinds of years behind "recent". Since everyone else goes back I would like to rewind to the 1996 draft... You know who. Kobe. Charlote drafts him at 13 (what a steal considering his HS avgs) and he was 18 years old. Lakers decide..."Hmmm. We don't want Vlade "the Flop" Divac he will be no use for us when we get Shaq!...Let's offer a trade for Kobe (I hope they are dumb enough to accept this trade)" Well the Hornets were dumb enough and thus got ripped hardcore! I know the Hornets wished they had Kobe a few years later!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting PrimeTime:</div><div class="quote_post">First of all the topic is stated "worst RECENT draft picks"... So why is everyone talking about the past? 1990, 1984, all kinds of years behind "recent". Since everyone else goes back I would like to rewind to the 1996 draft... You know who. Kobe. Charlote drafts him at 13 (what a steal considering his HS avgs) and he was 18 years old. Lakers decide..."Hmmm. We don't want Vlade "the Flop" Divac he will be no use for us when we get Shaq!...Let's offer a trade for Kobe (I hope they are dumb enough to accept this trade)" Well the Hornets were dumb enough and thus got ripped hardcore! I know the Hornets wished they had Kobe a few years later!</div> Considering that Kobe whined like the little baby he was last year during the playoffs the hornets were FORCED to trade him. There's a big differnce between that and a just boneheaded deal.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting PrimeTime:</div><div class="quote_post"> Well the Hornets were dumb enough and thus got ripped hardcore! I know the Hornets wished they had Kobe a few years later!</div> And I'm sure that at least 9 other teams wished they had picked Kobe instead of who they ended up with. But as RabidWolf said, Kobe whined when he was drafted and held out. Plus, the Hornets had Glen Rice(one of the top 5 sg's in the league at the time) and had just traded away Alonzo Mourning, and felt like they were in need of a center. You really should do some research before you make pointless statements. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Vintage:</div><div class="quote_post">No, thats now what I am saying. Hakeem was a great pick, as he will be a HOFer. Same with MJ. What I am saying is that, if Joe Schmoe, who averages 6/4 for his career, is picked ahead of of a superstar with a high pick, then its a wasted pick.</div> I know you're not saying Hakeem was a wasted pick. And none of those guys were comparable with Hakeem Olajuwon. But none of those guys I was arguing on were 'Joe Schmoe's either. They all put up respectable numbers. That was my point. If they put up those numbers, they weren't wasted picks, even if better guys were drafted later. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">When you are picking high in the lottery, higher picks are expected to turn into stars</div> Higher picks, yes. But most of those guys were mid- to late-lottery, not high lottery. Some were, but the ones that were high-lottery put up good enough numbers, IMO, not to be considered 'busts'. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">But thats what makes it fun, looking back.</div> I agree, and I often find myself sitting and thinking about wasted draft picks and who teams could have picked instead, stuff like that. (that's not sarcasm, I'm serious) And there are guys who I'll concede were busts. William Bedford, for example. I believe he went #6 or #7 in '86 to Phoenix. He is a good example of a bust. But maybe that's not recent enough for Primetime. But the guys I argued on weren't busts, at least not in the definition that I usually use for the term. Disappointments, yes. Busts, no.
Kwame still has time to develop into a good player, not ALL high school players are going to come in their first few years and put up awesome numbers. Not everyone is a LeBron, give him some time before you straight up call him a bust. Is he underachieving? Yes, he is, but we have yet to see the best of his talent.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Purple N Gold:</div><div class="quote_post">Kwame still has time to develop into a good player, not ALL high school players are going to come in their first few years and put up awesome numbers. Not everyone is a LeBron, give him some time before you straight up call him a bust. Is he underachieving? Yes, he is, but we have yet to see the best of his talent.</div> This is my contention on the Kwame Brown issue. He's showed flashes of great promise from time to time over the past couple of seasons. Just as I stated earlier, instead of writing him off just yet, look back to Jermaine O'Neal's situation in Portland. He may never become a player of Jermaine's calibar, but it's terribly unfair to call him a bust, or bad draft pick at age 21. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">As for Kandi being a bust, WHEN HEALTHY, he is near a top five center, if not in the top five. He had some nice stats last year, which supposedly was his "down" year. I don't think Kwame Brown will do much. From what i know of him, his attutude sucks, he aslways says he's going to work out in the summer and never does jack. Aren't his hands supposed to be abnormally small too? I read an article talking about him, jihidi, and Haywood and saying how hard of a time he has catching and holding on to the ball. </div> True, it's not completely accurate to call Olowokandi a bust. When healthy, and <u>motivated</u>, Kandi can be an effective NBA center. The problem is that those two conditions rarely coincide. When he began to realize that he could score in the post, ol' Mike turned into a black hole. He fell in love with his offensive game, while jogging back lazily to the other end of the floor on defense. His numbers were extremely inflated with the Clippers, not to mention that the team lost nearly every game in which he led them in scoring. When he finally is healthy, and returns to floor this season, we're going to see what he's really made of. KG is going to demand that he works hard - on both ends of the floor. I'm interested to see if he can meet the challenge.
