Worst draft picks of the last decade

[djohn2oo8]

10. Charlie Villanueva, #7 pick, Toronto Raptors,2005- It was evident early that Charlie V. wasn’t a fit in Toronto, so much so that they traded him for T.J. Ford a year later. Smart move by the Raptors as his game is as maddening as any player in recent memory. He has all the tools and all the ability, except for that pesky desire thing – something a scout should have seen from him in college.

Player the Raptors could have taken – Andrew Bynum
http://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/190px-Yi_Jianlian_Wizards_21-e1340314831734.jpghttp://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/bucks60.jpg9. Yi Jianlian, #6 pick, Milwaukee Bucks, 2007 – Yi made it pretty clear through his agent that he wanted to play in a big city, yet that didn’t stop Bucks GM Larry Harris from trying to create Yi-sanity in Wisconsin of all places. Yi frowned upon hearing his name called. “We look forward to a successful relationship for many years to come,” owner Herb Kohl said. That relationship lasted an entire year, then the Bucks shipped Yi to the swamp for Richard Jefferson.
Player the Bucks could have taken – Joakim Noah
http://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/cavs60.jpghttp://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/DaJuanWagner-e1340315283759.jpg8. DaJuan Wagner, #6 pick, Cleveland Cavs, 2002- If the Cavs picked Amar’e Stoudemire here instead of Wagner, maybe they don’t get the #1 pick the next year and select LeBron James. Maybe. What if they did select Amar’e and he didn’t play much, then he gets paired with James in 2003? James has his second star and is probably still in Cleveland. A stretch? Fair. But Wagner was still a rotten selection starting just 28 games into his brief 4-year NBA career.

Player the Cavs could have taken- Amar’e Stoudemire
http://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/287px-FranVazquez-e1340315482305.jpghttp://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/magic60.jpg7. Fran Vazquez #11 pick, Orlando Magic, 2005 - Just 4 slots after Charlie V., the Magic decided to draft the relative unknown Spanish big man. Truth be told the 2005 draft was pretty sparse of talent, but you’d think that a player taken #11 would eventually play for your franchise, if not somewhere in the NBA. I mean, they can’t even trade the guy. Who knows Magic fans, maybe this will be your year. (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/2005-orlando-lottery-pick-fran-vasquez-might-finally-184008687.html)

Player Magic could have taken – Danny Granger
http://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/sweetney-e1340315760264.jpghttp://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/knicks60.jpg6. Mike Sweetney, #9 pick, New York Knicks, 2003- Still reeling from the post-Ewing era, the Knicks need a post presence and thought Sweetney was a poor man’s Elton Brand, with a feathery touch and strong body on the block. They got sucked into the mystique of great Georgetown big men. Instead of becoming a poor man’s Brand, Sweetney pounded heavily on sweets and literally ate himself out of the league.
Player Knicks could have taken – David West
http://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/220px-Adam_Morrison_Zvezda-e1340315978309-150x150.jpghttp://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/bobcats60.jpg5. Adam Morrison, #3 pick, Charlotte Bobcats, 2006- People may think that Morrison should go higher on this list, but I’ll defend the selection by saying it was hard to pass on co-National College Player of the Year. That said, the results speak for themselves. One of Michael Jordan’s biggest fiascos, though some claim Bernie Bickerstaff made the choice.
Players the Bobcats could have taken – Brandon Roy, Tyrus Thomas, Rudy Gay
http://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/220px-Joe_Alexander-e1340316277448-120x150.jpghttp://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/bucks60.jpg4. Joe Alexander, #8 pick, Milwaukee Bucks, 2008 - Here are the Bucks again taking another forward who didn’t pan out. This one was baffling to me as I heard the Knicks absolutely raved about his workout. A freak athlete with size and a nice shooting touch, Alexander immediately fell out of favor with Scott Skiles and eventually dropped out of the league faster than you can say “cheesehead.”
Players the Bucks could have taken – Brook Lopez, Jason Thompson
http://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/220px-Greg_Oden-e1340316555130-130x150.jpghttp://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/blazers60.jpg3. Greg Oden, #1 pick, Portland Trail Blazers, 2007 – I was at the draft lottery and Oden, after one year at Ohio State, was being called the next franchise big man. Portland just couldn’t pass on him, Kevin Durant or no Durant. No one in the room would have passed on Oden with a gun to their head. It’s a bad pick because Oden has had a myriad of injuries and Durant is Durant, but it isn’t the worst either.
Player the Blazers could have taken – Kevin Durant
http://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/220px-Darko_Milicic_cropped-e1340316734357-130x150.jpghttp://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/knicks60.jpg2. Darko Milicic, #2 pick, Detroit Pistons, 2003- The top of the 2003 draft was amazing in terms of talent — with this exception. I spoke to Darko in Knicks’ training camp a few years ago and even he was surprised that he went that high. He knew he needed time to develop, but he never did on Detroit’s bench. During his time with the Knicks, he would eat cheeseburgers during Mike D’Antoni’s pre-game talks.
Players the Pistons could have taken – Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade
http://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/220px-Hasheem_Thabeet_cropped-e1340316960328-117x150.jpghttp://www.sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/grizzlies60.jpg1. Hasheem Thabeet, #2 pick, Memphis Grizzlies, 2009- You could make a case that based on who Detroit passed on, Darko should be number one, but I’m going Thabeet. I never thought this guy was an NBA player. He’s “played” on 3 teams in 3 years and has shown nothing. It will be interesting to see if Thabeet will ever develop into a starting NBA center and remove himself from these type of lists. So far, it doesn’t look that way.
Players the Grizzlies could have taken – Ricky Rubio, James Harden, Tyreke Evans

