When it comes to the NBA Draft, hindsight is 20-20. No matter how much scouting a team does, you can never tell for sure how good a college prospect will adapt to the NBA. With that in mind, some decisions have come back to bite certain teams in the ass. Whether it be drafting a bust right before taking an All-Star or trading away a bust for an All-Star, these decisions have gone on to haunt teams & fans for a long time. Here are 7 mistakes made on draft day.
Just like Greg Oden, Bowie's career was killed by frequent injuries. Even in college, Bowie had missed two whole years of his career after suffering a stress fracture in his left tibia. Bowie would only play 10 seasons in the NBA, averaging 10.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 45% from the field and 30% from three point range. He managed to make the All-Rookie First Team as a rookie and was third in blocks per game in the 1984-85 season, but that's the extent of his success in the NBA. To this day, he is heavily considered one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history. And it just gets worse for Trail Blazers fans from here.
Do I really need to explain how Michael Jordan ended up? The guy is pretty much unarguably the best basketball player of all-time. For his career, Michael Jordan averages 30.1 points per game; the highest career average in NBA history and the only player besides Wilt Chamberlain to average over 30 points per game for his career. Along with those, he averaged 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.3 steals per game, and shot a career percentage of 50% from the field and 33% from three point range. He is a five-time MVP, a 14-time all-star, a former Defensive Player of the Year, a 10-time All-NBA First Team, a 9-time All-NBA Defensive First Team, and led the NBA in scoring 10 times. To top it all off, Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA Championship victories on his way to entering the NBA Hall of Fame. And to think, the Portland Trail Blazers passed up on all of that.
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Drafting Al-Farouq Aminu over Gordon Hayward & Paul George (2010)
Let's start with a simple one where a team selected an OK player over future all-stars. Coming off a poor 2009-10 season where they went 29-53, the Los Angeles Clippers got the #8 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft and opted to select a small forward to replace Rasual Butler and pair up with Blake Griffen, who would be debuting next season after missing his entire rookie season due to injury. There were three viable options to choose from with the pick; Gordon Hayward from Butler, Paul George from Fresno State, and Al-Farouq Aminu from Wake Forest. The Clippers opted to take Aminu, leaving Hayward to go to the Utah Jazz with the #9 pick and George to the Indiana Pacers with the #10 pick. Aminu's rookie season was nothing short of disappointing. Aminu ended the year with 5.6 points & 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting only 39% from the field and 32% from three point range. That would end up being his only season for the Clippers, as he would be sent to New Orleans during the offseason as part of the Chris Paul trade. Over his 7 year career so far, Aminu has played for four different teams while averaging 7.2 points & 5.7 rebounds while shooting 43% from the field & 32% from three point range.
As for the players drafted after Aminu, Gordon Hayward has developed into one of the better small forwards in the league. Last season, Hayward averaged 21.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and a steal a game while shooting 47% from the field and 40% from three point range on the way to becoming an All-Star. For his career, Hayward has career averages of 15.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and a steal per game, along with 44% shooting & 37% from three. Paul George has done even better. George has career averages of 18.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game, with shooting averages of 43% from the field and 37% from three. Along with that, George is a four-time all-star, has made 7 all-league teams including the All-Defensive First Team, and won the 2012-13 Most Improved Player of the Year.
As for the players drafted after Aminu, Gordon Hayward has developed into one of the better small forwards in the league. Last season, Hayward averaged 21.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and a steal a game while shooting 47% from the field and 40% from three point range on the way to becoming an All-Star. For his career, Hayward has career averages of 15.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and a steal per game, along with 44% shooting & 37% from three. Paul George has done even better. George has career averages of 18.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game, with shooting averages of 43% from the field and 37% from three. Along with that, George is a four-time all-star, has made 7 all-league teams including the All-Defensive First Team, and won the 2012-13 Most Improved Player of the Year.
