Check this out: 1999 Draft Review

[tmtcsc]

Hahaha..that pick of Manu helped us win 3 more chips..

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft99/features/01332714.html

[FromWayDowntown]

It's remarkable to see how little the ESPN commentators knew about Euro talent. They had no clue about Kirilenko, either.

[hsxvvd]

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol


They ended up by getting rebounder Antonio Davis in exchange for prep phenom Jonathan Bender -- that's not enough for the No. 5 pick.

and the Spurs get the same grade for drafting Manu as the Knicks get for drafting Frederic Weis.

Great link, Thanks!

[timvp]

It's remarkable to see how little the ESPN commentators knew about Euro talent. They had no clue about Kirilenko, either.



Russia isn't in Europe :madrun :madrun

[Ripper]

...and Italian guard Emanuel Ginobilli.

[FromWayDowntown]

Quote:Originally Posted by ploto

Russia isn't in Europe :madrun :madrun

Eurasian talent?

[ShoogarBear]

Good thing we live in 2007 where people are so much smarter.

[Steve-O-Matic]

At least they got the Mavericks' grade right.

[michaelwcho]

Russia IS in Europe, at least the important parts:

"European Russia refers to the western areas of Russia that lie within Europe. Traditionally the border of Europe is the Ural mountains, but this definition of the geography of Europe is a subject of debate[citation needed].

Most of Russia's territory is in Asia, although the majority of population lives in European part. These areas include Moscow and St. Petersburg, the two largest cities of Russia..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Russia


It's funny to see so many of those big draft picks that never really made much of a career. Wally was thought to be Minnesota's savior, for example...

[TMTTRIO]

Interesting to see that over half of those players in the second round are not even playing in the NBA anymore while Manu's doing pretty good. Even Elson was drafted before Manu was :lol

[timvp]

Of second rounders in the 1999 draft, only Michael Ruffin, Calvin Booth, Giricek, Elson and Ginobili are still in the league. The Spurs went 2-for-2 in the second round, while the rest of the NBA went a combined 3-for-26.

Ah ... the glory days when the Spurs were one of the only teams scouting international talent.

[Slinkyman]

Shawn Marion will be a rarity in Phoenix -- a guy who actually plays defense. Of course, his outside shot is a bit suspect, and that might make him a difficult fit in the Suns' perimeter-based offense.

:lol the suns didn't play D even in 99?

[gospursgooo]

We'll admit we don't know a whole lot about these guys because the boss won't spring for scouting trips to Europe.

So why did you give it a "D"? Just say you didn't know how to rate because you didn't have enough info!

[whottt]

And I remember...Spursfans gave this draft a resounding A+ and had total faith in the Spurs FO.

[FromWayDowntown]

I will admit that I vividly remember wondering who in the hell this GEE-NO-BEELEE guy was.

[Darkwaters]

I will admit that I vividly remember wondering who in the hell this GEE-NO-BEELEE guy was.

Ahhh...the pre-YouTube days.

[Holmes_Fans]

Here is a look back at the 1998 draft, was written a few weeks ago

http://www.nbaloud.com/nba-draft-grades-1998/

[vander]

It's remarkable to see how little the ESPN commentators knew about Euro talent. They had no clue about Kirilenko, either.

so espn gets ragged on for not knowing about him but the other 31 nba teams don't?

espn covers the entire spectrum of sports, they have plenty other things on their palate that are more important than scouting foreign second round NBA prospects. and face it, Ginobili was lucky, if SA had actually known he would be this good, they wouldn't have waited till the end of round 2.

and now, 13 more foreign picks later, we still only have ginobili to show for it.


LUCK PEOPLE, LUCK is why the Spurs have 4 rings
stop over hyping our management and scouting
any other team that had duncan fall to them like we did, and Manu, would probably have won more than 4 rings by now.

[michaelwcho]

LUCK PEOPLE, LUCK is why the Spurs have 4 rings
stop over hyping our management and scouting
any other team that had duncan fall to them like we did, and Manu, would probably have won more than 4 rings by now.


Perhaps. But if these things are solely attributed to luck, then we wouldn't have anything to talk and obsess about. How fun would that be!?

[florige]

Here is a look back at the 1998 draft, was written a few weeks ago

http://www.nbaloud.com/nba-draft-grades-1998/


I knew for a fact that Toby Bailey out of UCLA was way overrated. I was shocked he got all that hype.

[polandprzem]

Russia ia a part of Poland

[efrem1]

Russia ia a part of Poland

Don't forget Germany. I pine for the days of Koenigsburg. :spin

Anyway, great foresight on the front office to go overseas so early.

[mardigan]

The T-Wolves got an A grade, with one of the worst drafts ever

[baseline bum]

Ahhh...the pre-YouTube days.

I don't think there was anything worth putting on YouTube at the time. :lol

Manu became a great player at Kinder Bologna, long after the Spurs picked him.

[Johnny RIngo]

:lol the suns didn't play D even in 99?

You gotta go further back than that. S0ns couldn't even play defense back in '93.

Jordan averaged 41 ppg in the Finals against 'em. The S0ns could have at least made it look respectable like all of MJ's other Finals opponents and kept him in the 31-33 ppg range.

The S0ns just don't get it. No Defense=No Championship

[bdictjames]

:lol

Wolves are the only team who got an A+, must be a pretty weak draft (with the exception of Manu).

[Spurminator]

2000 Grades: http://espn.go.com/nba/draft00/s/draftgrades.html
2001 Grades: http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2001/s/draftgrades.html
2002 Grades: http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/story?id=1399492
2003 Grades: http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/story?id=1573414

[mathbzh]

2001 Wizards - Kwame Brown

"Say whatever you want about the first high schooler ever taken this high, but Jordan got the chance to put his stamp on the franchise, and he did. Brown impressed everyone with his ability in recent workouts, becoming a consensus top choice. He's not just big, he can play the floor game and is a solid athlete. Is he ready to play 30 minutes a night right away? Not likely, since he's all of 18, but most observers agree he has a nice future."
:lmao

[manubili]

"italian guard"
:rolleyes

[Obstructed_View]

"italian guard"
:rolleyes
He played for Kinder Bologna in the Italian pro league when he was drafted, and he's Italian by ancestry. It's not like they said he was French.