Post by Brophdog88 on Feb 10, 2010 3:44:42 GMT -5
I decided it would be a good idea to see who the best and worst players were drafted at each slot in the lotto, #1, #2, #3 etc...down to 13h and offer commentary on each player and my decision. These are all personal opinion, there was no formula, just my decision. I looked at the players careers, as well as best numbers and overall consistency. On the worst side I just took the player who sucked the most. I feel as though it is too early to judge the 2003 draft class on, as they haven't finished their rookie contracts even
The Best
1. Vancouver Grizzlies - Shaquille O'Neal C 7'1'' 300 21 B D C B+ B+ A-1993 Draft
I give Shaq the nod here, though his time could very well come to an end as LeBron James continues to develop his game. Over the course of his career Shaq has been dominant both offensively and defensively, averaging 24.5 points 12.5 rebounds 2.6 blocks per game for his career. He is a very good passer, though he has had problems with turnovers, as well as keeping out of foul trouble. He is a 7-time first team All-League Center, and does have one title to his name, and clearly beats out Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant and Larry Johnson for this spot due to his overall dominance.
2. Houston Rockets - Vince Carter SG 6'7'' 215 21 B+ C+ C C+ C- A-1998 Draft
This decision was a bit tougher than the last one. Vince is probably the best scorer in the league right, though his defense has never been stellar. He was a part of three finals teams with the Rockets, and is averaging an absurd 27.9 points per fame. He rebounds solid, and his passing numbers have improved. Percentage wise his numbers look good, especially his FT and 3 point %, I gave him the edge over Chris Webber due to his absurd scoring abilities, and lesser turnovers. Webber has a very good argument, but he is not a great FT shooter, and FG% wise on his career Webber is worse, which is scary since posts should be better typically than guards, and C-Webb has definitely had foul troubles. I would say for certain that Webber has had the best overall years between the players, but, Webber has really had three great years, and a bunch of solid ones….either way though this slot goes to Houston. Webber has been a three time first team all league PF, but, he didn’t have Preira playing at his position for much of his career. I think the three finals appearances have to lean this to Vince Carter’s direction
3. Atlanta Hawks - Antonio McDyess PF 6'9'' 220 19 B C- C- B- B- A-1994 Draft
This decision was a very difficult one. McDyess has been a very good PF for his career, with solid FT% as well. He has had issues with his FG% as a whole, but, he is excellent on the glass, and is a very solid passer for his position. His Blocks per game are not necessarily stellar, but he takes very good control of the ball, averaging only 1.4 turnovers per game over his career. I gave him the edge over Chauncey Billups, because, though Billups has been very good since he entered the league averaging 20.9 ppg with 8.6 assists and only 1.8 turnovers, Billups has not won a title, and missed basically an entire season due to injury. I could see the arguments for both, but Mcdyess has a title, and the leans the decision in his favor in my mind.
4. Philadelphia 76ers - Stephen Jackson SG 6'8'' 218 19 C+ B- C B C A-1997 Draft
S-Jax was probably the best SG in the league last year, and will put up a fight for the spot this year. He is an excellent rebounded for a SG, gets quite a few assists, doesn’t turn the ball over, and gets a high number of steals. His career averages of 23.7 points 6.2 rebounds 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals while only committing 1.4 turnovers per game says it all. He is pretty damned efficient as well shooting good percentages across the board. I really didn’t see anybody else as challenging him for this spot, Mike Bibby was the only true contender outside of S-Jax, but he hasn’t shown enough to put himself above S-Jax in my mind. He has never scored more than 22.4 points per game in a season, and even with his nice assists to turnover ratio, he isn’t at the level of S-Jax yet.
5. Milwaukee Bucks - Ray Allen SG 6'5'' 205 20 C+ A- C C C A-1996 Draft
Ray Allen is the clear choice here. I considered Gilbert Arenas, but Ray Allen’s best seasons have been spectacular, and over his career Gilbert, though a great defender, has been played out of position, leading to lower numbers than one would expect given his ratings. Allen on the other hand has a deadly outside game, and is very very efficient as a shooter. He is an excellent Free throw shooter, very good at stealing the ball, and a solid rebounded for the position. His turnovers are very low, and assists wise he is getting better. Allens numbers have been pushed down by his not being an option for much of his career, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t excellent. Surprisingly he has not garnered a single All league mention, but, he also played the same position as Preira. Allen is starting on the decline, but his career has been solid, and he has one title, more than Gilbert.
