Which 5 listed picks are the worst?

[Elvis P]

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Which 5 listed poll picks are the worst? First overall pick "Out of Service" Pervis Ellison scored less than 4500 points and is almost outside the top 1K.

Third overall pick Raef LaFrentz scored less than 5700 points and is almost outside the top 800.

996	Mike Glenn	593	9617	4496	1958	3611	54.2	8	28	28.6	572	669	85.5	152	558	710	952	318	43	429	54.3	57.6
997	Pervis Ellison	474	11592	4494

793	Andray Blatche	564	12462	5706	2327	4981	46.7	52	219	23.7	1000	1380	72.5	1043	1981	3024	798	492	458	914	47.2	51.1
794	Raef LaFrentz	563	14549	5690

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[Neutrinos]

Write in vote: Rafael Araujo

Career -04 WS, -.013 WS/48, -7.2 BPM, -7.2 VORP

 

[Neutrinos]

I'm not sure why LaFrentz, who averaged a respectable 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks in 30+ minutes a game with his draft team (Denver), is among the options

I wonder if the OP confused him with Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who was taken 5th overall by Denver in the 2002 draft, and took the top spot in this list of "Worst NBA Players In History" The 17 Worst Players in NBA History All Stunk (Like, Big Time)

Career 5.2 PER, -1.6 WS, -.039 WS/48, -6.1 BPM, -2 VORP, and a TS% of .375!

To put that .375 TS% in perspective, Tsk played from '03 - '06, and over those 4 seasons the league average was .525

 

[Neutrinos]

I don't see why Pervis Ellison would be an option either

By his 3rd year he was a 20 PER player, averaging 20 points on .54 FG%, 11 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks

Injuries seem to have been Ellison's biggest issue during his career, it wasn't a lack of talent

 

[Neutrinos]

I don't fault a team for taking a chance on a raw, high upside player out of high school based primarily on his physical tools/athleticism

Sometimes it didn't work out like the teams had hoped; Bender #5 in '99, Darius Miles #3 in '00, Kwame Brown #1 & Eddy Curry #4 in '01, Nikolox Tskitishvili #5 in '02, Livingston in '04, Martell Wesbter #6 in '05, Dante Exum in '14, although in some of these cases injuries may have derailed what otherwise would've been a noteworthy career

However, when teams did hit on these prospects, they now had a franchise-changing player to build around; Garnett #5 in '95, Kobe # 13 in '96, McGrady #9 in '97, Amare Stoudemire #10 in '02, Dwight Howard in '04

Or, at the very least, they had an all-star calibre player for their long term core; Jermaine O'Neal #17 in '96, Rashard Lewis #32 in '98, Tyson Chandler #2 in '01, Al Jefferson #15 & Josh Smith #18 in '04, Andrew Bynum #10 & Monta Ellis #40 in '05

The truly horrific, inexcusable picks are the ones like the Raptors taking the unathletic BYU senior Araujo with the 8th pick in '04 when several of those young, athletically gifted, high upside players were available like Iguodala, Jefferson, and Smith. Or Golden State settling for NC State senior Todd Fuller at #11 when teenagers Kobe Bryant and Jermaine O'Neal were available

 

[VEGASKING]

I said at the time Oden over Durant was going to be another Bowie moment for Portland.

As a UNLV fan I was shocked to see Bennett go first overall. Good college player but thought he should have stayed another year.

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

I said at the time Oden over Durant was going to be another Bowie moment for Portland.

As a UNLV fan I was shocked to see Bennett go first overall. Good college player but thought he should have stayed another year.

I said the same thing. And everyone said "No you have to take the big man"

Didn't foresee Oden becoming an injury bust but you just knew Durant was gonna be a superstar.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

Replace Raef LaFrentz with Michael Olowakandi. LaFrentz had a respectable career.

 

[Neutrinos]

Replace Raef LaFrentz with Michael Olowakandi. LaFrentz had a respectable career.

I remember LaFrentz being an extremely valuable fantasy player during his peak years as a C who could shoot 3's, block shots, pick up a few rebounds, and rarely turned the ball over

He was essentially what Brook Lopez has been with the Bucks, but with a few more boards

 

[LightningStorm]

I said at the time Oden over Durant was going to be another Bowie moment for Portland.

When looked at in their proper 1984 and 2007 contexts, I thought the Oden pick was worse for 3 reasons:

1. Some may have heard the old saying that only Dean Smith could hold Jordan under 20 ppg. What was behind this joke is Smith didn't let MJ take over games in college and made him play within the team system. As a result, much of MJ's potential was hidden in college, and nobody thought of him as the guy who'd be the consensus GOAT by the time he retired. Durant, meanwhile, went to Texas, a solid but not elite basketball program and more known for its football program. As a result, his coach unleashed him his one season there, and we were able to fully see the potential of a player who was a future MVP and scoring champ. We knew who KD was in 2007 in a way we didn't with MJ in 1984.

