# Top 10 Biggest Draft Busts In the Past 10 years (1995-2005)



## lanigan34 (Dec 27, 2002)

***Lanigan34’s Top 10 Biggest Draft Busts In the Past 10 years (1995-2005)

My Criteria:

-	Position Selected
-	Career performance
-	Strong/Weak Draft
-	Any Potential To Improve?

10. *Joe Smith #1 1995*- Smith has had a decent career but not the superstar that he was in college. The number one pick should be reserved for superstars, I know it doesn’t always happen but in 1995 there were a few superstars that did come out of that draft. 
Selected ahead of : Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse, Damon Stoudamire, Kevin Garnett.

9. *Tony Battie #5 1997*- Career averages of 6 ppg and 5 rpg is not exactly what Denver thought they were getting with the #5 overall pick in 1997. Known as a rebounding, shot blocking machine in college, Battie never really panned out in the NBA. Has spent most of his career playing for mediocre teams. He certainly isn’t the worst center available but definitely not worthy of being selected #5 overall. In his defense it was one of the weakest drafts in this ten year period.
Selected ahead of: Tim Thomas, Tracy McGrady, Danny Fortson, Austin Croshere

8. *Darko Milicic #2 2003*- Call it what you want but the only thing that is keeping him from being lower on this list is the fact that he is only 20 years old and that he was drafted by one of the strongest, deepest teams in the league. On top of that he is coached by Larry Brown who is notoriously hard on rookies. But being the #2 pick in the draft has its pressures and expectations and Darko has done absolutely nothing in the NBA. Unlike some of the players on this list he does have upside, but when will we see it? If Detroit could do it over don’t you think they’d take any of the players below instead?
Selected ahead of: Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, Kirk Hinrich

7. *Kwame Brown #1 2001*- A player with upside here but has had many issues on the court as well as off the court. 2001 was a strong draft ,full of superstar quality players but Washington thought that they were catching the next Kevin Garnett. Far from it, he won’t even be back with the team that drafted him next season. Much like Darko, it’s a little too early to give up on him.
Selected ahead of: Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol, Eddy Curry, Jason Richardson

6. *Jonathan Bender #5 1999*- A player that people have been waiting on to “break out” for years now. This wiry thin SF who can stick the three but not much else has proven to be nothing more than a guaranteed injury every year he has played. In one of the strongest drafts in recent memory how he got himself drafted #5 remains a mystery. 
Selected Ahead of: Wally Szcerbiak, Andre Miller, Richard Hamilton, Shawn Marion

5. *Shawn Respert #8 1995*- Another bust from the 1995 draft. Whether his lack of success was due to the cancer of his abdomen or not, being drafted this high should lead to results on the court. The cancer issue came out after his career was finished but this guy was a superstar in college but had serious flaws in his game that were exposed in the NBA. On a positive note, he did end up beating cancer which makes him a success off the court in my book. Overall, he still had too many issues to be picked this high.
Selected ahead of: Kurt Thomas, Eric Williams, Brent Barry,Michael Finley

4. *Trajan Langdon #11 1999*-.At Duke he was a very good college player. His main attribute was his ability to shoot the lights out. In the NBA he could still shoot but the problem with Langdon was his ability to get open. He had no shot off the dribble and was extremely weak on defense. Played in a total of 119 games in his career.
Selected ahead of: Corey Maggette, Ron Artest, James Posey, Jeff Foster

3. *Sagana Diop #8 2001*- Looking back it’s interesting to think how a player even gets drafted like this guy .Just a horrifying pick here in a loaded draft. Diop came straight out of High School and was drafted due to his size and his size only. His game was ridiculously raw and was a project of a lifetime and still is. Diop is still in the league but will never live up to his #8 pick status. 
Selected Ahead of: Joe Johnson, Vladimir Radmonovic, Richard Jefferson,Troy Murphy, Zach Randolph

2. *Fredric Weis #15 1999*- New York shocked everybody with this gem. I’ve even heard that this was the worst pick EVER! Considering who was on the board after this pick I could easily see the point there as Weis had one of the shortest careers out of any player drafted this high ever .Weis is best known for being dunked on by Vince Carter in the Olympics. Words cannot do this dunk justice, google it for yourself if you haven’t seen it. I mean his stats over in France weren’t even that great which is unacceptable when your 7-3 and playing in France. Not picking Ron Artest here proved to be a huge mistake for NY.
Selected ahead of: Corey Maggette, Ron Artest, James Posey, Jeff Foster