Drafting Greg Oden over Kevin Durant (2007)
Now, this one has obvious, unfortunate & unforeseen reasons why it was a big mistake. In the 2007 NBA Draft, the Portland Trail Blazers grabbed the #1 pick and looked to add to their young core along with Brandon Roy & LaMarcus Aldridge. They decided to use the first pick to select Ohio State's Greg Oden, who was coming off a freshman season where he led the Buckeyes to the National Championship game. With the next pick, the Seattle SuperSonics selected Kevin Durant out of Texas. And you probably know the story from here.
As I talked about in my list of careers ruined by injuries, Greg Oden went on to have a career plagued by injuries. Oden missed his entire rookie season after having microfracture surgery on his right knee. From that point on, he would have constant, frequent issues with his knee that would prevent him from playing multiple times. In the five seasons he was on the Trail Blazers roster, Oden only managed to play in 82 games, one full season out of a possible five. Oden made a very brief comeback in the 2013-14 season with the Miami Heat and has not played in the NBA game since the 2014 playoffs. In a 2016 interview, he said that he would not be trying to make another comeback and has taken the role of the student manager for the Ohio State Buckeyes basketball team.
Meanwhile, Kevin Durant has done pretty good for himself, to say the least, as he has established himself as one of the best players in the NBA today. For his career, Durant has career averages 27.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and a block a game, along with a career 48% shooting percentage and 38% from the field. In his career, Durant has won the Rookie of the Year, the MVP Award in 2014, and the Finals MVP Award in 2017 after winning his first ring with the Golden State Warriors. On top of all of that, Durant is an 8-time All-Star, has made the All-NBA First Team five times, has led the NBA in scoring four times, and has the fourth highest career points per game in NBA history, higher than LeBron James & Kobe Bryant.
As I talked about in my list of careers ruined by injuries, Greg Oden went on to have a career plagued by injuries. Oden missed his entire rookie season after having microfracture surgery on his right knee. From that point on, he would have constant, frequent issues with his knee that would prevent him from playing multiple times. In the five seasons he was on the Trail Blazers roster, Oden only managed to play in 82 games, one full season out of a possible five. Oden made a very brief comeback in the 2013-14 season with the Miami Heat and has not played in the NBA game since the 2014 playoffs. In a 2016 interview, he said that he would not be trying to make another comeback and has taken the role of the student manager for the Ohio State Buckeyes basketball team.
Meanwhile, Kevin Durant has done pretty good for himself, to say the least, as he has established himself as one of the best players in the NBA today. For his career, Durant has career averages 27.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and a block a game, along with a career 48% shooting percentage and 38% from the field. In his career, Durant has won the Rookie of the Year, the MVP Award in 2014, and the Finals MVP Award in 2017 after winning his first ring with the Golden State Warriors. On top of all of that, Durant is an 8-time All-Star, has made the All-NBA First Team five times, has led the NBA in scoring four times, and has the fourth highest career points per game in NBA history, higher than LeBron James & Kobe Bryant.
Trading LaMarcus Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas (2006)
Going back to what I said about the young Trail Blazers duo of Brandon Roy & LaMarcus Aldridge, that duo almost never came together, had it not been for John Paxson doing something dumb. During the 2006 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls used the #2 overall pick to select Aldridge out of Texas. However, they then decided to trade Aldridge and a second round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for the #4 overall pick Tyrus Thomas and Viktor Khryapa. Little did they know that that trade would come to bite them in the ass in the future.
Thomas, while a good defender and shot blocker, was nothing much outside of that. He holds career averages of 7.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 44% from the field. He last played a handful of games for the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2014-15 season on a 10-day contract and hasn't played since. Meanwhile, the player they traded away for had a much better career. LaMarcus Aldridge currently has career averages of 19.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and one block a game while shooting 49% from the field. Along with that, Aldridge is a five-time all-star and has made the All-NBA Third Team three times and the All-NBA Second Team once. If you ask me, that's better and a good defender who can't score.