Worst pick ever? This is not the worst pick ever, but Yao Ming. 1st overall... I think that's crazy. Chris Bosh has played less than 30 games and he is already better than Yao. I do not mean to be racist, but I think all the hype about Yao is only becuase he is a rare Chinese NBAer. Yao will get better as his career progresses, but I think the Raps scored when they got Bosh.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Dwayne Wade:</div><div class="quote_post">Worst pick ever? This is not the worst pick ever, but Yao Ming. 1st overall... I think that's crazy. Chris Bosh has played less than 30 games and he is already better than Yao. I do not mean to be racist, but I think all the hype about Yao is only becuase he is a rare Chinese NBAer. Yao will get better as his career progresses, but I think the Raps scored when they got Bosh.</div> That is not the worst pick.....or even a bad one. Houston is trying to develop and in-and-out game. Franchise and Yao will be unstoppable in a couple years. Besides, you cannot pass up a big man. I do think that Yao's rareity played a role, but Houston might have ended up kicking themselves if they hadn't chosen him. Besides, the only other hyped pick that year was Jay Williams, and Houston didn't need a pg.
Yao Ming a bad pick? He's only the 3rd or 4th best center in the game! Yao will be an all-star for years to come, I can't even imagine how anyone could consider him a bad draft pick. Yes, Bosh is a very good young player. But better than Yao? No. Maybe someday, but not today.
Harold Minor over Bob Horry, Spreewell, Doug Christie, PJ Brown, Popeye Jones. And Yao was a no-brainer and number one. It was a good decision.
"Baby Jordan" did turn out to be a colossal bust. Gotta admit though, he looked pretty good at SC those last two years. I would've taken him with a lottery pick. Still wondering why he didn't pan out, that one is a real head-scratcher.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Dwayne Wade:</div><div class="quote_post">Worst pick ever? This is not the worst pick ever, but Yao Ming. 1st overall... I think that's crazy. Chris Bosh has played less than 30 games and he is already better than Yao. I do not mean to be racist, but I think all the hype about Yao is only becuase he is a rare Chinese NBAer. Yao will get better as his career progresses, but I think the Raps scored when they got Bosh.</div> First rule of drafting: always take the big guy. With the lack of true centres in the league, picking Yao was a no-brainer and should reap them rewards for the next 10-15 years. Bosh is a nice player, but to even compare his achievements to Yao's at this point is stupid. Bosh will have a nice career, Yao will be the best centre in the game. Second rule or drafting: when picking in the lottery, always spell the player's name correctly.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting OgShowtime:</div><div class="quote_post">"Baby Jordan" did turn out to be a colossal bust. Gotta admit though, he looked pretty good at SC those last two years. I would've taken him with a lottery pick. Still wondering why he didn't pan out, that one is a real head-scratcher.</div> Why are you hating on my boy?? <-----------Just look at him, don't you see all that potiential and focus in his eyes?? Seriously, Miner wasn't a bad pick, but rather just a typical bust. He had a world of potiential and was worth the risk. He played decent for his first couple seasons, but he was just out of shape. His career was an accelerated version of Shawn Kemp's...great dunker, got fat, can't play anymore. The broken jump-shot contributed too but he was a 90's version of Desmond Mason in my opinion, but Mason has been able to use his ability to contribute in the league.
HaHa, yeah, Harold was a decent player for awhile. I'm not hatin' on your boy though, even though he chose the wrong guy to emulate in Shawn Kemp, he was at least smart enough to skip the part where he fathers a full roster of illigitimate children.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting OgShowtime:</div><div class="quote_post">he was at least smart enough to skip the part where he fathers a full roster of illigitimate children. </div> He missed the crack part too
kwame brown was a big bust for me...i thought with MJ and Jerry Stackhouse around him, that he would be able to develop into a pretty good player IN TIME. I think that he still has plenty of developing to do. Also...Yao Ming has not proved to be as good as he was hyped to be. I know that partly the reason his development has not gone as fast is because of the language barrier. I still give Yao Ming at least 2 years before he's the next star
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Dwayne Wade:</div><div class="quote_post">Worst pick ever? This is not the worst pick ever, but Yao Ming. 1st overall... I think that's crazy. Chris Bosh has played less than 30 games and he is already better than Yao. I do not mean to be racist, but I think all the hype about Yao is only becuase he is a rare Chinese NBAer. Yao will get better as his career progresses, but I think the Raps scored when they got Bosh.</div> Huh? Are you serious? If the Rockets offered Yao for Bosh straight up, the Raps would bite in a second. So would just about any team with a rookie this year except Denver and Cleveland(although even Denver might...). Yao will be the best center when Shaq fades and retires, and will dominate the post for years to come. Bosh will be good, mark my words, and might even be a 20-10 player. But saying he is better than Yao is like saying Allan Houston is better than Clyde Drexler was. Close, but no cigar.
