# Worst No. 2 picks of the past 20 years



## Najee (Apr 5, 2007)

Usually with the No. 2 overall pick, a team is expecting an immediate contributor to a potential star. Unfortunately, there have been some players who fell woefully short of that expectation. Debate who do you feel is the worst No. 2 pick of the past 20 years.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

Darko Milicic.


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## Merk (May 24, 2006)

Darko


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## billfindlay10 (Jan 24, 2003)

Darko would seem like the likely pick, but over the last few seasons, 2 with the Magic and the with the Grizz, he has proven to be a rotation player. Sure a back-up big man is not what you want from a #2 pick, but he is doing more than Swift. So I voted for Stro.


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## Bubbles (Nov 12, 2005)

I wouldn't consider Jay Williams for this list. He had the potential to do a lot, but the motorcycle accident is what derailed his career, not his poor play.


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## roux (Jun 20, 2006)

Im pretty sure Joe Dumars was the only person on the planet that liked Darko more than Melo at that time, Bosh and Wade werent even in the discussion for the #2, Darko is the worst #2 because of who he was taken ahead of but really its not his fault, its Dumars


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## RapsFan (Feb 4, 2003)

I thought this was always Sam Bowie, only for the reason of who was drafted #3. Then there is also Len Bias. Although, not because of his potentrial talent. But the names up there definitely deserve to be in the discussion.

**Note** Just realized this is last 20 years. Bowie and Bias just miss out on that criteria. My apologies.


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## Najee (Apr 5, 2007)

Quite Frankly said:


> I wouldn't consider Jay Williams for this list. He had the potential to do a lot, but the motorcycle accident is what derailed his career, not his poor play.


Jay Williams' 2002-03 season: 9.5 points on .399 FG%, .322 3P% and .640 FT%; 4.7 assists; 2.6 rebounds; and 1.1 steals per game. It's more than fair to say Williams struggled as a rookie, but it was even more shocking in the fact that Williams' offensive skills were what made him a highly regarded prospect. Williams was considered a better prospect than Chris Paul in their respective stages.

Moreover, Williams reportedly had rubbed some of his Chicago teammates the wrong way; I also recall Williams caused some hoopla with taking Michael Jordan's old locker rather defiantly. Also, let's keep in mind why Williams' career ended: He was riding a motorcycle without the team's consent, a stipulated clause in his contract (*NOTE:* I remember on an ESPN show weeks before his accident where Williams was on his motorcycle and asked if the team knew he had a motorcycle. He condescendingly said "No" and left on his bike).

So he deserves to be on the list, IMO. The one season Williams played was a disappointment and that's as good as his career will get.


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## Mr. Hobbes (Jul 1, 2005)

Darko might be a bust at #2, but that pick shouldn't count because they won the championship that year. Carmelo's 'ball-stopping' game (in his rookie year) would have been more of a detriment to the team than anything. Every team's goal should be to win the trophy, and Detroit did just that.


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## Prolific Scorer (Dec 16, 2005)

Very good question.

I gotta say Danny Ferry without hesitation. 

Stromile Swift was in a pretty shallow draft, Jay Williams' career was ended with an unfortunate accident, and Darko is at least a respectable defensive player.

Danny Ferry's career amounted to a-whole-lotta nothin', and supringingly was fortunate enough to last 13 seasons.


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## Full Effect (Dec 12, 2004)

Gotta be Darko. Williams never did anything but i guess that wasn't his fault. Ferry lasted a long time putting up mediocre stats. Ferry was drafted by the Clippers but refused to play so he went to Italy while there his rights were traded to Cleveland for Ron Harper and two first round picks and a second round pick.


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## Full Effect (Dec 12, 2004)

I would also like to Add Kieth Van Horn circa 1997 he was a total bust.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

Full Effect said:


> Gotta be Darko. *Williams never did anything but i guess that wasn't his fault.* Ferry lasted a long time putting up mediocre stats. Ferry was drafted by the Clippers but refused to play so he went to Italy while there his rights were traded to Cleveland for Ron Harper and two first round picks and a second round pick.


It was ONLY his fault.


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## eddymac (Jun 23, 2005)

Full Effect said:


> I would also like to Add Kieth Van Horn circa 1997 he was a total bust.


How was Van Horn a bust?


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## Full Effect (Dec 12, 2004)

eddymac said:


> How was Van Horn a bust?


9 season's in the NBA. 5 With New Jersey. Had one season with 21.8 points per game. Played for 6 teams in 9 seasons. Never played a full season missed 20 plus games in each of his last 3 seasons. Was never an all star as well. Not quite second pick material. Remember Pervis Ellison had one year where he averaged 20 plus points per game as well.


