The Top 10 Lottery Busts Of The Last Decade

[Culburn369]

I just think that had Darko been put in a better situation where he played 25 to 30 minutes per game over his rookie season on a team with the second round pick level of play he could have been pretty good. I mean that Pistons team was good without Darko, had Darko been that new face of the franchise, or that second option, he might have done very good.

Yeah, buts it's no good if you can't make the culprits (Brown & Dumars) eat the sandwich.

[Dex]

What was Detroit thinking? I guess they can't complain with how 2004 ended up but damn...to let the likes of Wade, Anthony, and Bosh get away...

[ambchang]

Back then, the reason for not drafting Anthony was because they already had a young SF in Prince, and that Anthony and his ball dominant ways does not fit into their system.

Wade was being overlooked back then, and wasn't expected to make as big a splash as he did, and Bosh was viewed as a no-defense tweener.

Darko was chosen because he was viewed as someone with ridiculous potential, and would fit into the Pistons' gameplan well with his moves in the paint area, his passing abilities, and his quickness. None of those materialized.

[DPG21920]

Bosh, Melo and Wade were not questioned enough to justify the pick imo. There are always doubts, but it would usually be reflected in a drop in draft rank and those players went 3,4,5.

[exstatic]

Kwame Brown is probably the biggest NBA draft bust ever.

[Mel_13]

From Bill Simmons' 2003 draft blog:

Both of us agree that the Pistons will rue the day they passed on Carmelo Anthony. What's the difference between Darko at age 18 and Raef LaFrentz at age 18? Anything? Aren't they the same guy? And you're passing on the guy who just posted the best college season in 15 years? Really?

http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/...simmons/030627