6. Vancouver Grizzlies - Allan Houston SG 6'6'' 200 22 C A- C C+ C- A-1993 Draft
I really wanted to put Manu Ginobli here, especially considering his recent TC, but looking at the numbers, Manu played one season where he averaged 1.5 points per game off the bench for Phoenix in very limited time. Houston on the other hand is the best outside shooter the league has had. At one point as well he did have B defense, making him not entirely useless. The real reason he gets this spot though is his off the charts scoring numbers. Outside his first season, where he scored only 9.6 points per game, Houston has scored at least 21.7 points a season. His percentages are amazing as well, with 48.7% from the field, 89.2% from the free throw line and 43.2% from three. He is good at rebounding, a solid passer, and is excellent at taking care of the ball. His scoring though over his career is definitely what puts him up here. Probably the most efficient scoring guard in the league over his career he has been very effective, and also holds a title to his name.
7. Phoenix Suns - Lamar Odom SF 6'10'' 220 19 B- C C+ C+ B- A-1999 Draft
Odom earns this spot over Donyell Marshall and Nick Van Exel in part because of his versatility. Odom is a very very good Small Forward, but if needed can step in pretty much at any position and be effective. He creates mismatches wherever he plays. Marshall is a good player, but he took a while to come around, and isn’t as versatile. Odom is a better defensive player, and has been excellent at basically everything. He doesn’t turn the ball over excessively, rebounds at an excellent rate, and can handle the point guard duties die to his skill at passing the ball. He could use some work on his outside shot, but he isn’t a terrible 3 point shooter. Probably the biggest knock on him is his lacik of steals and blocks. Still I see Odom as clearly the favorable player over Marshall.
8. Utah Jazz - Richard Hamilton SG 6'6'' 185 21 C+ B C B- D+ A-1999 Draft
Rip Hamilton has kinda gone under the radar, especially for the beginning of his career, but he is an excellent scorer, and excellent defender. He is sub par on the glass, but is amazing at taking care of the ball, turning it over only 1.1 times per game at the MOST. The last few years he has been at .6 turnovers per game which is crazy considering he is quite the scorer, and is deadly with the ball in his hands. I gave him the nod over Larry Hughes, because Hughes has typically underperformed his ratings, never scoring more than 19 points per game in a season. Hughes is a solid point guard, and his ratings are really nice, but his performance doesn’t match that of Rip Hamilton in my mind.
9. Miami Heat - Brian Grant PF 6'9'' 254 22 B- C- C- B- C+ B-1994 Draft
The 9th pick is weak as hell. Brian Grant seriously is the best player to come from this slot overall. It has been bust central. I doubt that Grant would have fallen here, but as of late, he has improved, even though he is 34. A solid double double guy is exactly what his ratings suggest he should be, and that’s what he is. He’s smart with the ball, plays good defense, and blocks the occasional shot. Really, his biggest problem is his willingness to shoot the three, even though he is absolutely atrocious at it, a career mark of 12.7% on 142 attempts. In a slot loaded with busts, Brian Grant is the shit that shines brightest. Seriously, it was him or Rafer Alston, and Rafer while solid, doesn’t have the numbers in my mind that would make him better than Grant overall. Grant is just too good of a rebounder, and has been solid for longer.
10. Miami Heat - Damon Stoudamire PG 5'10'' 171 21 C B+ B C+ C- B-1995 Draft
Mighty Mouse is a damned impressive player, scoring well and rebounding very well considering his size. He isn’t a pure point by any means, as he isn’t a great passer, and he does turn the ball over a bit, but nothing terrible. His steals are solid, but his biggest thing is he will kill you if you leave him open from outside. He takes this spot pretty clearly over pretty much 0 competition. I wouldn’t put anybody else picked tenth in the same league as him at all.
