Worst Draft Pick of the Last 20 Years?

[JB2]

Darko over Melo was the most flagrant at the time. Also, passing on Curry how was a machine in college was idiotic.

Bennett was the worst player but that draft was pretty much crap and they made a crappier pick.

Oden over KD was understandable at the time as were some of the other ones.

[packforfreedom]

Close between Rubio/Flynn over Curry and Darko over Anthony/Wade/Bosh.

Wolves had two picks and they drafted two PGs. Only problem was that none of those two picks were Curry. Since Curry was drafted, Warriors won 3 titles, and Wolve's made PO once as 8th seed.

Darko draft was pretty significant too. Detroit had a championship core/defense and they could extend their run with any of future HOFers. Instead, they drafted Darko and whole thing fall apart in just few years.

Well to be fair. Dell Curry told the Wolves, that his son doesn't want to play for them. Could've still picked him of course, but I think after the Marbury fiasco, the organization was still a bit cautious in that regard. So it's maybe somewhat understandable.

[NPZ]

Oden was the worst. Damaged goods. Known damaged goods. Discussed at length whether he was Bowie II if Porty took him. Same discussion took place until his first major injury. Sat out all of 2008. 1st game of 2008/9 season got injured. Darko being bad wasn't even as guaranteed as Oden being an injury bust waiting to happen. Not saying Darko was a good pick either, but it's a poll asking for one choice. Plus, Porty doing this after living thru Bowie is doubly mindnumbing.

[76ciology]

Flynn over Curry.

Curry at his prime was in the discussion for best player ever.

Curry is part of the team that was probably the best team ever.

The best player on a team that won 3 championships.

3 more and he will be this generation’s MJ.

[Slava]

Detroit could have won another title in the mid-00s if they just played it safe and picked anyone but Darko. The margins were especially so thin in 2005.

[leolozon]

It makes no sense that Darko is first ahead of Flynn.

1- Darko was going to get taken 2nd by most teams while Flynn was a reach over Curry.
2-Darko actually stuck in the league longer than Flynn
3- Curry is FAR better than Melo (he was going 2nd, not Wade)

Darko is just first because it’s been a longer running joke, but he logically shouldn’t.

As for Bennett, it was an atrocious draft anyway at the top, no one should care that much... the Cavs missed out on trading Oladipo instead of Bennett.

You’re using 100% hindsight logic, though.

The degree to which Curry ended up better than Melo/Wade doesn’t really factor much into this discussion.

Darko was a great prospect— so were Melo and Wade (especially Melo). Darko was also largely an unknown— we saw Melo— who played toe-to-toe with LeBron in AAU— lead Syracuse to an NCAA championship as a freshman. Wade was a monster at Marquette in the NCAA tournament as a sophomore. There were far surer things in that draft, and what those prospects were should’ve been VERY appealing to the Pistons, considering what they had at the time roster wise. They were a 50 win team that excelled at defense and needed a half court scorer. Who was available when they were picking?

Flynn wasn’t as big of a reach over Curry as you’re intimating. I worked in sales for GSW at the time, and met Flynn (great kid) when he visited. He was pretty universally acknowledged as a “5-10” guy in that draft, and Curry was not nearly the prospect that Melo (especially) or Wade were.

Well my first point answers the insight argument. What are people doing with Darko? My point was that whether you use insight or not, Flynn was a worst pick than Darko.

I don’t think that Flynn was a BIG reach over Curry, but Darko wasn’t a reach at all. Chad Ford did say recently in a podcast with Simmons that most teams would have taken him and Ford would have to. Everyone was convinced that he was a special talent, with enormous upside, at a time when centers were still what you wanted the most (to be fair he was a special talent, he just couldn’t pull it together).

Most people thought that the Wolves were taking Curry to pair with Rubio. It made so much more sense. You pick the best passer in the draft, then the best shooter.