1. *Michael Olowokandi #1 1998*- Wow what a draft! It’s amazing how bad the Clippers can find a way to screw themselves. This was THE best draft in recent memory, 6 out of the top ten picks have become all stars. The rest of the draft was full of solid players as well which makes this pick even more appalling. Drafted due to size, will never pan out or live up to the hype. 
Selected Ahead of: Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Larry Hughes, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki


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## OZZY (Jun 14, 2002)

I don't agree with this list. I think these are much worse picks because most are not even in the league anymore, like Saint Jean or Haston. Those were horrible picks and they did not get anything out of them.

Samaki Walker 9th pick
Todd Fuller 11th pick
Oliver Saint-Jean 11th pick
William Avery 14th pick
Kirk Haston 16th pick


Joe Smith is a solid player in the NBA, not great but he is solid and was picked so high because he is just a solid player, not bad though I don't think. Weis should be #1 not Kandi, Kandi is still in the league and has double doubles every now and then he is a ok player, not drop dead horrible I dont think. Bender, that is a bust, he has had injury problems though but he shows flashes every now and then. But once Artest was gone this year, and he could have got increased PT he got injured.

I agree with Diop and Langdon though completely, Langdon he was out of the league very quickly. 

Jay Williams and Bryant Reeves could also be on here but injuries are not really the persons fault. But as for Jay, what kind of idiot rides a motorcycle when he makes his money with what he can do physically?

As for Darko, its to early to call now on him I think, its only 2 years on a team that really he can not play for yet because of the Wallaces and Dyess infront of him.


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## underhill_101 (Feb 22, 2005)

i think by far the biggest bust was the kandi man


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

The Cavs have almost a stranglehold here:

Wagner at 5
Diop at 8
Langdon at 13

Terrrible: the did get Lebron and Andre Miller in the lottery so even a blind man can find the jackpot once in awhile


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## silverpaw1786 (Mar 11, 2004)

Joe Smith has been solid, he shoots well, especially from the line and rebounds. I wouldn't even call him a bust. His entire career has been cast in a bad light because of the Minnesota contract fiasco


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## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

Pioneer10 said:


> The Cavs have almost a stranglehold here:
> 
> Wagner at 5
> Diop at 8
> ...


If Paxson had selected Amare rather than Wagner, he'd still have a job. It's no wonder he's in favour of the age limit.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

..

Honorable mention to Orlando for picking Reece Gaines at 15 and he averaged an amazing 1.8 ppg, 1.1 apg, and 1 rpg shooting 29% from the field.


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## gambitnut (Jan 4, 2003)

It looks like you copied the list of players still available when Smith was picked for Respert, but I'm pretty sure that at least two of the four were gone when Respert was picked.


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## Carbo04 (Apr 15, 2005)

Joe Smith aka Rasheed Wallace's whipping boy at #1 in 95 was quite terrible.


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## RSP83 (Nov 24, 2002)

Ok, here's my list. I won't include 2002, 2003, and 2004 draft. Too early to tell. My definition of a bust is a player that was picked high in the lottery that did not live up to people's expectation and there are better players picked after him. I also consider a high lottery player who caught a lot of attention in his rookie year, do not improve after his outstanding rookie year, and fade away after a few season as a bust. My list will consist of players from as early as 1991 draft, which was the first draft I'm familiar with. So, here's my list:

*10. Ron Mercer #6 1997* - He looked like a steal in 1997. I remember people were so excited about him during his rookie season. Especially when players picked before him like Billups, Daniels, and Battie did not have a good season. His first two season looked good, averaging 15 ppg in his rookie year and 18 ppg the next. But, then he just never learn how to shoot and he got injured pretty often. He played for the Bulls and he fade away with the team. Never regain his form. This one is very arguable, a lot of people may not agree with me considering the lack of NBA talent in this class. But, Ron Mercer is just fade into obscurity considering where he was in his rookie year. He was quite a popular young player. Maybe a bust is not the right word, but he sure is a disappointment. *Side Note*: This is the weirdest draft class. People believe this is the worst. But, there are two NBA final MVP in this class already: Tim Duncan and Chauncey Billups.