11. New York Knicks - DeShawn Stevenson SG 6'5'' 210 18 B- C+ C C+ C B-2000 Draft
Deshawn will forever be the one that New York let get away. He was sent to Denver WITH two firsts for Terrell Brandon, who promptly left after a year. Deshawn hadn’t exploded in first TC, but, in his second he crushed Knicks fans by going supernova. He is an excellent shooter and a great point guard as evidenced by his 10.3 assists per game last season. He handles the ball very well, turning it over a mere 1.9 times as a number one option at point guard. His biggest knocks are his Free throw shooting which isn’t stellar, and his lack of steals or blocks. He isn’t the most efficient FG% wise, but his Point guard skills are excellent, and he has the ability to play PG/SG/SF very effectively. This position was definitely better than the two prior, and Luc Longley could have been picked very easily as the better player as he was very good over the course of his career, but Longley wasn’t a great shot blocker, and as a C/PF had FG% issues. Randolph Childress was also considered, but he never has had the numbers of the first two.
12. Detroit Pistons - Nazr Mohammed PF 6'10'' 220 20 B- C- D+ B C+ B-1998 Draft
Nazr Mohammed Ratings wise is up there with many of these players on this list, performance wise though he isn’t amazing, but he is still the best player to be picked 12th. I could have chosen Theo Ratliff for his defensive prowess, but he fell off pretty hard, and hasn’t started for quite some time. Nazr iis a solid all around player, scoring and rebounding wise, however, FG% wise he leaves a ton to be desired. He isn’t a shot blocker, nor does he get a lot of steals. He does a good job taking care of the ball, and isn’t a bad free throw shooter for a Center. He has a pretty large foul problem though, fouling out of about 10 games per season, and obviously being in foul trouble in many more than that leading to reduced minutes.
13. Milwaukee Bucks - Predrag Danilovic SG 6'5'' 200 21 C A- C C C A-1991 Draft
Danilovic was an excellent scorer during his time in the league, and was a top PG for a while, helping quite a few teams contend. Indy loved him when they had him, and he lead the Rockets to three finals with the help of Mike Bibby and Vince Carter. Danilovic was a deadly outside shooter, and was very good at rebounding at the PG position. His big weakness was his defense, which was a B at best. I can’t view his career numbers to give full details on him, but he definitely wins this battle over Bonzi Wells, who though the clear second best out of this position, is not a great player by any means.
The Worst
1. Orlando Magic - Elton Brand PF 6'8'' 275 20 B- C- D+ B B- A-1999 Draft
Really none of the top overalls have busted like a Kwame Brown in real life. All of the players have turned out solid in one way or another, but I give the worst overall number one to Elton Brand. Now it is very possible that he would put up better numbers on a worse team without all of the scorers, but he hasn’t so I have to go with what I have seen. It was either him or Carlos Boozer, but Boozer has averaged more points and rebounds per game on his career. Elton is now 27 and really hasn’t done too much in his career, well outside setting the league record for rebounds in a game with 30...(I believe it was a fluke) His career averages are a measly 11.8 points and 8.5 rebounds.
2. Milwaukee Bucks - Baron Davis PG 6'3'' 209 21 B C B- C+ C A-2000 Draft
Turns out Milwaukee made the wrong move by trading up to get Davis. Davis has busted as hard if not harder than any other top 5 pick. He showed a lot of promise, but never lived up to the hype. A Franchise not as well off as the Bucks could very well have been killed by a pick like this, but this pick was just a bonus for the Bucks, and didn’t set them way back. Really no other 2nd overall pick has been a complete and total bust. Most have been pretty damned good actually.
3. Golden State Warriors - Paul Pierce SF 6'6'' 230 20 B- C+ C B C+ A-1998 Draft
Paul Pierce never showed anything really. Ducky nearly picked him at two, but lucked out, leaving Golden State to grab the awful Paul Pierce. Pierce was terrible overall, though he did develop finally into a B B scorer this year, but with C+ handling and C+ defense he really is not a good player. His terrible development definitely hurt the Warriors franchise, but they obviously recovered as evidenced by their title last year.