http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2012/06/21/the-10-worst-draft-picks-of-the-last-10-years/

[Venti Quattro]

Luke Walton and Brian Cook were drafted in the same year, and now both are of no use on and off the court. At least Kareem Rush has a singing career.

[JoeTait75]

I would have put Luke Jackson on this list instead of DaJuan Wagner in terms of Cavalier draft picks, tbh. Wagner might or might not have been any good but he never really had a chance to show it because of serious health problems. Luke Jackson was just a stiff. And missing that pick helped pave the way for LeBron's departure.

[Latarian Milton]

the last decade refers to the years from 2002 to 2011 imho, but the list still holds little credit as it ingored the WORST #1 draft of all time in nba history. oden also turned out to be a waste of the #1 pick but at least portland did realize he was done and waived him before he could get a lucrative extension, hence he's not at all that shitty like that other #1 draft who had haunted his team for almost a decade

[rayjayjohnson]

tabeet over harden was straight up retarded, but i guess at the time the Grizz figured they didn't need another wing

[weebo]

To be fair to Portland, when Oden came out everyone and their mother raved about him being the next great defensive big man. Of course Portland should have done their due diligence about his overall health but you can't really blame them for buying into the hype.
It's easy to say now that Durant would have been the obvious pick, but at that time people weren't as high on Durant as they are now. He was to thin, no body strength, couldn't bench 185 lbs, he would get pushed around, and the list goes on and on.

[rayjayjohnson]

To be fair to Portland, when Oden came out everyone and their mother raved about him being the next great defensive big man. Of course Portland should have done their due diligence about his overall health but you can't really blame them for buying into the hype.
It's easy to say now that Durant would have been the obvious pick, but at that time people weren't as high on Durant as they are now. He was to thin, no body strength, couldn't bench 185 lbs, he would get pushed around, and the list goes on and on.

that's a really good point. Hindsight is 20/20 etc.

I still think durant is too small, needs to bulk up.

[rayjayjohnson]

the cavs one is a good hypothetical. prime amare might have kept him in cleveland.

[Clipper Nation]

Yaroslav Korolev was a pretty underrated horrible draft choice tbh, especially since Dumbleavy promised to draft him and refused to break that promise even when Danny Granger fell to us.....

[JoeTait75]

the cavs one is a good hypothetical. prime amare might have kept him in cleveland.