2. The NBA scrapping the illegal defense rules and allowing zone D in 2001 reduced the importance of the center. Based on this timeline, a dominant center was a bigger deal in 1984 than 2007. Though 6 years later, that decades long culture was still largely present in the NBA, as @Big Poppa Puck alluded to in his reply to you. It took the Warriors getting ahead of everyone in the 3 point revolution for this obsession with centers to finally subside from NBA culture.

3. The Blazers needed a center more in 1984 than 2007. Walton had left in the late 70's and the Blazers hadn't had a viable center in the roughtly 5 seasons since. Plus they had drafted Clyde Drexler the season before, and he was expected to be a similar player to MJ (going back to point #1). Meanwhile, in 2007, they already had Zach Randolph, and had drafted Lamarcus Aldridge the previous year. I know they are both power forwards, but part of the effect of allowing zone D was blurring the distinction between the PF and C positions, so starting both of them might've worked. Aldridge did play center later in his career with the Spurs, though I do think he was more of a natural PF.

Funny how none of these 3 reasons had to do with Bowie and Oden themselves. This was actually the one area the Bowie pick was worse. He had missed 2 full seasons in college, so his injury issues were well known when he got drafted. He also wasn't as highly touted as Oden coming out.

As a UNLV fan I was shocked to see Bennett go first overall. Good college player but thought he should have stayed another year.

Off the top of my head I was never more dumbfounded by a #1 overall pick.

 

[Terry Yake]

2013 draft was terrible and there really wasn't even a clear cut top 10 leading up to it

i remember noel was being talked about as the consensus #1 pick for a while but he injured his ACL. shabazz muhammad, alex len, oladipo, and ben mclemore were all talked about as potential #1 picks. even noel was still being discussed as the potential #! pick, but never bennett. most mock drafts had him in the 5-10 range. cavs took a huge gamble and lost

 

[HoseEmDown]

Fran Vasquez - 11th overall in 05 by Orlando. The guy never played an NBA game. And it wasn't like he got injured and couldn't play anymore. The dude never crossed the pond. The selections behind him aren't anything special but at least they played. If you're picking 25 or later then you can take a chance on a guy you can stash overseas in hopes they come across but not at 11.

 

[Neutrinos]

Fran Vasquez - 11th overall in 05 by Orlando. The guy never played an NBA game. And it wasn't like he got injured and couldn't play anymore. The dude never crossed the pond. The selections behind him aren't anything special but at least they played. If you're picking 25 or later then you can take a chance on a guy you can stash overseas in hopes they come across but not at 11.

Yeah, but how do you pass on a prospect like this when they're available at #11?

He looked like a future NBA superstar!

 

[The Burdened]

i will always defend the Greg Oden pick. best that never was. he would've been something special if not for injury. he was cant miss at the time and anything saying otherwise is revisionist history.

 

[TorontoTrades]

Bobby Knight called Portland and yelled at them that they weren't going to take MJ at 2. They replied they needed a center. He responded then take Jordan and play him at Center!


They were given the warning and still took Bowie...

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Bowie, Oden and Milicic. All other choices are wrong.

Why is Bennett #1? That draft year was shit.

 

[Terry Yake]

Bowie, Oden and Milicic. All other choices are wrong.

Why is Bennett #1? That draft year was shit.

probably because no one had bennett going #1 despite the draft being so weak. every mock draft had him at 5-10

guys like bowie, oden, darko were all seen as potential top picks prior to being drafted but that wasn't the case for bennett

 

[Unholy Diver]

Bowie
Oden
Darko
Bennett
Hasheem Thabeet

 

[Neutrinos]

Bowie
Oden
Darko
Bennett
Hasheem Thabeet

That is such a good call!

So good, in fact, I'd forgotten all about him

Taken 2nd overall when Harden, Curry, DeRozan were on the board

 

[GKJ]

Hasheem Thabeet, now that’s a blast from the past.

 

[MVP of West Hollywd]

Thabeet was one of the worst picks I've seen from someone who was following the draft closely at the time. He wasn't really that highly rated as a prospect, plus they already knew Marc Gasol was good. I think some of the other guys like Harden and Rubio had refused to work out for Memphis or something so the owner just stepped in and forced them to take Thabeet. It also ended up extremely bad considering multiple MVPs went behind him. Flynn in the same draft over Curry when they already had Rubio is one of the worst picks. I mean Flynn and Rubio weren't going to be able to play together even if they were both good while Rubio and Curry was doable. Rubio was expected to go 2nd most of the year so you can't blame them for taking him over Curry.

Milicic was a horrible pick as a raw 7 footer that was barely getting playing time in Europe, but due to groupthink at the time virtually everyone agreed with.

Bowie was about drafting for need as they didn't want Jordan and Drexler together, similar to why Phoenix didn't take Doncic when they had Booker. They took the wrong guy, if they took Barkley instead they might have won at least one ring.

