"Busts" Who Bounced Back

[Cal And Jay]

I have a feeling D'Lo may redeem his bust status this season on that contract...

[adubmac]

Darrell Walker, who coached Tracy McGrady during his rookie year, told him he would be out of the league in three years. Walker would actually be the one out of the NBA by 2000 and had to coach in the CBA and WNBA afterwards.

[The_Hater]

Who are some of the most prevalent example of players who fans, media, and perhaps people in the league wrote off as busts that redeemed themselves?

I think some people pegged Embiid as a Greg Oden case.

There's Oladipo

Marcus Camby struggled in Toronto and was buried on the Knicks' bench for a while

Marvin Williams

D'Angelo Russell (whose season, forgive me, I think was generally wayyy overrated)

Chauncey Billups is a noted late bloomer


Who else?

Billups is undoubtedly one of the best examples ever.

Chris Mullin and Tracy Mcgrady had very slow starts to HOF careers. Shaun Livingston finding a career after he had all those early career injures might fit.

[HotelVitale]

James Johnson is the 1st name that comes to mind. He was a bust on his rookie deal and then flopped around for a bit, and in his 6th-7th year he finally became a solid and pretty valuable rotation guy.

Some guys like Mudiay, Len, and Vonleh have a chance--I'd consider them full busts since they got dumped for nothing from the team that drafted them and right now could be had for almost nothing.

[HotelVitale]

Chauncey Billups is a noted late bloomer

Billups is undoubtedly one of the best examples ever. Chris Mullin and Tracy Mcgrady had very slow starts to HOF careers. Shaun Livingston finding a career after he had all those early career injures might fit.

Maybe semantics here but those guys seem more like 'late bloomers' but not busts. Billups was alright his 1st 3-4 seasons, he wasn't living up to potential but was totally playable and still got traded for value between a few teams; he missed a year due to injury but then came back and was an okay starter from MIN and then got a decent contract from DET and that was that. And McGrady just didn't get PT, everyone knew he was a potential monster by his second season at the latest. (My best friend was living in TOR then and was telling me he was the next Jordan like two months into his rookie season.)

[The_Hater]

Chauncey Billups is a noted late bloomer

Billups is undoubtedly one of the best examples ever. Chris Mullin and Tracy Mcgrady had very slow starts to HOF careers. Shaun Livingston finding a career after he had all those early career injures might fit.

Maybe semantics here but those guys seem more like 'late bloomers' but not busts. Billups was alright his 1st 3-4 seasons, he wasn't living up to potential but was totally playable and still got traded for value between a few teams; he missed a year due to injury but then came back and was an okay starter from MIN and then got a decent contract from DET and that was that. And McGrady just didn't get PT, everyone knew he was a potential monster by his second season at the latest. (My best friend was living in TOR then and was telling me he was the next Jordan like two months into his rookie season.)

Based on the question being asked in this thread, I’m not sure there is a difference between a bust turning himself around or a late bloomer. Just depends on how you want to look at them.

I saw TMac’s 1st two and a half years first hand and he was terrible. Worse than that, he didn’t play hard or even look like he wanted to be on the floor. This wasn’t a playing time issue, if anything he was getting minutes he didn’t really earn or deserve.

It wasn’t until the 2nd half of his 3rd season that the light bulb suddenly went off. He jumped several levels that half season and it was clear he was going to be a star.

[Scalabrine]

Jermaine O'Neal?

Everyone thought he was good, he just couldn't crack the rotation on a team overloaded with big men. He was also a high school to pros guy.

The Blazers got a 31 year old Dale "Double Double" Davis for him. Who was a solid role player but his best years were behind him.

People thought he had potential but "everyone" didn't think he was good. He averaged 11/10 per 36 his last year in Portland. JO definitely belongs in this discussion and I think a lot of the guys in the discussion have one thing in common...they just got a chance or a change in scenery.

[Goudelock]

Russell was never a bust.

He was never a bust, but that sure didn't stop people from calling him one during his time in LA.

[dhsilv2]

Jermaine O'Neal?

Everyone thought he was good, he just couldn't crack the rotation on a team overloaded with big men. He was also a high school to pros guy.

The Blazers got a 31 year old Dale "Double Double" Davis for him. Who was a solid role player but his best years were behind him.

People thought he had potential but "everyone" didn't think he was good. He averaged 11/10 per 36 his last year in Portland. JO definitely belongs in this discussion and I think a lot of the guys in the discussion have one thing in common...they just got a chance or a change in scenery.

One would have had to think he were a bust and given the context of the 17th pick in the draft I don't see it. I mean sure nobody thought he'd be THAT good down the road, but we're talking the 17th pick here. A loaded draft for SURE but he was drafted after Lorenzen Write, Samaki Walker, Todd Fuller, and Tony Delk (mr 50 point game!). John Wallace and Walter McCarthy were taken right after him.

There was plenty of talk that he was a good player in practice on those blazers teams. But I guess it comes with how good you thought he was. I certainly didn't expect him to be a star going into that draft. Did anyone?

[jason bourne]

Lonzo Ball. Pops and the Spurs didn't want him. Lakers traded his arse.

Malik Beasley. Now, he can shoot the 3-pt shot.

Markelle Fultz. LOL.