4. Orlando Magic - Antawn Jamison SF 6'8'' 231 22 B- C+ C- B- B- A-1998 Draft
Jamison beats out Jimmy Jackson for this spot as the worst 4th overall pick. That’s not to say he is a terrible player, but he definitely did not live up to expectations. The fourth pick has been pretty good overall, Jamison is just the worst of the group. He has never been a scorer, scoring at his best 14 points per game. He does take very good care of the ball, and he rebounds well its just that outside that he is useless.
5. Dallas Mavericks - Michael Finley SF 6'7'' 215 20 B- B- C C+ C A-1993 Draft
Part of Finley falling here is that he died so hard. He did have nice ratings at one point in his career, and was a double digit scorer for quite a while, but his best year was his first year stats wise, and even though his ratings got better, he statistically performed worse. He was a product of the Idle logjam at the wing position which killed the development of quite a few players til they were shipped off, Finley just took the worst of it. Every other 5th pick has been pretty good outside maybe Kenyon Martin, but Martin has done fine in reality, and is a 15 point 9 rebound 2 block per game guy.
6. Denver Nuggets - Tayshaun Prince SF 6'9'' 215 22 C+ C+ C B+ C A-2002 Draft
Yeesh…basically he has improved one on outside one on defense but gone down one on handling since he entered the league. He doesn’t score, really doesn’t steal or block or do much of anything great. There have been some pretty poor players taken 6th overall, but Prince has done very very little in his career, while players such as Keith Van Horn, Stephen Marbury, and even Isaiah Rider have offered something at some point to a team who is contending. Van Horn is an efficient scorer, Marbury can handle PG duties respectably, and Isaiah brought some scoring as well. Tayshaun really doesn’t have much of a role, outside the occasional backup defensive duty.
7. Atlanta Hawks - Jay Williams PG 6'2'' 195 20 C+ B- B- B C- A-2002 Draft
Jay Williams had a promising first training camp, baiting the Supersonics into trading Nash for him, then….he decided that he would devote his off-season to riding motorcycles rather than get better at basketball and it showed as he died in TC. He has zero PG skills, with very few assists and lots of turnovers making him a poor choice to lead a team. The 7th pick hasn’t been especially wonderful with Eddie Jones, Stacy Augmon, Mehmet Okur and others busting, but Jay Williams takes the cake for making himself look like he might be something before imploding.
8. Indiana Pacers - Antoine Walker SF 6'8'' 225 18 C+ B- C C+ C A-1995 Draft
Antoine Walker never developed much of a game, actually developing into his best overall ratings as of right now in the league. He isn’t terrible, but the eighth pick has been home to a lot of solid players. Not too many stars, but quite a few solid players. Meanwhile, Walker has played for 7 different teams in his 12th year in the league.
9. Indiana Pacers - Drew Gooden PF 6'10'' 230 20 C+ C D+ B- B B-2002 Draft
Drew Gooden has done basically nothing since he entered the league. He has actually gotten worse offensively, and only slightly improved on defense. He has focused on his handling, which is nice, if he weren’t a power forward.
10. Seattle Supersonics - Tim Thomas PF 6'10'' 230 20 B- C+ C- C+ C A-1997 Draft
Bad, very bad, as in gone from the league bad. Thomas was a boom or bust pick, and he pretty obviously busted.
11. Washington Bullets - Mario Kasun C 7'1'' 260 22 B- D+ D B- C- A-2002 Draft
I believe he is gone from the league, and he was originally drafted in 2002...A Center with C- Rebounding is bad, but he actually got worse in TC defensively and offensively to make things worse.
12. Phoenix Suns - Walt Williams SF 22 6'8'' 220 C+ B C C+ C B-1992 Draft
In his first four seasons…he played in five games, and I have no reason to believe he ever played again after I did my recap of the 1992 draft where Phoenix selected him.