Drafting Danny Ferry (1989)
This one is going to be short & sweet. If a college player says they don't want to play for your team, would you still draft them? Well, the Los Angeles Clippers decided to press their luck and make the pick. Before the 1989 NBA Draft, Duke's Danny Ferry specifically told the Clippers not to draft him. They drafted him. Rather than play for the Clippers, Ferry decided to sign with Il Messaggero in Italy instead. Danny Ferry would never play a game for the Clippers. With no other choice, the Clippers traded Ferry's draft rights with Reggie Williams to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ron Harper, two first round picks, and a second round pick. Those picks wouldn't amount to anything, and Harper tore his ACL 28 games into his Clippers career. Even if Ferry had decided to play for the Clippers, he wasn't even that good. His career averages are seven points & 2.8 rebounds while shooting 45% from the field and 39% from three point range. It was just a waste of time for everyone involved.
Drafting Kwame Brown over Tyson Chandler & Pau Gasol (2001)
Oh boy...Kwame Brown. One of the most infamous draft busts in NBA history. And even worse, the two players picked right after him went on to have much better and more successful careers than Kwame Brown. In the 2001 NBA Draft, Michael Jordan and the Washington Wizards opted to take Brown with the #1 pick. Immediately after that, the Los Angeles Clippers selected Tyson Chandler with the #2 pick and the Atlanta Hawks selected Pau Gasol with the #3 pick.
As I wrote about in my list of players who didn't live up to their hype and in the introduction, Kwame Brown has gone on to become one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history. For his career, Brown has career averages of 6.6 points & 5.5 rebounds while shooting 49% from the field. Meanwhile, Tyson Chandler has gone on to become an above average center and a great defender. His career averages stand at 8.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 59% from the floor. Additionally, he's a former Defensive Player of the Year, a former all-star, a one-time All-NBA Third Team Member, a two-time member of the All-NBA Defensive Second Team, and a one-time member of the All-NBA Defensive First Team, along with ranking among the top 50 all-time rebound & block leaders in NBA history.
As for Pau Gasol, he has also had a great career so far. He currently has career averages of 17.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game, while also shooting 51% from the field and 37% from three point range. On top of that, Gasol is a former Rookie of the Year, a 6-time all-star, and a two-time member of both the All-NBA Third Team and All-NBA Second Team, along with being among the top 50 point & rebound leaders in NBA history.
Drafting Fran Vázquez (2005)
While drafting a bust is always a letdown, at least the teams that draft them get some kind of compensation for it. Say what you will about Kwame Brown, he still provided 20.8 win shares over his career. That's not much, but it's something. The same, however, can't be said about the Orlando Magic and their first round draft pick in 2005, Fran Vázquez.
With the #11 overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, the Magic selected Vázquez, a then 22-year-old from Spain who had spent the first four years of his career playing for Unicaja in the Spanish ACB League, in order to create young front court by pairing him with Dwight Howard. However, despite not being under contract with Unicaja anymore, Vázquez opted to play another year in Spain, signing with Akasvayu Girona. That was 12 years ago, and even in 2017, Fran Vázquez still has yet to play a game in the NBA. The Magic still hold his draft rights, but it seems unlikely that the now 34-year old Vázquez, now playing for Iberostar Tenerife in Spain, will ever come to the NBA. The Magic got nothing out of Vázquez. Man, at least the Clippers got something out of Danny Ferry.
With the #11 overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, the Magic selected Vázquez, a then 22-year-old from Spain who had spent the first four years of his career playing for Unicaja in the Spanish ACB League, in order to create young front court by pairing him with Dwight Howard. However, despite not being under contract with Unicaja anymore, Vázquez opted to play another year in Spain, signing with Akasvayu Girona. That was 12 years ago, and even in 2017, Fran Vázquez still has yet to play a game in the NBA. The Magic still hold his draft rights, but it seems unlikely that the now 34-year old Vázquez, now playing for Iberostar Tenerife in Spain, will ever come to the NBA. The Magic got nothing out of Vázquez. Man, at least the Clippers got something out of Danny Ferry.
Drafting Marvin Williams over Deron Williams & Chris Paul (2005)
Nothing about this pick makes any sense. That's all the introduction I've got. Coming off an abysmal 2004-05 season where they went 13-69, the Atlanta Hawks were in desperate need of a change. The additions of Joe Johnson & Zaza Pachulia were a step in the right direction, but they still needed a reliable starting point guard to step in for Royal Ivey & Tyronn Lue. Why? Because Ivey was a below-average player and remember, this is the highlight of Tyronn Lue's career.