Do you understand what the phrase "bounced back" means or

I think Lonzo and Beasley have bounced back from past seasons last season. The Pels took Lonzo in trade and more fans think he'll do better with them this year. Had he stayed with the Lakers, then he would've worked with head asst. coach, Jason Kidd, who is his comparison.

Beasley showed he could be the Nugz best 3-pt shooter in terms of accuracy last season. He definitely bounced back from poor showings his first two years.

I threw Fultz in there b/c his fans still think he can bounce back despite all his troubles. His "bounce back" is still in their minds. Fultz hasn't shown it, but he's on a new team now, the Magic, and he is coming back from another injury. This one is the best -- thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). It cannot be traced by MRI, but it's the primary cause of his shooting woes.

[Forte IV]

Lonzo Ball. Pops and the Spurs didn't want him. Lakers traded his arse.

Malik Beasley. Now, he can shoot the 3-pt shot.

Markelle Fultz. LOL.

Do you understand what the phrase "bounced back" means or

I think Lonzo and Beasley have bounced back from past seasons last season. The Pels took Lonzo in trade and more fans think he'll do better with them this year. Had he stayed with the Lakers, then he would've worked with head asst. coach, Jason Kidd, who is his comparison.

Beasley showed he could be the Nugz best 3-pt shooter in terms of accuracy last season. He definitely bounced back from poor showings his first two years.

I threw Fultz in there b/c his fans still think he can bounce back despite all his troubles. His "bounce back" is still in their minds. Fultz hasn't shown it, but he's on a new team now, the Magic, and he is coming back from another injury. This one is the best -- thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). It cannot be traced by MRI, but it's the primary cause of his shooting woes.

Beasley has a ton. I agree with you there. But you were 1/3. Fultz and Ball haven't bounced back, yet. Here's hoping they do.

[LofJ]

James Johnson is the 1st name that comes to mind. He was a bust on his rookie deal and then flopped around for a bit, and in his 6th-7th year he finally became a solid and pretty valuable rotation guy.

Some guys like Mudiay, Len, and Vonleh have a chance--I'd consider them full busts since they got dumped for nothing from the team that drafted them and right now could be had for almost nothing.

Alex Len can actually play. He was good for the Hawks last year and he can stretch the floor now. I won't be surprised if he gets a decent contract next summer.

[Catchall]

Not sure if people remember, but Gary Payton was a disappointment his first couple of years in the league, then he started figuring things out.

OP mentioned Chauncey Billups, who was a journeyman.

D'Angelo Russell has been mentioned.

Sometimes the guards take a while to figure out how to play at the NBA level.

I think JJ Redick took a few years to find his sea legs too. Not sure he was ever really considered a bust though.

[BudenFerry]

Alex Len will bust out of the bust-zone this season. It's amazing what a competent pg and coach can do for a big.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using RealGM mobile app

[random_hero891]

JJ Redick.

winner

[Snakebites]

JJ Reddick is definitely the textbook example.

If you had told me after his first couple of years in the league that he'd still be around, relevant, and a starter in 2019 I wouldn't have believed it at all.

Chauncey is another great one, of course.

There are also guys who were disappointing based on initial expectations who found clear niches. Tyson Chandler comes to mind. Initially people thought he could be another Duncan or KG when he was drafted. That obviously never happened, and he was kind of a lost player with the Bulls, but he eventually became a guy who was a contender for DPOY multiple seasons in a row.

Conley Jr. was never a bust per se, but I definitely think people were disappointed and dismissive of him in his first couple of seasons, thinking that his production in the 2010-2012 time frame was his ceiling when clearly it wasn't.

[foreigngrammar]

⇑

Not ever a major bust, but J.J. Reddick was a lottery pick who averaged 6, 4.5, and 6 points his first three years in the league. His FG and 3P% were lower in this third year vs. his rookie year and he was 24 at the time. His fourth year was a big improvement though and he has developed into a solid, productive player into his mid 30s.

True. But the guy's name is still JJ Redick

[HotelVitale]

Based on the question being asked in this thread, I’m not sure there is a difference between a bust turning himself around or a late bloomer. Just depends on how you want to look at them. I saw TMac’s 1st two and a half years first hand and he was terrible. Worse than that, he didn’t play hard or even look like he wanted to be on the floor. This wasn’t a playing time issue, if anything he was getting minutes he didn’t really earn or deserve. It wasn’t until the 2nd half of his 3rd season that the light bulb suddenly went off. He jumped several levels that half season and it was clear he was going to be a star.

To me for the term to have meaning is means someone whom teams genuinely thought just wasn't going to make it and cut bait on. Hence a waste of a pick for those teams (or for all the teams under their rook deals)-- total busts that got nothing (or almost) back for the team. It's not that they 'looked like busts' or fans were upset they didn't come on strong right away--they were actually a waste for that team, a bust.

But TMac wouldn't apply either way, he was like 20-21 when he showed big promise so I don't think there's any way he could qualify as a full bust. A HS player breaking out in his 3rd year seems pretty normal.

[SmokeyPaw]

Lowry was on his 3rd team in toronto before he pulled it together.

[Danny1616]

I think Jermaine O'neal barely played his first 4 years in Portland and then became an all-star once he went to Indiana.