Article about David Khan

[Calinks]

Hear its a good read. Here is an excerpt from the beginning.

https://www.si.com/nba/2023/06/21/david-kahn-paris-basketball-daily-cover

In June 2009, two days before the NBA draft, Warriors general manager Larry Riley received a tip from what he calls “a pretty reliable source” that, if true, would be huge for his team.

At the time, the Warriors were mired in a dark era. Other than a blip in 2007, Golden State had missed the postseason every year for the better part of two decades. “I felt like we had to hit on that draft pick,” says Riley.
...
“With the fifth pick in the 2009 NBA draft,” David Stern said, “the Minnesota Timberwolves select . . . Ricky Rubio.”

In Oakland, Riley and his team exhaled. They’d also liked Rubio, but not as much as Curry. It was the next pick, No. 6, that mattered.

Then the phone rang. It was the league office, alerting the Warriors they were on the clock.

The Timberwolves are picking Jonny Flynn.

[Baseline81]

Why do you, as a Wolves fan, need to bring this up? We constantly hear this from other fanbases.

[Calinks]

Why do you, as a Wolves fan, need to bring this up? We constantly hear this from other fanbases.

It's about what Khan is doing now and provides some interesting info on the past. Don't have to read or discuss it if you don't want to. Just though some would be interested.

[shrink]

Thanks for the link Calinks. I wouldn’t have found this article if you hadn’t posted.

I read the intro, and I am very skeptical that Warriors GM Larry Reilly actually had Steph at #2 on his draft board. Blake Griffin, Tyreke Evans, Rubio (mocked at #3), and Harden all looked like much better prospects than Curry at the time. Remember, Steph was under-sized, there were questions whether he could play PG, he hadn’t played much competition at Davidson, and he also had recurring injuries. And if Reilly really had Steph at #2, why was he so worried about what MIN would do at #5 and #6?

For MIN, there was an additional reason to not draft Steph - he had let it be known he didn’t want to come here.

Now, I give Curry tremendous credit for overcoming all the naysayers, and becoming a revolutionary player that truly changed the game. And Kahn deserves a ton of blame for making such a big reach for Jonny Flynn at #6 .. it was as bad a pick as MEM made at #2 with Hasheem Thabeet. But when we look back in hindsight at that draft, it is often seen as a “no-brainer” to pick Steph at #6, and I don’t think that’s true. If he had picked DeRozan, who went #9, I don’t think people would still focus so much on this draft, 15 years later.

[TimberKat]

Thanks for the link Calinks. I wouldn’t have found this article if you hadn’t posted.

I read the intro, and I am very skeptical that Warriors GM Larry Reilly actually had Steph at #2 on his draft board. Blake Griffin, Tyreke Evans, Rubio (mocked at #3), and Harden all looked like much better prospects than Curry at the time. Remember, Steph was under-sized, there were questions whether he could play PG, he hadn’t played much competition at Davidson, and he also had recurring injuries. And if Reilly really had Steph at #2, why was he so worried about what MIN would do at #5 and #6?

For MIN, there was an additional reason to not draft Steph - he had let it be known he didn’t want to come here.

Now, I give Curry tremendous credit for overcoming all the naysayers, and becoming a revolutionary player that truly changed the game. And Kahn deserves a ton of blame for making such a big reach for Jonny Flynn at #6 .. it was as bad a pick as MEM made at #2 with Hasheem Thabeet. But when we look back in hindsight at that draft, it is often seen as a “no-brainer” to pick Steph at #6, and I don’t think that’s true. If he had picked DeRozan, who went #9, I don’t think people would still focus so much on this draft, 15 years later.

Yes, no one has Curry at 2. That was a draft full of PGs. We pick 3 and kept 2. Arguably the two worse ones. Warriors got lucky just like the Klay draft. No one had Klay at #2 either. It's was all about Williams as the number 2.

[frankenwolf]

Thanks for the link Calinks. I wouldn’t have found this article if you hadn’t posted.

I read the intro, and I am very skeptical that Warriors GM Larry Reilly actually had Steph at #2 on his draft board. Blake Griffin, Tyreke Evans, Rubio (mocked at #3), and Harden all looked like much better prospects than Curry at the time. Remember, Steph was under-sized, there were questions whether he could play PG, he hadn’t played much competition at Davidson, and he also had recurring injuries. And if Reilly really had Steph at #2, why was he so worried about what MIN would do at #5 and #6?

For MIN, there was an additional reason to not draft Steph - he had let it be known he didn’t want to come here.