*9. Darius Miles #3 2000* - Darius Miles was labeled the next Garnett out of HS. And people seemed to think so too. Miles had a solid rookie season for a HS player. People still believed so for the next couple of years eventhough Miles kept putting similar numbers to his rookie season. People thought he would have T-Mac type of breakout when he was traded to the Cavaliers. His draft class is one of the worst. But people were very high on him. People thought eventhough he's the third player picked, he's going to be the best of this draft class. Way better than Kenyon Martin, which is so far the best of this draft class. Despite the weak draft class, Miles is still a bust. He's a bust because he's overrated, overhype, and his improvement is so slow considering people said about his talent.

*8. Eddie Griffin #7 2001* - Griffin showed that he has great talent during his one year stint in Seton Hall. He was sure lottery pick. And I agreed too. Then the Rockets acquired him by trading all three of their first round pick, which include Richard Jefferson. And I still agreed. Griffin is a great talent. But then, after a solid rookie season for a player coming out of his freshmen year, things went wrong. He's a huge head case and never showed that he cares. Rockets released him. And now that trade with Nets sounds just soooo wroooongg... He had an ok season last year with the Wolves. But I doubt he will ever become the player people thought he could be. I don't even think he will ever reach Richard Jefferson level.

*7. Joe Smith #1 1995* - He was a big time college player. I was a big fan and was really cheering for him to be successful in the NBA. His first two season looked promising. But, after he got traded to Philadelphia, his numbers went down. He never again put up the numbers he put during his time with the Warriors. He's now a solid role player. I think he's better than that. Not great, but the Joe Smith I saw during his Warriors' years was a sure 18 ppg 9 rpg 1 bpg player. Players picked after him, Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, Kevin Garnett, Michael Finley, all bring/brought greater value to their team than Joe Smith to his teams. Compare to other lottery players in his draft class, he is average like his name.

*6. Shawn Bradley #2 1993* - 1993 was the first time I follow NBA draft. And I knew college players of that year: Chris Webber, Anfernee Hardaway, Jamal Mashburn, Isaiah Rider, Bobby Hurley, Calbert Cheaney, Sam Cassel, etc. I really knew a lot of college players during that time. But I never heard of Shawn Bradley. Who was this 7'6" dude? But, he turned out to be ok. In Bradley early days, he's actually not that bad. He proved me wrong. I thought he's just gonna be a tall uncoordinated dude. But since his development stopped, and lots of players picked after him kept improving year by year. He becomes a bust. He was picked before: Anfernee Hardaway, Jamal Mashburn, Vin Baker, Allan Houston, Sam Cassell, Nick Van Exel.

*5. Jonathan Bender #5 1999* - This guy has tons of potential and I mean tonssss.... 7 feet, can drain the threes, athletic, have shown that he can be a good rebounder and a solid shot blocker. His problem is he's too weak. He's very thin. Yeah, everybody seem to be waiting for him to breakout. Because he showed a glimpse of what he can become during his time replacing the injured Al Harrington a few years ago. It's been six years since he got drafted, he's not a young out of HS kid anymore. So there's no excuse. Other than that, look at the players drafted after him: Wally Sczerbiak, Shawn Marion, Rip Hamilton, Andre Miller, Jason Terry, and the list goes on (there was even a way better option at near the end of the second round, Manu Ginobilli). He's a bust.

*4. Billy Owens #3 1991* - Coming out of Syracuse, Billy Owens was projected to one day become a perennial All-Star. Owens plays SF and had a great rookie season in which he averaged 8 rpg and 14 ppg in .520 shooting. He injured his knee in his second season and came back in his third season putting up similar number to his rookie season. And then his development stops there, he never get better. He never become the player people thought he could be. He was picked before Dikembe Mutombo, Steve Smith, Terrel Brandon, and Dale Davis. However, it was not the main reason why he's on the list. The thing is he was *the guy who played a role in the break up of the RUN TMC*. Sacramento dealt Billy Owens a month after they draft him to the Golden State Warriors for Mitch Richmond *AND* Les Jepsen. It was not only he was traded for Mitch Richmond (7 time All-Star and a career 21 ppg scorer) but he, a rookie, a single player, was traded for an actual perennial All-Star and a filler. It's either people thought he was a sure All-Star or the Warriors' GM was an idiot.

