2009 Draft... how does someone like Steph Curry fall to #7, and be the 3rd PG selected in his draft class??

[dc]

Back then small schools weren't really taken seriously in terms of top flight prospects. Like if you had a kid at a big name school, and a kid at the small mid major conference school, GMs were going with the big name school 10 outta 10.

I'm a big time Syracuse fan, or atleast I was I should say, and no way on earth should Flynn had been taken top 10. Dude was barely 6ft tall

FWIW, Boheim's system at Syracuse hasn't proven to be program that translates well to the NBA game. There's a decently long list of NBA prospects out of Syracuse who were disappointing or just flat out busts.

[Wolveswin]

Good point. That completely slipped my mind.

Again, to me, biggest mistake they made was not trading 5+6 for 2 or 3 and drafting Harden (and probably getting some other asset back too because 5+6 seems like more value than 2 or 3 back then). They still had 18 (and 28) to draft a pure PG. which BTW:
17= Holiday
18= Lawson
19= Teague

The rumor was Kahn would only do 5+18 for #2.

That would've made a lot more sense. Love, Harden & Lawson would've been a good core to build around.

09/10 they finished 2nd worst team in NBA. 10 games worse than 3rd worst team. Who knows the ripple affects if they draft Harden #2 and Lawson #18…but they are most definitely drafting top 10 in 2010 draft. Probably still top 5. Rookies Harden+Lawson are no doubt better than just rookie Flynn, just not sure how much two rookies change a 15 win team.

Which if Wolves draft 8th’ish in 2010 draft, puts them in need of a SF with Aminu, Hayward, and Paul George all available perfectly then.

Jefferson
Love
George or Hayward or Aminu
Harden
Lawson

[chyau.00]

I would have taken Rubio over Curry back then too. Flynn on the other hand... I never understood why he was ranked so high.

FWIW, just before I watched Rubio's highlights for the very first time, I was anticipating some kind of Nash/Kidd/Stockton hybrid from all the type I was hearing. Then I watched the highlights and my thinking was I just saw a pretty solid PG making pretty solid PG plays, but hardly anything spectacular. I was underwhelmed.

But he did kill it vs. Team USA in 2008. Probably one of those guys who was just a better FIBA player than NBA player.

nash/kidd/stockton + good defense.
think of the player he could have become if he was in an org more known for their player development. from a potential perspective he was definitely up there.

[Wolveswin]

I would have taken Rubio over Curry back then too. Flynn on the other hand... I never understood why he was ranked so high.

FWIW, just before I watched Rubio's highlights for the very first time, I was anticipating some kind of Nash/Kidd/Stockton hybrid from all the type I was hearing. Then I watched the highlights and my thinking was I just saw a pretty solid PG making pretty solid PG plays, but hardly anything spectacular. I was underwhelmed.

But he did kill it vs. Team USA in 2008. Probably one of those guys who was just a better FIBA player than NBA player.

nash/kidd/stockton + good defense.
think of the player he could have become if he was in an org more known for their player development. from a potential perspective he was definitely up there.

Rubio was the perfect pick at 5. Kahn made 100% the right choice. Rubio was speculated to go in top 3. Plus the best part, for a tanking team, he would be stashed for 2 years, coming over with 4 full rookie contract years, joining a team tanking for 2 more years.

Imagine if Curry was Kahn’s 100% correct 2nd pick of the night. Curry was not going to be an instant, turn around an organization, player. He needed to develop his NBA game, had ankle problems, and the league wasn’t fit perfectly for his style (first few years). Kahn would have made two perfect selections and also not ruined the tank.

[dc]

Curry fit the league just fine from the get go. He scored 17 ppg on 46% FG and 43% from 3 in his rookie year. He actually had somewhat of a case for ROY as the 2nd half of his season was actually better than Tyreke’s. He was better and even more efficient his 2nd year.

He played 80 games his rookie year and 74 his 2nd year. His 3rd season was actually the only year that nagging ankle problems cost him a lot of games. It was the lockout shortened 66 game season where Curry only played 26 games.

He went on to play 78 games in each of the next 2 years. Curry’s ankle problems were very real, but it was only 1 season where it cost him major time.

[Antinomy]

The real mistake from this draft was the Wizards trading the #5 pick for Randy Foye and Mike Miller.

Teams use to give out 1st round picks like candy back then.

Things started to change after both of Billy King’s debacles.

[tsherkin]

It took him 9 seasons to get to 16 ppg. It took him 7 seasons to get to 30 minutes per game. This is because when he came into the league, there was still the archaic thinking that the 3 point shot wasn't sustainable, and he was too small, too bad at defense, etc. If he came into the league now off the college career he had, he'd be a higher draft pick and be getting 30 minutes right from the start. Just a totally different career.