Now, I give Curry tremendous credit for overcoming all the naysayers, and becoming a revolutionary player that truly changed the game. And Kahn deserves a ton of blame for making such a big reach for Jonny Flynn at #6 .. it was as bad a pick as MEM made at #2 with Hasheem Thabeet. But when we look back in hindsight at that draft, it is often seen as a “no-brainer” to pick Steph at #6, and I don’t think that’s true. If he had picked DeRozan, who went #9, I don’t think people would still focus so much on this draft, 15 years later.

There was some question about how well Steph would play, but almost everyone I talked with prior to and going into that draft said the perfect picks for MN would be RR & Curry, in that order. RR would stay in Spain for a couple of years and Curry could get used to the triangle. If you could have seen my face when it was announced that the Wolves had picked Flynn. . I had to go online to see who he was.

[wolves_89]

David Kahn's draft history has got to rate as one of the worst in NBA history. Over 3 years he went into the drafts with 8 total 1st round picks that resulted in 1 starting caliber player (Rubio). Here's a summary of the amazing awfulness that was Kahn.

2009
#5 Ricky Rubio
#6 Johnny Flynn (bust, in the running for worst pick in NBA history)
#28 Wayne Ellington (never really contributed to the Wolves)

2010
#4 Wes Johnson (bust, passed on Cousins)
#16 Luke Babbitt (traded for Martell Webster who already had a back injury)
#23 Trevor Booker (traded for #30 Lazar Hayward (bust) and a 2nd)

2011
#2 Derrick Williams (bust)
#20 Donatas Motiejūnas (traded in what became a series of 5 trades that seemed to have the sole purpose of generating cash)

[A1FromDay1]

David Kahn's draft history has got to rate as one of the worst in NBA history. Over 3 years he went into the drafts with 8 total 1st round picks that resulted in 1 starting caliber player (Rubio). Here's a summary of the amazing awfulness that was Kahn.

2009
#5 Ricky Rubio
#6 Johnny Flynn (bust, in the running for worst pick in NBA history)
#28 Wayne Ellington (never really contributed to the Wolves)

2010
#4 Wes Johnson (bust, passed on Cousins)
#16 Luke Babbitt (traded for Martell Webster who already had a back injury)
#23 Trevor Booker (traded for #30 Lazar Hayward (bust) and a 2nd)

2011
#2 Derrick Williams (bust)
#20 Donatas Motiejūnas (traded in what became a series of 5 trades that seemed to have the sole purpose of generating cash)

I remember Derrick Williams being a consensus #2 pick with some mock drafts even having him at #1. I don't see how that's on Kahn. Same with Cousins, nobody had him over Wes, and I don't regret it one bit.

[wolves_89]

David Kahn's draft history has got to rate as one of the worst in NBA history. Over 3 years he went into the drafts with 8 total 1st round picks that resulted in 1 starting caliber player (Rubio). Here's a summary of the amazing awfulness that was Kahn.

2009
#5 Ricky Rubio
#6 Johnny Flynn (bust, in the running for worst pick in NBA history)
#28 Wayne Ellington (never really contributed to the Wolves)

2010
#4 Wes Johnson (bust, passed on Cousins)
#16 Luke Babbitt (traded for Martell Webster who already had a back injury)
#23 Trevor Booker (traded for #30 Lazar Hayward (bust) and a 2nd)

2011
#2 Derrick Williams (bust)
#20 Donatas Motiejūnas (traded in what became a series of 5 trades that seemed to have the sole purpose of generating cash)

I remember Derrick Williams being a consensus #2 pick with some mock drafts even having him at #1. I don't see how that's on Kahn. Same with Cousins, nobody had him over Wes, and I don't regret it one bit.

There was a lot of talk about trading the #2 pick in 2011 since Williams played the same position as Kevin Love. Unfortunately, Kahn kept the pick and as you said Williams pretty much had to be drafted at that point. I don't blame Kahn for drafting Williams, I blame him for not making a deal when it was obviously a poor fit.

As far as Cousins, I remember the general consensus as having him clearly above Johnson in the draft rankings (every big board still available for 2010 that I could find shows that).

[TimberKat]

David Kahn's draft history has got to rate as one of the worst in NBA history. Over 3 years he went into the drafts with 8 total 1st round picks that resulted in 1 starting caliber player (Rubio). Here's a summary of the amazing awfulness that was Kahn.

2009
#5 Ricky Rubio
#6 Johnny Flynn (bust, in the running for worst pick in NBA history)
#28 Wayne Ellington (never really contributed to the Wolves)

2010
#4 Wes Johnson (bust, passed on Cousins)
#16 Luke Babbitt (traded for Martell Webster who already had a back injury)
#23 Trevor Booker (traded for #30 Lazar Hayward (bust) and a 2nd)

2011
#2 Derrick Williams (bust)
#20 Donatas Motiejūnas (traded in what became a series of 5 trades that seemed to have the sole purpose of generating cash)

I remember Derrick Williams being a consensus #2 pick with some mock drafts even having him at #1. I don't see how that's on Kahn. Same with Cousins, nobody had him over Wes, and I don't regret it one bit.