On the other hand had the Cavaliers drafted Amare they might not have had a shot at LeBron in the first place.

[Frenzy]

Lol oden

[racm]

Tbh if Oden's knees weren't what Portland were looking for he'd really be dominant.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Dejuan.Wagner had major health issues iirc, but yeah I remember the hype for him and just rolling my eyes.

They called him a stronger Allen Iverson. What they didn't say was he was slow

[jeebus]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/dc-sports-bog/StandingArt/sweetneylarge0212d.JPG?uuid=Rd3l5GInEeG-tOfrQxm4vA

:lol Sweetney

[LkrFan]

^Damn! :rollin

[weebo]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/dc-sports-bog/StandingArt/sweetneylarge0212d.JPG?uuid=Rd3l5GInEeG-tOfrQxm4vA

:lol Sweetney

more like the guy that ate Sweetney

:lmao

[100%duncan]

No one could beat Darko at being the worst tbh. They passed up on all 4 great players.

[Clipper Nation]

Still to this day I think Darko would have been pretty damn good if he didn't go to a Larry Brown-coached team tbh... Brown had no patience to develop him and basically ruined his confidence for the rest of his career.....

[Sportcamper]

I was going to add Brian Cook...Wasn't he a 1st round draft choice?
Not one of the Lakers better picks...:lol

[Clipper Nation]

Brian Cook is definitely the worst player I've ever seen on a basketball court tbh.... still can't believe we managed to get Nick Young for his useless ass at the deadline.....

[Spurs da champs]

On the other hand had the Cavaliers drafted Amare they might not have had a shot at LeBron in the first place.

Amare needs to be in the right situation to make an impact I doubt he'd make much of difference into the Cavalier's record, they'd still have more then a great chance of landing LeBron. Amare & LeBron tho would've been scary.

[da_suns_fan]

To be fair to Portland, when Oden came out everyone and their mother raved about him being the next great defensive big man. Of course Portland should have done their due diligence about his overall health but you can't really blame them for buying into the hype.
It's easy to say now that Durant would have been the obvious pick, but at that time people weren't as high on Durant as they are now. He was to thin, no body strength, couldn't bench 185 lbs, he would get pushed around, and the list goes on and on.


True, but I still consider it the biggest "Do over". If theres one team that wishes they could re-do a particular draft, its Portland and their decision they made that year.

[TampaDude]

LOL Thabeet...the guy that Mr. no ACL DeJuan Blair shat all over in college hoops. :lol

[baseline bum]

Still to this day I think Darko would have been pretty damn good if he didn't go to a Larry Brown-coached team tbh... Brown had no patience to develop him and basically ruined his confidence for the rest of his career.....

I don't think this guy was ever going to get it tbh

woWqSmichOo

[mike20spurs]

I absolutely hate when people call players busts when they're still playing in the league. Greg Oden hasn't had a season where he's played the majority of the games yet! Will he ever have one? I don't know. He could though. He could come back in a year and be the dominant big man people thought he could be. Same for Thabeet. He could bulk up and develop a post game if he works hard enough. I mean, these guys have been in the league for only 5 or less seasons. Give them a chance.

[Spurs da champs]

I absolutely hate when people call players busts when they're still playing in the league. Greg Oden hasn't had a season where he's played the majority of the games yet! Will he ever have one? I don't know. He could though. He could come back in a year and be the dominant big man people thought he could be. Same for Thabeet. He could bulk up and develop a post game if he works hard enough. I mean, these guys have been in the league for only 5 or less seasons. Give them a chance.

Oden was necessarily a bust but just one of the worst mistakes of all time. :lol

[nowhereman523]

Nikoloz Tskitishvili. By far.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/tskitni01.html

[Mr Bones]

There's a big difference between a bad pick and an unlucky pick. Oden was not a bad pick. He dominated in college, and even in a loss in the NCAA championship game to Florida he showed that he was clearly better than Al Horford and Joakim Noah.

No one can say with absolute certainty that Anthony Davis will stay healthy over the next five years... but he's still a great choice as the #1 pick.