13. Minnesota Timberwolves - Tom Gugliotta PF 6'10'' 240 22 C+ B- C+ C C+ B-1991 Draft
He is out of the league, but never amounted to anything. He was a shitty defensive player, and did very little in the way of offense, His rebounding wasn’t terrible, but it really wasn’t good either.
The Best
1. Vancouver Grizzlies - Shaquille O'Neal C 7'1'' 300 21 B D C B+ B+ A-1993 Draft
I give Shaq the nod here, though his time could very well come to an end as LeBron James continues to develop his game. Over the course of his career Shaq has been dominant both offensively and defensively, averaging 24.5 points 12.5 rebounds 2.6 blocks per game for his career. He is a very good passer, though he has had problems with turnovers, as well as keeping out of foul trouble. He is a 7-time first team All-League Center, and does have one title to his name, and clearly beats out Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant and Larry Johnson for this spot due to his overall dominance.
2. Houston Rockets - Vince Carter SG 6'7'' 215 21 B+ C+ C C+ C- A-1998 Draft
This decision was a bit tougher than the last one. Vince is probably the best scorer in the league right, though his defense has never been stellar. He was a part of three finals teams with the Rockets, and is averaging an absurd 27.9 points per fame. He rebounds solid, and his passing numbers have improved. Percentage wise his numbers look good, especially his FT and 3 point %, I gave him the edge over Chris Webber due to his absurd scoring abilities, and lesser turnovers. Webber has a very good argument, but he is not a great FT shooter, and FG% wise on his career Webber is worse, which is scary since posts should be better typically than guards, and C-Webb has definitely had foul troubles. I would say for certain that Webber has had the best overall years between the players, but, Webber has really had three great years, and a bunch of solid ones….either way though this slot goes to Houston. Webber has been a three time first team all league PF, but, he didn’t have Preira playing at his position for much of his career. I think the three finals appearances have to lean this to Vince Carter’s direction
3. Atlanta Hawks - Antonio McDyess PF 6'9'' 220 19 B C- C- B- B- A-1994 Draft
This decision was a very difficult one. McDyess has been a very good PF for his career, with solid FT% as well. He has had issues with his FG% as a whole, but, he is excellent on the glass, and is a very solid passer for his position. His Blocks per game are not necessarily stellar, but he takes very good control of the ball, averaging only 1.4 turnovers per game over his career. I gave him the edge over Chauncey Billups, because, though Billups has been very good since he entered the league averaging 20.9 ppg with 8.6 assists and only 1.8 turnovers, Billups has not won a title, and missed basically an entire season due to injury. I could see the arguments for both, but Mcdyess has a title, and the leans the decision in his favor in my mind.
4. Philadelphia 76ers - Stephen Jackson SG 6'8'' 218 19 C+ B- C B C A-1997 Draft
S-Jax was probably the best SG in the league last year, and will put up a fight for the spot this year. He is an excellent rebounded for a SG, gets quite a few assists, doesn’t turn the ball over, and gets a high number of steals. His career averages of 23.7 points 6.2 rebounds 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals while only committing 1.4 turnovers per game says it all. He is pretty damned efficient as well shooting good percentages across the board. I really didn’t see anybody else as challenging him for this spot, Mike Bibby was the only true contender outside of S-Jax, but he hasn’t shown enough to put himself above S-Jax in my mind. He has never scored more than 22.4 points per game in a season, and even with his nice assists to turnover ratio, he isn’t at the level of S-Jax yet.
5. Milwaukee Bucks - Ray Allen SG 6'5'' 205 20 C+ A- C C C A-1996 Draft
Ray Allen is the clear choice here. I considered Gilbert Arenas, but Ray Allen’s best seasons have been spectacular, and over his career Gilbert, though a great defender, has been played out of position, leading to lower numbers than one would expect given his ratings. Allen on the other hand has a deadly outside game, and is very very efficient as a shooter. He is an excellent Free throw shooter, very good at stealing the ball, and a solid rebounded for the position. His turnovers are very low, and assists wise he is getting better. Allens numbers have been pushed down by his not being an option for much of his career, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t excellent. Surprisingly he has not garnered a single All league mention, but, he also played the same position as Preira. Allen is starting on the decline, but his career has been solid, and he has one title, more than Gilbert.