He still wouldn't be a great rebounder or a dynamic playmaker. Odds of him being a perennial All-Star as like a 17/3/3 guy are pretty low. He was a 16/2/2 guy during his 8-year prime. That's not likely to have changed. Teams don't generally want players that staggeringly one-dimensional who also aren't very good on defense. He was also only a +0.8 OBPM guy for 07-12 because he's so limited in his overall contributions.

JJ wouldn't have been a lot better had he been drafted 5-10 years later. His skill set was what it was, and he contributed as he could. Dude was cracking 5.5 3PA36 prior to 2013. He was averaging 14.7 PTS36. 15-19, he was posting about 20/2.5/2.5 PER36, which really isn't stunning and further reinforces his limited ability to contribute beyond his shooting. He isn't Steph. He isn't Dame. He isn't any of those guys who were actually worth significant volume due to their overall offensive profile. He was a roleplayer, and used appropriately.

[LewisnotMiller]

At the time the Wolves got killed for their draft, but it wasn't because they didn't take Steph. It was just that they took 2 point guards who didn't really compliment each other with consecutive picks (Rubio and Flynn).

Rubio had a large buyout price for his euro contract - people knew that he wasn't coming to Minny for a couple of years, I'm not sure Minny had any expectation they'd play together, Kahn got Flynn to fill the time til Rubio got there or as a plan B if Rubio didn't pan out. Anyhow, I agree with the criticism, it was real short sighted drafting from Minny...the kind of thinking that keeps you a lottery team for a decade..

Good points re buyout. Even in the moment, though, the Flynn pick seemed a reach. And if you're grabbing a second point guard, surely the tweener guard who can shoot is a better bet? At least there is a chance he and Rubio could compliment each other?

But in no way would I have picked Curry before Rubio. Curry was great to watch, coming off what seemed like a dozen screens every play to shoot. But Rubio was playing amazing ball against men at 17 in an era that emphasised passing over shooting for point guards.

[Alonzo_Morning]

He was lucky he went to the Warriors they were the best situation for him by a landslide, while he is a great player people always fail to realize for a player to really maximize their potential and win championships it takes the right team. If he went to the Wolves he might have never been able to achieve the same things, or if he did it would have been later in his career.

That's a good point. I think Curry would have realised his potential wherever he went, but probably would have asked for a trade from Minny

[PharmD]

The famous lack of athleticism that we see so often when good players drop.

Pretty much everyone knew at the time that the Wolves were being stupid by taking Flynn though. That one was mind boggling.

It's not like Rubio is athletic.

He was pretty athletic before his injuries. ACL in his rookie year (2012), complete grade 3 tear of his ankle ligament in 2014 that then healed incorrectly and needed to be surgically repaired. Each of those injuries was a 2-year thing and career altering. This is what he looked like as a rookie

Watch on YouTube

He led the NBA in steal percentage 3x as a young player because he's always been super smart and when he could actually move he was a terror on defense.

[Wolveswin]

Curry fit the league just fine from the get go. He scored 17 ppg on 46% FG and 43% from 3 in his rookie year. He actually had somewhat of a case for ROY as the 2nd half of his season was actually better than Tyreke’s. He was better and even more efficient his 2nd year.

He played 80 games his rookie year and 74 his 2nd year. His 3rd season was actually the only year that nagging ankle problems cost him a lot of games. It was the lockout shortened 66 game season where Curry only played 26 games.

He went on to play 78 games in each of the next 2 years. Curry’s ankle problems were very real, but it was only 1 season where it cost him major time.

But not on the Wolves. A 15 win Wolves team, with Rubio (their #5 pick) still in Europe. Flynn his rookie year avg 13.5 PPG on 42% FG 36% from 3. Point is Wolves could of have developing Curry (not Flynn) who was yet to be the “Curry” we know now, not ruining the tank, while Rubio still in Europe.

[Wolveswin]

The real mistake from this draft was the Wizards trading the #5 pick for Randy Foye and Mike Miller.

Teams use to give out 1st round picks like candy back then.

Things started to change after both of Billy King’s debacles.

That was the crazy thing about Kahn’s tenure in MN. Kahn’s name now is like a swear word. He is instant shake your head, pump your fist at the sky, yelling “Kahnnnnn.” But the 2009 draft was his first. And heading into it, he turned Foye and Miller into #5 overall. Then his very next move was 100% correct and ballsy drafting Rubio at #5. If he would have just made one more bold move drafting Curry he would have pulled off a legendary first draft.

[warriorschamps]

Yeah if I was a GM I would have taken this guy number 1.

Watch on YouTube

[Clyde Frazier]

I would have taken Rubio over Curry back then too. Flynn on the other hand... I never understood why he was ranked so high.

Flynn had an incredible college run so the hype was there, but sometimes you can just tell with a gut feeling. Maybe he sticks around in the league for 10 years without the injuries but it still made no sense to take him over curry on draft night.

[Mr.Raptorsingh]

Gotdang Jonny Flynn