There was a lot of talk about trading the #2 pick in 2011 since Williams played the same position as Kevin Love. Unfortunately, Kahn kept the pick and as you said Williams pretty much had to be drafted at that point. I don't blame Kahn for drafting Williams, I blame him for not making a deal when it was obviously a poor fit.

As far as Cousins, I remember the general consensus as having him clearly above Johnson in the draft rankings (every big board still available for 2010 that I could find shows that).

Yes, He got unlucky with Williams and should had traded the pick. Cousins was ahead but we also had Beasley on the team at that time. Drafting Cousins would be an absolute nightmare for the locker room.

[wolves_89]

I remember Derrick Williams being a consensus #2 pick with some mock drafts even having him at #1. I don't see how that's on Kahn. Same with Cousins, nobody had him over Wes, and I don't regret it one bit.

There was a lot of talk about trading the #2 pick in 2011 since Williams played the same position as Kevin Love. Unfortunately, Kahn kept the pick and as you said Williams pretty much had to be drafted at that point. I don't blame Kahn for drafting Williams, I blame him for not making a deal when it was obviously a poor fit.

As far as Cousins, I remember the general consensus as having him clearly above Johnson in the draft rankings (every big board still available for 2010 that I could find shows that).

Yes, He got unlucky with Williams and should had traded the pick. Cousins was ahead but we also had Beasley on the team at that time. Drafting Cousins would be an absolute nightmare for the locker room.

That was the trade-off with Cousins. It was obvious that he was a far superior player to Johnson, but you'd have to live with his instabilities.

[Baseline81]

David Kahn's draft history has got to rate as one of the worst in NBA history. Over 3 years he went into the drafts with 8 total 1st round picks that resulted in 1 starting caliber player (Rubio). Here's a summary of the amazing awfulness that was Kahn.

2009
#5 Ricky Rubio
#6 Johnny Flynn (bust, in the running for worst pick in NBA history)
#28 Wayne Ellington (never really contributed to the Wolves)

2010
#4 Wes Johnson (bust, passed on Cousins)
#16 Luke Babbitt (traded for Martell Webster who already had a back injury)
#23 Trevor Booker (traded for #30 Lazar Hayward (bust) and a 2nd)

2011
#2 Derrick Williams (bust)
#20 Donatas Motiejūnas (traded in what became a series of 5 trades that seemed to have the sole purpose of generating cash)

I remember Derrick Williams being a consensus #2 pick with some mock drafts even having him at #1. I don't see how that's on Kahn. Same with Cousins, nobody had him over Wes, and I don't regret it one bit.

[Calinks]

David Kahn's draft history has got to rate as one of the worst in NBA history. Over 3 years he went into the drafts with 8 total 1st round picks that resulted in 1 starting caliber player (Rubio). Here's a summary of the amazing awfulness that was Kahn.

2009
#5 Ricky Rubio
#6 Johnny Flynn (bust, in the running for worst pick in NBA history)
#28 Wayne Ellington (never really contributed to the Wolves)

2010
#4 Wes Johnson (bust, passed on Cousins)
#16 Luke Babbitt (traded for Martell Webster who already had a back injury)
#23 Trevor Booker (traded for #30 Lazar Hayward (bust) and a 2nd)

2011
#2 Derrick Williams (bust)
#20 Donatas Motiejūnas (traded in what became a series of 5 trades that seemed to have the sole purpose of generating cash)

Those smiles were off the charts though.

[A1FromDay1]

David Kahn's draft history has got to rate as one of the worst in NBA history. Over 3 years he went into the drafts with 8 total 1st round picks that resulted in 1 starting caliber player (Rubio). Here's a summary of the amazing awfulness that was Kahn.

2009
#5 Ricky Rubio
#6 Johnny Flynn (bust, in the running for worst pick in NBA history)
#28 Wayne Ellington (never really contributed to the Wolves)

2010
#4 Wes Johnson (bust, passed on Cousins)
#16 Luke Babbitt (traded for Martell Webster who already had a back injury)
#23 Trevor Booker (traded for #30 Lazar Hayward (bust) and a 2nd)

2011
#2 Derrick Williams (bust)
#20 Donatas Motiejūnas (traded in what became a series of 5 trades that seemed to have the sole purpose of generating cash)

I remember Derrick Williams being a consensus #2 pick with some mock drafts even having him at #1. I don't see how that's on Kahn. Same with Cousins, nobody had him over Wes, and I don't regret it one bit.

Never under any circumstance would I want such a character on my team, no matter how talented. I do understand other points of view though.