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## JFizzleRaider (Nov 1, 2004)

KVH isn't a bust at all.

The definition of a bust is a complete failure, KVH definitely was not that. Stro Swift is a bust and he's my pick


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## Dornado (May 26, 2003)

Williams had a few bright spots as a rookie, like making Jason Kidd his *****... but ultimately he got my vote for being one of many to break this Bulls fans heart...


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## MLKG (Aug 25, 2003)

roux2dope said:


> Im pretty sure Joe Dumars was the only person on the planet that liked Darko more than Melo at that time.


As someone who followed that draft obsessively, I can assure you that was definately not the case.


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## ChosenFEW (Jun 23, 2005)

I have to say darko because of all the great players that came after him....


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## Nimreitz (May 13, 2003)

MLKG said:


> As someone who followed that draft obsessively, I can assure you that was definately not the case.




I'm not sure I'd go as far as saying I thought Darko was better, but I was totally fine with Darko over Melo.


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## jman23 (Aug 13, 2007)

easily darko BTW Keith Van Horn is nowhere near being a bust LMAO


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

If Keith Van Horn was a bust, then Marvin Williams _really_ was - and I don't think either is.

I had to go with Jay Williams, even though his inability to live up to expectation was caused by injury.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

It has to be Darko because of what you could have had instead.He hasn't completely played his way out of the league,but you could have taken a couple of guys who have a chance to make the hall of fame


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## MLKG (Aug 25, 2003)

And for the record - Darko is definately the biggest bust because there is no reason he shouldn't have been successfull. 

He's a legit 7 feet, has a huge wingspan, has great lateral speed, is a good shooter, a great shot blocker, a good passer, and a solid rebounder yet. Most importantly, he supposedly played with fire. He was the anti-Dirk, the euro-bigman with a mean streak, born from the war-torn fields of Yugoslavia.

Unfortunately, that "fire" was nothing more than petulance, and when he found out breaking into the NBA as a 17 year old wasn't going to go like thought it was - he said **** it, I'm rich, I'm young, I'm in America. He saw guys like Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, and Mehmet Okur in front of him and instead of trying to get better, decided to wait them out.

Anyway, if he wants to have an NBA career, he still has time to do it.

After 6 uninspired years in the league it's easy to forget - he's only 4 months older than Tyler Hansbrough, 2 years younger than Al Thornton.

He'll probably go back to Europe when his contract is up though.


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## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

Full Effect said:


> I would also like to Add Kieth Van Horn circa 1997 he was a total bust.


He didn't live up to expectations, but he certainly wasn't a bust.

After you put Big Dog Robinson in the "Worst No. 1 pick" thread, are you sure you should be participating in these conversations?


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## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

MLKG said:


> As someone who followed that draft obsessively, I can assure you that was definately not the case.


I remember Darko getting *enormous* hype coming into that draft, and I totally bought into it just like a lot of others did. No one wants to admit it now, but that guy was fairly close to being a consensus No. 2 pick. Anthony was the only guy at all besides Milicic who was getting mentioned at No. 2.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

I always thought it was really absurd for Dumars to take a chance on a potential type player when he has a contending team and there are several guys with patently obvious nba skills to be taken.You do that stuff with the eighth pick after all the sure things are gone.If he didn't think he needed Melo he should have traded down or gone for bosh.Just imagine how good that team could have been for the last half decade if they'd had Chris Bosh.


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## Dornado (May 26, 2003)

The debate at the time was Lebron v. Melo... Darko was a guy that was rocketing up the charts, but I still think most were surprised when it became clear Dumars was going to take him.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

Darko


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## southeasy (Jun 11, 2003)

Stro is better then all those listed. i'd say Ferry/Bradley


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## Dornado (May 26, 2003)

southeasy said:


> Stro is better then all those listed. i'd say Ferry/Bradley


How is Stromile Swift better than Shawn Bradley?


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## Najee (Apr 5, 2007)

Cinco de Mayo said:


> After you put Big Dog Robinson in the "Worst No. 1 pick" thread, are you sure you should be participating in these conversations?


I agree. I don't see how a nine-year veteran who averaged 16 points and 6.8 rebounds per game for his career is considered a "bust."

This really is a difficult choice for me, because of not only their performances. Shawn Bradley, Danny Ferry, Darko Milicic and Jay Williams also have the issue of great expectations and massively underachieving them. By that train of thought, the only thing I know is I will not choose Stromile Swift.


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## southeasy (Jun 11, 2003)

Dornado said:


> How is Stromile Swift better than Shawn Bradley?


idk. Bradley is best known for getting dunked on and being a tall blue alien in space jam.........