[Winsome Gerbil]

Yeah why is Luka not on the list. Most scouted player of all time entering the draft, skillwise perfect for the way the NBA game develops and the guy goes #3

The Flynn pick was classic Kahn. It was a nobrainer to pick ONE of Rubio/Flynn and then you add the shooter Curry and you have your backcourt set for the future.

[PlatinumState]

Thabeet is the worst on that list, I mean my god career averages of 2.2 ppg and 2.7 rpg
At least Darko was serviceable sometimes, and so was Kwame.
To be real I think taking Bagley over Luka was idiotic even though Luka supposedly said he doesnt wanna go to Sacramento. He's a game changer

[Wallace_Wallace]

Anthony Bennett was like a WTF moment for me.

Most mock drafts had Thabeet and Darko at their respective draft positions, so picking them initially were not mistakes.

How does drafting those 2 were not mistakes? Because internet told they suppose to get drafted high, those teams have entire scouting and managing sectors to not mistake, I didnt know all their job was to look at draftexpress. And I know its snake eating its own tale, that interntet projects what teams already think, but yeah, those were still huge mistakes by every metric.

For example, in the Wiggins/Parker draft, every single mock draft had Wiggins/Parker. Embiid emerged a bit when he showcased his talents alongside Wiggins, but then once the injuries come out, he was quickly dismissed as a top 2 pick. We can't fault the Bucks for taking Parker because it was absolutely the right pick at the time.

Without knowing the future, can you tell me who will be the best player in this upcoming draft? Edwards, Ball, Wiseman, Toppin, or some random projected 2nd pick like Steven Enoch from Louisville?

[rtiff68]

Anthony Bennett was like a WTF moment for me.

Most mock drafts had Thabeet and Darko at their respective draft positions, so picking them initially were not mistakes.

How does drafting those 2 were not mistakes? Because internet told they suppose to get drafted high, those teams have entire scouting and managing sectors to not mistake, I didnt know all their job was to look at draftexpress. And I know its snake eating its own tale, that interntet projects what teams already think, but yeah, those were still huge mistakes by every metric.

For example, in the Wiggins/Parker draft, every single mock draft had Wiggins/Parker. Embiid emerged a bit when he showcased his talents alongside Wiggins, but then once the injuries come out, he was quickly dismissed as a top 2 pick. We can't fault the Bucks for taking Parker because it was absolutely the right pick at the time.

Without knowing the future, can you tell me who will be the best player in this upcoming draft? Edwards, Ball, Wiseman, Toppin, or some random projected 2nd pick like Steven Enoch from Louisville?

I said it earlier, and I’ll say it again: this upcoming draft reminds me a lot of 2013 (the Bennett year). I’m not really going to fault teams for missing this year, because this pool is weak in general, and nobody really stands out as being the best in class.

As you stated, Wiggins/Parker were clearly the consensus Tier 1 that year, and both of those guys were better prospects that Tier 1 this year, which probably consists of 5-7 guys.

[UcanUwill]

Anthony Bennett was like a WTF moment for me.

Most mock drafts had Thabeet and Darko at their respective draft positions, so picking them initially were not mistakes.

How does drafting those 2 were not mistakes? Because internet told they suppose to get drafted high, those teams have entire scouting and managing sectors to not mistake, I didnt know all their job was to look at draftexpress. And I know its snake eating its own tale, that interntet projects what teams already think, but yeah, those were still huge mistakes by every metric.

For example, in the Wiggins/Parker draft, every single mock draft had Wiggins/Parker. Embiid emerged a bit when he showcased his talents alongside Wiggins, but then once the injuries come out, he was quickly dismissed as a top 2 pick. We can't fault the Bucks for taking Parker because it was absolutely the right pick at the time.

Without knowing the future, can you tell me who will be the best player in this upcoming draft? Edwards, Ball, Wiseman, Toppin, or some random projected 2nd pick like Steven Enoch from Louisville?

