Draft Busts and Flame-outs

ardthomp · Post #1 » by **ardthomp** » Fri May 21, 2010 8:45 pm

Sitting at work and we are talking about some of the worst draft picks and guys that blew up for a season or two and then fizzled out. Who are your faves? I won't post my faves right now, because I want to see who you guys come up with.

MNPacersfan · Post #2 » by **MNPacersfan** » Fri May 21, 2010 10:12 pm

I want to work where you do. All I get here is Go-phers!

I only have time for top #1 busts:
Olowokandi
Kwame Brown

Post #3 » by **mizzoupacers** » Fri May 21, 2010 10:38 pm

Darko, God bless him!

I hate to think where the Pistons would be now if they had drafted Wade, Bosh, or Carmelo instead.

Post #4 » by **Scoot McGroot** » Fri May 21, 2010 11:57 pm

ardthomp wrote:Sitting at work and we are talking about some of the worst draft picks and guys that blew up for a season or two and then fizzled out. Who are your faves? I won't post my faves right now, because I want to see who you guys come up with.

Looking for someone who showed promise and then disappeared? I'm thinking Dajuan Wagner for the Cavs and Mike Sweetney for the Knicks. Those two stand out to me. Channing Frye was much the same and then came back on to be a useful player in Phoenix, but Knicks fans were heralding him as their savior at the big spots.

ardthomp · Post #5 » by **ardthomp** » Sat May 22, 2010 1:13 am

MNPacersfan wrote:I want to work where you do. All I get here is Go-phers!

I only have time for top #1 busts:
Olowokandi
Kwame Brown

I do web design for my brother's company, so it is pretty laid back.

I did have Dejuan Wagner on my list. I also had Doug Smith on there.

A guy that flamed out - Harold Miner.

Post #6 » by **Miller4ever** » Sat May 22, 2010 7:37 am

I want to give some recognition to Clark Kellogg. Not exactly a bust or a flame-out, but a rather unfortunate example of injuries in the NBA.

Post #7 » by **Gremz** » Sat May 22, 2010 9:45 am

Sam Bowie.

MNPacersfan · Post #8 » by **MNPacersfan** » Mon May 24, 2010 5:46 pm

If you're throwing injuries into it, Danny Manning has to make the list. Penny Hardaway?

chrbal · Post #9 » by **chrbal** » Mon May 24, 2010 6:52 pm

Rafael Araujo. When drafting for need blows up horribly in your face.

Araujo spent two years at junior college in Arizona before heading north to play for BYU in Provo, Utah. He did play well in a mid-major conference and was awarded Co-Player of the Year in the Mountain West as a senior in 2004.

He was a near 7-footer who not only couldn’t block shots – as evident by his .10 career blocks per game average – he simply couldn’t finish around the basket. Looking back on it six years later, it’s easy to jump on Toronto’s terrible move now, but honestly, even in 2004 it was hard to find reasons to agree with the decision.

I remember watching Araujo play at Air Force when I was a junior in high school, the same year that he was eventually drafted. All I remember was how ridiculously surprised I was that Araujo was even on the NBA’s draft radar and that Toronto must have accidentally selected the wrong Rafael Araujo; the guy was being pushed around by 6-5 and 6-6 Air Force cadets.

Thats from a Dime Magazine "Where are they now?" article. I honestly remember reading up before that draft and figuring that he would go late 1st/early 2nd round. THEN he goes 8th overall.

The last thing I will leave you with, I could go on and on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH0TLeAn ... r_embedded

MNPacersfan · Post #10 » by **MNPacersfan** » Mon May 24, 2010 7:24 pm

On the TOR tip. Is it too early to call Charlie Villanueva a flameout?

chrbal · Post #11 » by **chrbal** » Mon May 24, 2010 7:47 pm

Hes been bad, but I wouldn't call him a flameout.

PDX MM · Post #12 » by **PDX MM** » Mon May 24, 2010 11:53 pm

Len Bias has to be mentioned. Least the other guys listed so far in this thread played in the NBA

Post #13 » by **PR07** » Tue May 25, 2010 2:03 am

Villanueva can score; he just doesn't do much else to help a team win.

ardthomp · Post #14 » by **ardthomp** » Wed May 26, 2010 8:56 pm

I can still remember the draft night trade sending Dirk Nowitzki to Dallas from Milwaukee for Robert "Tractor" Traylor....ooops!

chrbal · Post #15 » by **chrbal** » Wed May 26, 2010 11:05 pm

It was the rights to Dirk and Pat Garrity for Tractor Traylor. Which was good and all. They then trade his rights with Bubba Wells, Martin Muursepp, and a 1st round pick for Steve Nash. 1st part I knew, Nash trade I forgot.

So Traylor, Wells, Muursepp, Garrity, a 1st round pick (which became Shawn Marion) for Steve Nash and Dirk. I would do that trade over and over.

Post #16 » by **Miller4ever** » Thu May 27, 2010 6:29 am

That's three MVP's between those two guys.

jowglenn · Post #17 » by **jowglenn** » Thu May 27, 2010 6:45 pm

Adam Morrison!

What a classic bust. Great scorer in a weak conference in college, kind of crazy, obviously not NBA body, had diabetes, huge hype and hipster cred. MJ drafted him, tried to play him a lot, guy got totally outmatched and ended up traded moments later. will likely never play another nba game.