[TheCultOfPersonality]

Hasheem Thabeet is the worst and it's not even close. Thabeet may go down as the worst draft pick of all time. Thabeet is so horrible that he makes Darko look like Olajuwon in his prime. No basketball skills nor a basketball IQ, horrible on both offense and defense, horrible rebounder for a 7'3 guy (i mean even Shawn Marion outhustles him for rebounds). When it comes to toughness even Pau Gasol is tougher than Thabeet. The guy was not worth a lottery pick let alone the #2 pick.

[weebo]

Hasheem Thabeet is the worst and it's not even close. Thabeet may go down as the worst draft pick of all time. Thabeet is so horrible that he makes Darko look like Olajuwon in his prime. No basketball skills nor a basketball IQ, horrible on both offense and defense, horrible rebounder for a 7'3 guy (i mean even Shawn Marion outhustles him for rebounds). When it comes to toughness even Pau Gasol is tougher than Thabeet. The guy not worth a lottery pick let alone the #2 pick.


Red flags should've been raised as soon as midget-ass DBlair was going all world on his ass in college.

[Jt.ONE]

Nikoloz Tskitishvili. By far.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/tskitni01.html

to be fair, the '02 draft was weak as fuck

[TheCultOfPersonality]

Red flags should've been raised as soon as midget-ass DBlair was going all world on his ass in college.

I know, but this is the Grizzlies we're talking about. The Grizzlies are not good when it comes to the draft. In a deep 2009 draft the Grizzlies got Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll and Sam Young. Pretty much 3 wasted draft picks in a deep draft. The Grizzlies last good draft pick was when they drafted Kevin Love in 2008. :lol

[Arcadian]

The worst was definitely Oden. Why? Because it was obvious that he was injury-prone and limited offensively, while it was duly obvious that Durant would be a superstar. And yet, Portland relied on the principle that "big men are always preferable."

Well...not always. Trust me, I love post players as much as the next guy, but when it's Greg Oden vs. Kevin Durant, you fucking pick Durant.

[Bill_Brasky]

^retarded post. When healthy, Oden had all the makings of the next great C in this league. He had no injury history. It was simply shitty Portland luck.

[Samuel Eto'o]

The worst was definitely Oden. Why? Because it was obvious that he was injury-prone and limited offensively, while it was duly obvious that Durant would be a superstar. And yet, Portland relied on the principle that "big men are always preferable."

Well...not always. Trust me, I love post players as much as the next guy, but when it's Greg Oden vs. Kevin Durant, you fucking pick Durant.

I heard the local Academy is having a special on UT t-shits today, buy one get one free!

[racm]

I know, but this is the Grizzlies we're talking about. The Grizzlies are not good when it comes to the draft. In a deep 2009 draft the Grizzlies got Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll and Sam Young. Pretty much 3 wasted draft picks in a deep draft. The Grizzlies last good draft pick was when they drafted Kevin Love in 2008. :lol

And promptly traded him for OJ Mayo. a Love/Marc Gasol frontline would grab 40 rebounds a night and drop 35 a night

:lmao Grizzlies FO


^retarded post. When healthy, Oden had all the makings of the next great C in this league. He had no injury history. It was simply shitty Portland luck.

Bill Walton's Curse tbh

[m>s]

The worst was definitely Oden. Why? Because it was obvious that he was injury-prone and limited offensively, while it was duly obvious that Durant would be a superstar. And yet, Portland relied on the principle that "big men are always preferable."

Well...not always. Trust me, I love post players as much as the next guy, but when it's Greg Oden vs. Kevin Durant, you fucking pick Durant.

nigga didn't get paid one penny more outside of the rookie contract signed in 07. nigga is still young and he's a solid player if he can stay healthy, i'd rather give him a bit more time and check how things turn out

and yes, they wasted a #1 pick, they believed too hard in the "big man" principle and it's obvious they didn't learn from Rockets' 02 draft failure tbh, but at least they didn't get themselves in a similar situation where the rockets were struggling for nearly a decade.