Well, I cant, but that doesnt mean that those picks wont be mistakes.. They have people paid crazy money to project the right pick, if you draft a bust, it was a mistake, unless guy becomes a bust for different circumstances like freak injury or terrible environment, which is responsibility and mistake of a different sector by that point.

[Wallace_Wallace]

How does drafting those 2 were not mistakes? Because internet told they suppose to get drafted high, those teams have entire scouting and managing sectors to not mistake, I didnt know all their job was to look at draftexpress. And I know its snake eating its own tale, that interntet projects what teams already think, but yeah, those were still huge mistakes by every metric.

For example, in the Wiggins/Parker draft, every single mock draft had Wiggins/Parker. Embiid emerged a bit when he showcased his talents alongside Wiggins, but then once the injuries come out, he was quickly dismissed as a top 2 pick. We can't fault the Bucks for taking Parker because it was absolutely the right pick at the time.

Without knowing the future, can you tell me who will be the best player in this upcoming draft? Edwards, Ball, Wiseman, Toppin, or some random projected 2nd pick like Steven Enoch from Louisville?

Well, I cant, but that doesnt mean that those picks wont be mistakes.. They have people paid crazy money to project the right pick, if you draft a bust, it was a mistake, unless guy becomes a bust for different circumstances like freak injury or terrible environment, which is responsibility and mistake of a different sector by that point.

Yes, mock drafts are mostly projections, but teams bring multiple prospects around those projections for private workouts and interviews in order to make a decision. Those projections do hold a little bit of weight because if a team has the 10th pick, they're not going to invite someone who is a projected top 3 pick, because it would be waste of time for both parties. Teams could always look back and be like, oh yeah we could've drafted Paul George instead of Greg Monroe, Giannis Antetokounmpo instead of KCP, Kawhi Leonard instead of Brandon Knight, but a team can only do so much to predict a prospect's future.

A team drafts a player based on private workouts with the prospects around that team's respective picks (while also considering the position need). As long as teams do their best due diligence, I'm not going to fault them for drafting a role player and not a perennial all star.

[Wallace_Wallace]

How does drafting those 2 were not mistakes? Because internet told they suppose to get drafted high, those teams have entire scouting and managing sectors to not mistake, I didnt know all their job was to look at draftexpress. And I know its snake eating its own tale, that interntet projects what teams already think, but yeah, those were still huge mistakes by every metric.

For example, in the Wiggins/Parker draft, every single mock draft had Wiggins/Parker. Embiid emerged a bit when he showcased his talents alongside Wiggins, but then once the injuries come out, he was quickly dismissed as a top 2 pick. We can't fault the Bucks for taking Parker because it was absolutely the right pick at the time.

Without knowing the future, can you tell me who will be the best player in this upcoming draft? Edwards, Ball, Wiseman, Toppin, or some random projected 2nd pick like Steven Enoch from Louisville?

I said it earlier, and I’ll say it again: this upcoming draft reminds me a lot of 2013 (the Bennett year). I’m not really going to fault teams for missing this year, because this pool is weak in general, and nobody really stands out as being the best in class.

As you stated, Wiggins/Parker were clearly the consensus Tier 1 that year, and both of those guys were better prospects that Tier 1 this year, which probably consists of 5-7 guys.

Even if it was this past year when NOP drafted Zion Williamson. He was the clear no 1 pick, but if he kept having knee injuries and weight issues, are they going to be faulted for the pick? No, because it was the right thing to do at the time.

We all could have been rich and successful with hindsight. If people didn't buy houses in 2007 and invested all their savings in the Netflix/Amazon/etc tech stock, most of them would have been "millionaires that are responsible for ruining the US economy" by now.

[UcanUwill]

For example, in the Wiggins/Parker draft, every single mock draft had Wiggins/Parker. Embiid emerged a bit when he showcased his talents alongside Wiggins, but then once the injuries come out, he was quickly dismissed as a top 2 pick. We can't fault the Bucks for taking Parker because it was absolutely the right pick at the time.

