I saw this type of thread in the Raptors forum and thought it was an interesting thing to think about. Here are the #8 and #30 picks from the last 20 years - <u>#8's</u> 2004 - Rafael Araujo 2003 - T.J. Ford 2002 - Chris Wilcox 2001 - Sagana Diop <font color="Blue">2000 - Jamal Crawford</font> <font color="Blue">1999 - Andre Miller</font> <font color="Blue">1998 - Larry Hughes</font> 1997 - Adonal Foyle 1996 - Kerry Kittles 1995 - Shawn Respert 1994 - Brian Grant <font color="Blue">1993 - Vin Baker</font> 1992 - Toddy Day 1991 - Mark Macon 1990 - Bo Kimble <u>#30's</u> 2004 - David Harrison 2003 - Maciej Lampe 2002 - Roger Mason, Jr. <font color="Blue">2001 - Gilbert Arenas</font> <font color="Blue">2000 - Marco Jaric</font> 1999 - John Celestand 1998 - Ansu Sesay 1997 - Mark Sanford 1996 - Othella Harrington 1995 - Lou Roe <font color="Blue">1994 - Howard Eisley</font> 1993 - Gheorghe Muresan 1992 - Sean Rooks 1991 - Rodney Monroe 1990 - Carl Herrera
Some good players there. This year's class is very talented so you'll probably see one of these lists with 2005 in blue/bold as well. Unless they make a dumb decision like taking Taft or Frye at 8 (which I wouldn't mind). The 01-03 Players for the 8th spot, have not lived up to what they were expected to be when they were drafted (various different reasons). Same could be said for Hoffa, but he had different expectations which he did not fulfill. Just to note, the 30th pick is a first round pick, unlike prior to '04 where they were 2nd rounders with non-guranteed contracts. Now, the player taken 30th overall gets a guranteed 3 year contract.
Of that list of 8th picks, there hasn?t been a real superstar, but there have been some very solid players. Crawford is alright, he just needs to find a way to unleash his full potential, Andre Miller is/was a good player and even led the league in assists one season. Hughes, Grant, and Kittles are all very solid and Baker was once a star and an Olympian. There are some ?potential? players like Wilcox, Ford and I guess Diop, but overall, I?m not too impressed by the list of 8th picks over the past 14 years. Hopefully Isiah can at least draft a player on the level of Miller or Baker. The 30th pick selection is obviously worse, but there?s always a chance you can draft an Arenas; but the chance of drafting an Othella Harrington is even worse. Hopefully Isiah can continue adding positives to his draft r?sum?.