*3. Sagana Diop #8 2001* - He was a project when he was drafted 4 years ago. He is still a project now. He never improved much on his game. To think that he's a lottery pick, that gives me an idea of how much of an idiot Jim Paxson is at drafting players. Ok, he's big, tall, and I heard he's athletic too. But, seriously, this is what happened if you judge everything based on potential. They were a losing team and the solution was... drafting a HUGE project? They could have drafted the best player availale to help them win more games and maybe give them more trade value. Joe Johnson, Radmanovic, Richard Jefferson, Troy Murphy were better picks. There are also guys like Zach Randolph and Gilbert Arenas. But nobody thought they are going to be this good. But still, the Diop pick just didn't make any sense. Diop was too big of a risk to be made a lottery project for a losing team.

*2. Samaki Walker #9 1996* - He was the number 9 pick in one of the best draft class ever in the NBA history. Samaki Walker was picked ahead of Kobe Bryant, Predrag Stojakovic, Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. That is 5 All-Stars. His biggest accomplishment is winning an NBA championship ring with the Lakers as one of their role players. He did a solid job supporting Kobe and Shaq by grabbing 7.0 rpg and putting up 6 ppg. But, again, he's basically zero, nothing, nada, compare to the 5 All-Stars picked after him. For him to even be in the lottery of the 1996 draft was a crime.

*1. Michael Olowokandi #1 1998* - Well, I don't have to explain this. Kandiman ahead of Mike Bibby, Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki, Antawn Jamison, Paul Pierce, Larry Hughes, Jason Williams, Ricky Davis, Bonzi Wells, Al Harrington, and Rashard Lewis?


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## RSP83 (Nov 24, 2002)

I read my list again and I check the draft history again. I think Tony Battie deserves to be on that list more than Ron Mercer. Battie at #5 is definitely a greater bust than Mercer. But, still when I look at that draft again Mercer is the first player come to mind. He's still a disappointment. Battie is well... nobody really cares about him.


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

Good lord, how can you call Darko a bust when he hasn't even been given the chance to play much? Even in the little crap time he gets. He may end up being better when he's not on the Pistons. Too early, and not really a good idea to put him on the top 10 busts of all time. Larry Brown woulda prolly played anybody less than they shouldve played.


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## The Sebastian Express (Mar 3, 2005)

> 5. Shawn Respert #8 1995- Another bust from the 1995 draft. Whether his lack of success was due to the cancer of his abdomen or not, being drafted this high should lead to results on the court. The cancer issue came out after his career was finished but this guy was a superstar in college but had serious flaws in his game that were exposed in the NBA. On a positive note, he did end up beating cancer which makes him a success off the court in my book. Overall, he still had too many issues to be picked this high.
> *Selected ahead of: Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse, Damon Stoudamire, Kevin Garnett.*


1995 Draft:

1. Joe Smith
*2. Antonio McDyess
3. Jerry StackHouse*
4. Rasheed Wallace
*5. Kevin Garnett*
6. Bryant Reeves
*7. Damon Stoudamire*
8. Shawn Respert


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## ralaw (Feb 24, 2005)

The Sebastian Express said:


> 1995 Draft:
> 
> 1. Joe Smith
> *2. Antonio McDyess
> ...


Wow! the 95' draft has some good ones and some terrible ones.


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## Cap (Nov 5, 2003)

Damn, I was really wrong about Kandi, thought he'd be great someday.


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## AussieWarriorFan! (May 30, 2005)

Kedrick Brown?
Dajuan Wagner?
Marcus Fizer?????
Jerome Moiso?
Mateen Cleaves?
Raef LaFrentz?
Robert Traylor?
Adonal Foyle?
Glenn Robinson?


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## DHarris34Phan (Oct 28, 2004)

AussieWarriorFan! said:


> Glenn Robinson?


Big Dogg wasn't a bust.


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## AussieWarriorFan! (May 30, 2005)

Radocevic!!!!!!!!


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## ItalianStallion (Jun 8, 2005)

adonal foyle must be the biggest bust ever!