Bennett was rated one of the worst drafts of the modern era at the time and nobody knew who to take #1, with the superstar being taken 15th in Giannis. So while it was a horrible pick it's harder to blame them. I actually saw Bennett play at UNLV and he sucked in person. The guy came out and did jack shyt for the first 8 minutes of the game until he sat down, no points, no rebounds. He hit a few midrange jumpers in the 2nd half. That's about it. The other big white guy on the other team looked better and ended up being above average Euroleague player I believe so having a better pro basketball career than Bennett. I always wondered if you caught other good prospects on the wrong night you would have the same experience, or if he just always looked like that minus hitting a few more of his shots and the Cavs scouts were fools.

 

[Voight]

Thabeet was one of the worst picks I've seen from someone who was following the draft closely at the time. He wasn't really that highly rated as a prospect, plus they already knew Marc Gasol was good. I think some of the other guys like Harden and Rubio had refused to work out for Memphis or something so the owner just stepped in and forced them to take Thabeet. It also ended up extremely bad considering multiple MVPs went behind him. Flynn in the same draft over Curry when they already had Rubio is one of the worst picks. I mean Flynn and Rubio weren't going to be able to play together even if they were both good while Rubio and Curry was doable. Rubio was expected to go 2nd most of the year so you can't blame them for taking him over Curry.

Milicic was a horrible pick as a raw 7 footer that was barely getting playing time in Europe, but due to groupthink at the time virtually everyone agreed with.

Bowie was about drafting for need as they didn't want Jordan and Drexler together, similar to why Phoenix didn't take Doncic when they had Booker. They took the wrong guy, if they took Barkley instead they might have won at least one ring.

Bennett was rated one of the worst drafts of the modern era at the time and nobody knew who to take #1, with the superstar being taken 15th in Giannis. So while it was a horrible pick it's harder to blame them. I actually saw Bennett play at UNLV and he sucked in person. The guy came out and did jack shyt for the first 8 minutes of the game until he sat down, no points, no rebounds. He hit a few midrange jumpers in the 2nd half. That's about it. The other big white guy on the other team looked better and ended up being above average Euroleague player I believe so having a better pro basketball career than Bennett. I always wondered if you caught other good prospects on the wrong night you would have the same experience, or if he just always looked like that minus hitting a few more of his shots and the Cavs scouts were fools.

Going to a major school like UConn and having Calhoun as coach probably helped Thabeet a lot as well.

2013 draft was terrible and there really wasn't even a clear cut top 10 leading up to it

i remember noel was being talked about as the consensus #1 pick for a while but he injured his ACL. shabazz muhammad, alex len, oladipo, and ben mclemore were all talked about as potential #1 picks. even noel was still being discussed as the potential #! pick, but never bennett. most mock drafts had him in the 5-10 range. cavs took a huge gamble and lost

In a way they won, they were able to package him with Wiggins for Love & make Bron come back. At the time, it had only been a year post draft so you could sell someone on him reaching his potential, whatever they thought it was.

IIRC he was overweight as well. Was known for frequent late night pizza runs at UNLV and generally did not work out or take care of his body as much as he should have.

 

[Voight]

That is such a good call!

So good, in fact, I'd forgotten all about him

Taken 2nd overall when Harden, Curry, DeRozan were on the board

T-Wolves passed on Curry twice, and to make it worse, picked a PG with both picks.... back to back

 

[JackSlater]

i will always defend the Greg Oden pick. best that never was. he would've been something special if not for injury. he was cant miss at the time and anything saying otherwise is revisionist history.

The problem was that Oden's injury problems were very predictable, while Durant looked incredible. Healthy Oden would have been an all star in the NBA, though never as good as Durant became. That would be a fine pick. Just watching Oden run up and down the floor in the NCAA plus the rumours (which turned out to be true) about his knees should have been enough to drop him behind Durant.

 

[LightningStorm]

The point I made upthread about the Blazers not needing a center as much in 2007 as they did in 1984 due to having a frontcourt of Lamarcus Aldridge and Zach Randolph reminded me of something I, as a Sonics fan at the time in their final days, was thinking as they had the #2 pick.

When both NW teams were picking with the top 2 picks, my immediate thought was Durant fit perfectly in Portland, while Oden fit perfectly in Seattle, the opposite locations where they ended up. I've already mentioned how the Blazers had the frontcourt and how KD would've made for a great perimeter duo with Brandon Roy. Also, since Roy's career ended prematurely due to his bad knees, KD could've definitely mitigated this loss. On the other hand, the Sonics 2 best players at the time were Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, both known for their great shooting. Oden would've fit in perfectly with that team as an imposing center.

As a result of where they each got drafted, their teams each had to trade established players to make room for them. Randolph got traded to the Knicks on draft day. Meanwhile, the Sonics would trade Allen to the Celtics that day for their #5 overall pick, who they used to select Jeff Green. Lewis would later sign an offer sheet with the Magic, and Seattle would negotiate a sign and trade with Orlando. If Oden goes to Seattle, they definitely keep Allen and Lewis instead of completely moving on from that era.

And for those of you who are superstitious, perhaps Oden going to Seattle means he doesn't become the latest example of the horrid Blazers center curse.