Without knowing the future, can you tell me who will be the best player in this upcoming draft? Edwards, Ball, Wiseman, Toppin, or some random projected 2nd pick like Steven Enoch from Louisville?

I said it earlier, and I’ll say it again: this upcoming draft reminds me a lot of 2013 (the Bennett year). I’m not really going to fault teams for missing this year, because this pool is weak in general, and nobody really stands out as being the best in class.

As you stated, Wiggins/Parker were clearly the consensus Tier 1 that year, and both of those guys were better prospects that Tier 1 this year, which probably consists of 5-7 guys.

Even if it was this past year when NOP drafted Zion Williamson. He was the clear no 1 pick, but if he kept having knee injuries and weight issues, are they going to be faulted for the pick? No, because it was the right thing to do at the time.

We all could have been rich and successful with hindsight. If people didn't buy house in 2007 and invested all their savings in the Netflix/Amazon/etc tech stock, most of them would have been "millionaires that are responsible for ruining the US economy" by now.

I think faulting and it being a mistake are two different things. You say you wont fault team for taking bust because he was popular pick, ok, I see that, but thats doesnt mean that taking that bust wasnt mistake, it was a mistake still. As you said, these teams invest a lot in it, they have closed interviews, closed workouts, they scout them in games, there is a lot of going on, its not fair to call out a poster on internet and compare it to NBA team, NBA team should have far better educated guess of who is the right pick.

[Steven1562]

it's early but Bagley over Luka is looking incredibly stupid.

Luka is looking generational. Bagley is Bosh at best.

[Soulyss]

The worst pick is clearly Bennett in terms of him being the worst player picked so high.

However mistake wise they didn’t miss out on someone like curry.


I’d personally say Dario over wade but Oden over kd and Flynn over Steph works to.


Also another angle is philly picking Fultz is the worst because they would have been young and contending straight away for a long time. A career of a big 3. Honestly that’s probably the biggest blunder. Poor hinky.

The whole Top 9 was a wiff... McCollum, Giannis, and Gobert... but all three were high risk - high reward picks... Bennett was terrible... but it's not like the passed on someone who was near the top 5 that was a major wiff.

[Vampirate]

Close between Rubio/Flynn over Curry and Darko over Anthony/Wade/Bosh.

Wolves had two picks and they drafted two PGs. Only problem was that none of those two picks were Curry. Since Curry was drafted, Warriors won 3 titles, and Wolve's made PO once as 8th seed.

Darko draft was pretty significant too. Detroit had a championship core/defense and they could extend their run with any of future HOFers. Instead, they drafted Darko and whole thing fall apart in just few years.

Well to be fair. Dell Curry told the Wolves, that his son doesn't want to play for them. Could've still picked him of course, but I think after the Marbury fiasco, the organization was still a bit cautious in that regard. So it's maybe somewhat understandable.

I hope teams are going to not fear the consequences now of a player saying that they are not going to play for a franchise. I mean, what is a rookie going to do? Risk losing millions and tarnish their reputation?

[jimmy keys]

it's early but Bagley over Luka is looking incredibly stupid.

Something in my gut tells me he forced his way to Dallas, albeit quietly. I just don't see 3 teams passing on him because they thought Ayton, Bagley and Young were better prospects. That narrative doesn't add up. I think Luka looked at the top 5 teams picking and said to his agent find a way to get me to Dallas. Feels Kobe-esque to me. More info will come out in time.

o

There is some truth to this comment. It was known in Serbian circles that Luka was threatening to stay in Real Madrid unless he was drafted by a major market. Regardless, Vlade could have called his bluff.

As a trade asset sure, but not as a player for the Kings. The threat to stay at Real Madrid was too high. This wasn't some empty promise like Kobe playing in Europe. Funny how people think he just fell in the draft though.