6. Vancouver Grizzlies - Allan Houston SG 6'6'' 200 22 C A- C C+ C- A-1993 Draft
I really wanted to put Manu Ginobli here, especially considering his recent TC, but looking at the numbers, Manu played one season where he averaged 1.5 points per game off the bench for Phoenix in very limited time. Houston on the other hand is the best outside shooter the league has had. At one point as well he did have B defense, making him not entirely useless. The real reason he gets this spot though is his off the charts scoring numbers. Outside his first season, where he scored only 9.6 points per game, Houston has scored at least 21.7 points a season. His percentages are amazing as well, with 48.7% from the field, 89.2% from the free throw line and 43.2% from three. He is good at rebounding, a solid passer, and is excellent at taking care of the ball. His scoring though over his career is definitely what puts him up here. Probably the most efficient scoring guard in the league over his career he has been very effective, and also holds a title to his name.
7. Phoenix Suns - Lamar Odom SF 6'10'' 220 19 B- C C+ C+ B- A-1999 Draft
Odom earns this spot over Donyell Marshall and Nick Van Exel in part because of his versatility. Odom is a very very good Small Forward, but if needed can step in pretty much at any position and be effective. He creates mismatches wherever he plays. Marshall is a good player, but he took a while to come around, and isn’t as versatile. Odom is a better defensive player, and has been excellent at basically everything. He doesn’t turn the ball over excessively, rebounds at an excellent rate, and can handle the point guard duties die to his skill at passing the ball. He could use some work on his outside shot, but he isn’t a terrible 3 point shooter. Probably the biggest knock on him is his lacik of steals and blocks. Still I see Odom as clearly the favorable player over Marshall.
8. Utah Jazz - Richard Hamilton SG 6'6'' 185 21 C+ B C B- D+ A-1999 Draft
Rip Hamilton has kinda gone under the radar, especially for the beginning of his career, but he is an excellent scorer, and excellent defender. He is sub par on the glass, but is amazing at taking care of the ball, turning it over only 1.1 times per game at the MOST. The last few years he has been at .6 turnovers per game which is crazy considering he is quite the scorer, and is deadly with the ball in his hands. I gave him the nod over Larry Hughes, because Hughes has typically underperformed his ratings, never scoring more than 19 points per game in a season. Hughes is a solid point guard, and his ratings are really nice, but his performance doesn’t match that of Rip Hamilton in my mind.
9. Miami Heat - Brian Grant PF 6'9'' 254 22 B- C- C- B- C+ B-1994 Draft
The 9th pick is weak as hell. Brian Grant seriously is the best player to come from this slot overall. It has been bust central. I doubt that Grant would have fallen here, but as of late, he has improved, even though he is 34. A solid double double guy is exactly what his ratings suggest he should be, and that’s what he is. He’s smart with the ball, plays good defense, and blocks the occasional shot. Really, his biggest problem is his willingness to shoot the three, even though he is absolutely atrocious at it, a career mark of 12.7% on 142 attempts. In a slot loaded with busts, Brian Grant is the shit that shines brightest. Seriously, it was him or Rafer Alston, and Rafer while solid, doesn’t have the numbers in my mind that would make him better than Grant overall. Grant is just too good of a rebounder, and has been solid for longer.
10. Miami Heat - Damon Stoudamire PG 5'10'' 171 21 C B+ B C+ C- B-1995 Draft
Mighty Mouse is a damned impressive player, scoring well and rebounding very well considering his size. He isn’t a pure point by any means, as he isn’t a great passer, and he does turn the ball over a bit, but nothing terrible. His steals are solid, but his biggest thing is he will kill you if you leave him open from outside. He takes this spot pretty clearly over pretty much 0 competition. I wouldn’t put anybody else picked tenth in the same league as him at all.