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## gumpware (May 20, 2003)

Ed O'Bannon? I would hate to pick on a fellow Bruin, but man, was he a bust or what?


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

I can't believe Marcus Fizer isn't on any of those top 10.....


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## nutmeged3 (Apr 11, 2005)

Robert Traylor definitly needs 2 somewhere


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## Foulzilla (Jan 11, 2005)

ItalianStallion said:


> adonal foyle must be the biggest bust ever! and why isnt anyone naming Sam Bowie in 1984??? he was picked before that guy.... i don't remember the name.... oh yes michael jordan.


Maybe because the title of the thread is Top 10 Biggest Draft Busts In the *Past 10 years*? That was over 20 years ago.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Dermarr Johnson was pretty bad, but he got injured in that car accident. Anyone from that draft in 2000 shouldn't be called busts, because nobody from that draft was very good, no matter where they were picked.


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## SmithRocSSU (Jul 30, 2004)

Yeah, Foyle and Ed O'Bannon should be on that list. What about Skita?


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## ItalianStallion (Jun 8, 2005)

Foulzilla said:


> That was over 20 years ago.


ops. in my old age, my mental abilities are starting to abandon me...:biggrin: problem solved


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## Chalie Boy (Aug 26, 2002)

I won't call Foyle a bust because he got that contract last year after he had been in the league for a while. Not saying that he isn't trash but some of these other guys are no longer in the NBA, and Foyle managed to somehow get a HUGE contract despite his terrible terrible game. Did I mention he sucks and Mullin should be jumped?


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## TRON (Feb 29, 2004)

So many names listed, someone needs to put together a comprehensive top 10 busts list but with more well defined and unified definition of a "bust", because everyone has a different idea of what a "bust" is

*Bust criteria...* 
1. picked very high and have yet to live up to that potential
2. large amount of players picked after have turned out to be better (the more all-stars the more bust points)
3. Rookies need at least 3 years in the league before qualifying as bust potential
4. Players with external issues (health, drugs, family, Psychological, Law) should be exempt from this list because of variables that are outside of the realm of basketball
5. Being picked high (ie D.Miles #3) in a weak draft should be taken into consideration, because of the lack of talent leading to average players being picked where all-stars were picked in previous years


Of NOTE: while it might not seem fair, players will forever be judged based on where these GM's picked them. For example, Joe Smith is on everybodies list, but is a very servicable NBA player that many teams would love to have. If he was picked 7th or 8th, I don't think anyone would call him a bust , but he will forever be judged based on where he was picked


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## kawika (May 7, 2003)

Really, really terrific post, TRON. I guess my only tweak to it would be here:



TRON said:


> Of NOTE: while it might not seem fair, players will forever be judged based on where these GM's picked them. For example, Joe Smith is on everybodies list, but is a very servicable NBA player that many teams would love to have. If he was picked 7th or 8th, I don't think anyone would call him a bust , but he will forever be judged based on where he was picked


Where I find it unfair is when people are analyzing a team-as-assembled and judge a player based on what they imagine he *should* do or be, as opposed to what he actually is. With the draft, however, being a #1 pick is based on what you imagine the player to become and therefore, to some degree, is fair game on which to judge them when evaluating. (I'm not sure if I'm being clear about the disctinction I see in the respective situations .)

Going in the other direction with that '95 draft, for a guy who's been the butt of as many jokes as he has (much of them deserved) Greg Ostertag has been one of the better "value" picks in the last ten years. As a 28th selection he was still drawing an NBA paycheck in 2005 and has been a contributor on some good teams. Not too many #28s get to say that.


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## SeaNet (Nov 18, 2004)

Wrt/ Respert, let's not forget, that it turned out the man had cancer.


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## SeaNet (Nov 18, 2004)

gumpware said:


> Ed O'Bannon? I would hate to pick on a fellow Bruin, but man, was he a bust or what?


As a Net fan, I agree wholeheartedly w/ this choice.


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## Grangerx33 (Mar 9, 2004)

10. insert duke player here
9. insert duke player here
8. insert duke player here
7. insert duke player here
6. insert duke player here
5. insert duke player here
4. insert duke player here
3. insert duke player here
2. insert duke player here
1. olowakandi


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