Pretty self-explanatory. The Hawks managed to grab the #2 overall pick in the draft, and with that pick, the Hawks selected...Marvin Williams.
Like I said, this pick made zero sense. First off, Williams, a freshman forward out of North Carolina, wasn't even a starter for the Tar Heels, instead of coming off the bench as the sixth man, averaging 11.3 points & 6.6 rebounds per game on 50% shooting. Second, the Hawks already had Al Harrington & Josh Smith at the starting forward spots, and both were able to put up solid numbers as the starters. And third, still on the board were Deron Williams & Chris Paul, two point guards who went #3 & #4 respectively and would go to be all-stars and make All-NBA teams.
For his career, Marvin Williams averaged 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 44% from the field. The only award Williams has won over his career is making the All-Rookie Second Team in his first year. Meanwhile, Deron Williams has gone on to become a three-time all-star who has made the All-NBA Second Team twice and made the All-Rookie First Team in his first year. In his career, Williams has averages of 16.3 points, 8.1 assists, and a steal per game while shooting 45% from the field, and ranks among the top 20 assist leaders of all-time.
Chris Paul has done even better for himself, establishing himself as one of the best guards in the NBA right now. Paul holds career averages of 18.7 points, 9.9 assists, and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 47% from the field and 37% from three point range. Additionally, Paul won the Rookie of the Year over Marvin Williams, is a 9-time all-star, has made 18 different All-NBA teams, including the All-NBA First Team four times and the All-NBA Defensive First Team seven times, and ranks #10 in all-time assists leaders and #15 on the all-time steals list.
Chris Paul has done even better for himself, establishing himself as one of the best guards in the NBA right now. Paul holds career averages of 18.7 points, 9.9 assists, and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 47% from the field and 37% from three point range. Additionally, Paul won the Rookie of the Year over Marvin Williams, is a 9-time all-star, has made 18 different All-NBA teams, including the All-NBA First Team four times and the All-NBA Defensive First Team seven times, and ranks #10 in all-time assists leaders and #15 on the all-time steals list.
Drafting Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan (1984)
You knew it had to be here. It has to be one of, if not the biggest draft mistakes in NBA history. In the 1984 NBA Draft, the Portland Trail Blazers had the #2 pick and were and looked to draft a center. After the Rockets had selected a not Haakem yet Akeem Olajuwon, the Rockets instead selected Sam Bowie out of Kentucky with the second pick. Right after them, the Chicago Bulls used the #3 overall pick to select a prospect out of North Carolina...Michael Jordan. While the Trail Blazers pick made sense at the time (Bill Walton's career was being hurt by injuries and the Blazers already had Clyde Drexler at shooting guard) but it quickly became clear that Portland had made a major mistake passing up on Jordan.Just like Greg Oden, Bowie's career was killed by frequent injuries. Even in college, Bowie had missed two whole years of his career after suffering a stress fracture in his left tibia. Bowie would only play 10 seasons in the NBA, averaging 10.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 45% from the field and 30% from three point range. He managed to make the All-Rookie First Team as a rookie and was third in blocks per game in the 1984-85 season, but that's the extent of his success in the NBA. To this day, he is heavily considered one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history. And it just gets worse for Trail Blazers fans from here.
Do I really need to explain how Michael Jordan ended up? The guy is pretty much unarguably the best basketball player of all-time. For his career, Michael Jordan averages 30.1 points per game; the highest career average in NBA history and the only player besides Wilt Chamberlain to average over 30 points per game for his career. Along with those, he averaged 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.3 steals per game, and shot a career percentage of 50% from the field and 33% from three point range. He is a five-time MVP, a 14-time all-star, a former Defensive Player of the Year, a 10-time All-NBA First Team, a 9-time All-NBA Defensive First Team, and led the NBA in scoring 10 times. To top it all off, Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA Championship victories on his way to entering the NBA Hall of Fame. And to think, the Portland Trail Blazers passed up on all of that.
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