11. New York Knicks - DeShawn Stevenson SG 6'5'' 210 18 B- C+ C C+ C B-2000 Draft
Deshawn will forever be the one that New York let get away. He was sent to Denver WITH two firsts for Terrell Brandon, who promptly left after a year. Deshawn hadn’t exploded in first TC, but, in his second he crushed Knicks fans by going supernova. He is an excellent shooter and a great point guard as evidenced by his 10.3 assists per game last season. He handles the ball very well, turning it over a mere 1.9 times as a number one option at point guard. His biggest knocks are his Free throw shooting which isn’t stellar, and his lack of steals or blocks. He isn’t the most efficient FG% wise, but his Point guard skills are excellent, and he has the ability to play PG/SG/SF very effectively. This position was definitely better than the two prior, and Luc Longley could have been picked very easily as the better player as he was very good over the course of his career, but Longley wasn’t a great shot blocker, and as a C/PF had FG% issues. Randolph Childress was also considered, but he never has had the numbers of the first two.
12. Detroit Pistons - Nazr Mohammed PF 6'10'' 220 20 B- C- D+ B C+ B-1998 Draft
Nazr Mohammed Ratings wise is up there with many of these players on this list, performance wise though he isn’t amazing, but he is still the best player to be picked 12th. I could have chosen Theo Ratliff for his defensive prowess, but he fell off pretty hard, and hasn’t started for quite some time. Nazr iis a solid all around player, scoring and rebounding wise, however, FG% wise he leaves a ton to be desired. He isn’t a shot blocker, nor does he get a lot of steals. He does a good job taking care of the ball, and isn’t a bad free throw shooter for a Center. He has a pretty large foul problem though, fouling out of about 10 games per season, and obviously being in foul trouble in many more than that leading to reduced minutes.
13. Milwaukee Bucks - Predrag Danilovic SG 6'5'' 200 21 C A- C C C A-1991 Draft
Danilovic was an excellent scorer during his time in the league, and was a top PG for a while, helping quite a few teams contend. Indy loved him when they had him, and he lead the Rockets to three finals with the help of Mike Bibby and Vince Carter. Danilovic was a deadly outside shooter, and was very good at rebounding at the PG position. His big weakness was his defense, which was a B at best. I can’t view his career numbers to give full details on him, but he definitely wins this battle over Bonzi Wells, who though the clear second best out of this position, is not a great player by any means.
The Worst
1. Orlando Magic - Elton Brand PF 6'8'' 275 20 B- C- D+ B B- A-1999 Draft
Really none of the top overalls have busted like a Kwame Brown in real life. All of the players have turned out solid in one way or another, but I give the worst overall number one to Elton Brand. Now it is very possible that he would put up better numbers on a worse team without all of the scorers, but he hasn’t so I have to go with what I have seen. It was either him or Carlos Boozer, but Boozer has averaged more points and rebounds per game on his career. Elton is now 27 and really hasn’t done too much in his career, well outside setting the league record for rebounds in a game with 30...(I believe it was a fluke) His career averages are a measly 11.8 points and 8.5 rebounds.
2. Milwaukee Bucks - Baron Davis PG 6'3'' 209 21 B C B- C+ C A-2000 Draft
Turns out Milwaukee made the wrong move by trading up to get Davis. Davis has busted as hard if not harder than any other top 5 pick. He showed a lot of promise, but never lived up to the hype. A Franchise not as well off as the Bucks could very well have been killed by a pick like this, but this pick was just a bonus for the Bucks, and didn’t set them way back. Really no other 2nd overall pick has been a complete and total bust. Most have been pretty damned good actually.
3. Golden State Warriors - Paul Pierce SF 6'6'' 230 20 B- C+ C B C+ A-1998 Draft
Paul Pierce never showed anything really. Ducky nearly picked him at two, but lucked out, leaving Golden State to grab the awful Paul Pierce. Pierce was terrible overall, though he did develop finally into a B B scorer this year, but with C+ handling and C+ defense he really is not a good player. His terrible development definitely hurt the Warriors franchise, but they obviously recovered as evidenced by their title last year.