[racm]

Didn't Oden go to Germany lately?

[freetiago]

oden wasnt a bust
he was injured
even though he only played 20 mins a game he could easily have been in the all star game this year with those numbers
if he was healthy while doing it and had experience in the league he probably would have been the 4 time DPOY instead of Dwight

[100%duncan]

I absolutely hate when people call players busts when they're still playing in the league. Greg Oden hasn't had a season where he's played the majority of the games yet! Will he ever have one? I don't know. He could though. He could come back in a year and be the dominant big man people thought he could be. Same for Thabeet. He could bulk up and develop a post game if he works hard enough. I mean, these guys have been in the league for only 5 or less seasons. Give them a chance.

:lmao Post of the Day :lmao

[100%duncan]

The worst was definitely Oden. Why? Because it was obvious that he was injury-prone and limited offensively, while it was duly obvious that Durant would be a superstar. And yet, Portland relied on the principle that "big men are always preferable."

Well...not always. Trust me, I love post players as much as the next guy, but when it's Greg Oden vs. Kevin Durant, you fucking pick Durant.

:lmao Fucker wouldve chosen Oden too.

[flipspursfan]

The worst was definitely Oden. Why? Because it was obvious that he was injury-prone and limited offensively, while it was duly obvious that Durant would be a superstar. And yet, Portland relied on the principle that "big men are always preferable."

Well...not always. Trust me, I love post players as much as the next guy, but when it's Greg Oden vs. Kevin Durant, you fucking pick Durant.

When you had a guy who was considered to be the next David Robinson in Oden compared to a then called weak, lanky, soft, and no muscle Durant even though he had a nice jumpshot. You take the guy compared to D-Rob. It's scary to think that if Portland ever took care of their players' health, Oden-Aldridge-Roy would've killed the league.

[racm]

When you had a guy who was considered to be the next David Robinson in Oden compared to a then called weak, lanky, soft, and no muscle Durant even though he had a nice jumpshot. You take the guy compared to D-Rob. It's scary to think that if Portland ever took care of their players' health, Oden-Aldridge-Roy would've killed the league.

Wasn't Roy one of those players who could dominate a game when healthy (Game 4 against Dallas was but a shadow)?

Exchange Phoenix and Portland's medical staff and Portland would have had at least two WCF appearances and Steve Nash and Grant Hill would be out of the league by now.

[flipspursfan]

Wasn't Roy one of those players who could dominate a game when healthy (Game 4 against Dallas was but a shadow)?

Exchange Phoenix and Portland's medical staff and Portland would have had at least two WCF appearances and Steve Nash and Grant Hill would be out of the league by now.

Yes. Exactly what I meant. When you had Oden, Roy and Aldridge + players like Nic Batum, Wes Matthews and Andre Miller, your team's formidable as fuck.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

To be fair to Portland, when Oden came out everyone and their mother raved about him being the next great defensive big man. Of course Portland should have done their due diligence about his overall health but you can't really blame them for buying into the hype.
It's easy to say now that Durant would have been the obvious pick, but at that time people weren't as high on Durant as they are now. He was to thin, no body strength, couldn't bench 185 lbs, he would get pushed around, and the list goes on and on.
I agree with this. Oden having unpredictable health issues doesn't make it a "bad draft pick"

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

Adam Morrison should be higher on this list.

Horrible strength/body type, zero athleticism, health issue, dominated a weak conference, etc. He was a bust anyone coulda seen from a mile away. Michael Jordan legitimately thought he was the next Larry Bird.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

I heard the local Academy is having a special on UT t-shits today, buy one get one free!
:lmao

[racm]

Adam Morrison should be higher on this list.

Horrible strength/body type, zero athleticism, health issue, dominated a weak conference, etc. He was a bust anyone coulda seen from a mile away. Michael Jordan legitimately thought he was the next Larry Bird.

Not to mention looking like a total hobo.

Plus Michael Jordan was the guy who drafted Kwame freaking Brown. I dunno how much Rich Cho being a competent guy compensates for MJ making dumb FO decisions tbh