4. Orlando Magic - Antawn Jamison SF 6'8'' 231 22 B- C+ C- B- B- A-1998 Draft
Jamison beats out Jimmy Jackson for this spot as the worst 4th overall pick. That’s not to say he is a terrible player, but he definitely did not live up to expectations. The fourth pick has been pretty good overall, Jamison is just the worst of the group. He has never been a scorer, scoring at his best 14 points per game. He does take very good care of the ball, and he rebounds well its just that outside that he is useless.
5. Dallas Mavericks - Michael Finley SF 6'7'' 215 20 B- B- C C+ C A-1993 Draft
Part of Finley falling here is that he died so hard. He did have nice ratings at one point in his career, and was a double digit scorer for quite a while, but his best year was his first year stats wise, and even though his ratings got better, he statistically performed worse. He was a product of the Idle logjam at the wing position which killed the development of quite a few players til they were shipped off, Finley just took the worst of it. Every other 5th pick has been pretty good outside maybe Kenyon Martin, but Martin has done fine in reality, and is a 15 point 9 rebound 2 block per game guy.
6. Denver Nuggets - Tayshaun Prince SF 6'9'' 215 22 C+ C+ C B+ C A-2002 Draft
Yeesh…basically he has improved one on outside one on defense but gone down one on handling since he entered the league. He doesn’t score, really doesn’t steal or block or do much of anything great. There have been some pretty poor players taken 6th overall, but Prince has done very very little in his career, while players such as Keith Van Horn, Stephen Marbury, and even Isaiah Rider have offered something at some point to a team who is contending. Van Horn is an efficient scorer, Marbury can handle PG duties respectably, and Isaiah brought some scoring as well. Tayshaun really doesn’t have much of a role, outside the occasional backup defensive duty.
7. Atlanta Hawks - Jay Williams PG 6'2'' 195 20 C+ B- B- B C- A-2002 Draft
Jay Williams had a promising first training camp, baiting the Supersonics into trading Nash for him, then….he decided that he would devote his off-season to riding motorcycles rather than get better at basketball and it showed as he died in TC. He has zero PG skills, with very few assists and lots of turnovers making him a poor choice to lead a team. The 7th pick hasn’t been especially wonderful with Eddie Jones, Stacy Augmon, Mehmet Okur and others busting, but Jay Williams takes the cake for making himself look like he might be something before imploding.
8. Indiana Pacers - Antoine Walker SF 6'8'' 225 18 C+ B- C C+ C A-1995 Draft
Antoine Walker never developed much of a game, actually developing into his best overall ratings as of right now in the league. He isn’t terrible, but the eighth pick has been home to a lot of solid players. Not too many stars, but quite a few solid players. Meanwhile, Walker has played for 7 different teams in his 12th year in the league.
9. Indiana Pacers - Drew Gooden PF 6'10'' 230 20 C+ C D+ B- B B-2002 Draft
Drew Gooden has done basically nothing since he entered the league. He has actually gotten worse offensively, and only slightly improved on defense. He has focused on his handling, which is nice, if he weren’t a power forward.
10. Seattle Supersonics - Tim Thomas PF 6'10'' 230 20 B- C+ C- C+ C A-1997 Draft
Bad, very bad, as in gone from the league bad. Thomas was a boom or bust pick, and he pretty obviously busted.
11. Washington Bullets - Mario Kasun C 7'1'' 260 22 B- D+ D B- C- A-2002 Draft
I believe he is gone from the league, and he was originally drafted in 2002...A Center with C- Rebounding is bad, but he actually got worse in TC defensively and offensively to make things worse.
12. Phoenix Suns - Walt Williams SF 22 6'8'' 220 C+ B C C+ C B-1992 Draft
In his first four seasons…he played in five games, and I have no reason to believe he ever played again after I did my recap of the 1992 draft where Phoenix selected him.
13. Minnesota Timberwolves - Tom Gugliotta PF 6'10'' 240 22 C+ B- C+ C C+ B-1991 Draft
He is out of the league, but never amounted to anything. He was a shitty defensive player, and did very little in the way of offense, His rebounding wasn’t terrible, but it really wasn’t good either.