Swift was a #2 pick, yeah, but that was in arguably the worst draft ever. the #1 pick, Kenyon Martin was not even much better career-wise. atleast 20 of the top 30 picks aren't even in the league anymore. i wouldn't say Stromile even had great expectations coming in out of LSU,. He was an undersized 4 at 6'9" and weighed like 215.

career wise he only avg'd 2 less rebounds & 1 less block then Shawn Bradley did? 

Stro-show will always be one of my favourite players, so maybe i'm biased, but i don't call him a bust in any stretch. he performs well on the court given PT & can be a monster. he's had his flashes, so i can't label my guy like that. 

he gets a bad rep for nothing.


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## Najee (Apr 5, 2007)

*Stromile Swift, Shawn Bradley*

You lost me on the Kenyon Martin comparison there (a career starter vs. a career backup in Stromile Swift, not to mention Martin and Swift are roughly the same size), but I can agree with you on some other points, southeasy.

I remember when Orlando won the No. 1 pick in 1993. Quite a few people were so enamored with Shawn Bradley's potential. There even was a then-columnist for The Orlando Sentinel who proposed that the Magic draft Bradley and _trade_ then-rookie Shaquille O'Neal for players with whom to surround Bradley because he "was going to revolutionize the position."

The problem was, I was dumbfounded in what people saw in Bradley. I saw him play his one season in college and I found him unimpressive; in particular when he went against New Mexico's Luc Longley. To compound matters, Bradley had not touched a basketball in two years prior to being drafted, thanks to his Mormon committments.


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## Scuall (Jul 25, 2002)

*Re: Stromile Swift, Shawn Bradley*



Najee said:


> I remember when Orlando won the No. 1 pick in 1993. Quite a few people were so enamored with Shawn Bradley's potential. There even was a then-columnist for The Orlando Sentinel who proposed that the Magic draft Bradley and _trade_ then-rookie Shaquille O'Neal for players with whom to surround Bradley because he "was going to revolutionize the position."
> 
> The problem was, I was dumbfounded in what people saw in Bradley. I saw him play his one season in college and I found him unimpressive; in particular when he went against New Mexico's Luc Longley. To compound matters, Bradley had not touched a basketball in two years prior to being drafted, thanks to his Mormon committments.


That goes back to his stellar HS career, he was a known national player before the advent of all the online scouting services. College/pro scouts were gushing all over him because he was athletic (IDK, maybe those two years robbed him of some of that athleticism) and could shoot out to 3-pt range back then. I vaguely recall him tearing it up from 3-pt line in the McD AA practices. Was seen as the second coming of Bill Walton, and let's face facts, being a nice white kid from Utah didn't hurt. Classic case of reality doesn't match they hype.


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## Najee (Apr 5, 2007)

I knew Shawn Bradley was a McDonald's All-American and one of the biggest name recruits in that class (which included Grant Hill, Rodney Rogers and Ed O'Bannon, among others), and he was the MVP of the 1990 game. I also believe the scouts looked at his 7-foot-6 frame and envisioned Bradley adding some more bulk. 

My question was a little more rhetorical than literal, so I apologize for not clarifying. Like I said, I saw him play his one season at BYU and he wasn't impressive against Luc Longley (a sign then, IMO, because I wasn't impressed with Longley as a pro prospect).


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## Scuall (Jul 25, 2002)

Najee said:


> I knew Shawn Bradley was a McDonald's All-American and one of the biggest name recruits in that class (which included Grant Hill, Rodney Rogers and Ed O'Bannon, among others), and he was the MVP of the 1990 game. I also believe the scouts looked at his 7-foot-6 frame and envisioned Bradley adding some more bulk.
> 
> My question was a little more rhetorical than literal, so I apologize for not clarifying. Like I said, I saw him play his one season at BYU and he wasn't impressive against Luc Longley (a sign then, IMO, because I wasn't impressed with Longley as a pro prospect).


Rodney Rogers was in that class too? I totally forgot about him. Off-topic, but I recall that class pretty well, as I was a big fan of the O'Bannons at Artesia. I've posted this before, but Ed was never as explosive as he was at Artesia, that ACL his frosh year at UCLA really killed his future NBA prospects.

Yeah, I don't remember Bradley's time at BYU that much, as they weren't on national TV that often. Longley had graduated before I began at UNM as well and I never got a chance to see him in a Lobo uniform.


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## Full Effect (Dec 12, 2004)

Hold up read my point of Van Horn. He was not second pick material. How can you say he is when he played nine seasons with 6 teams. Never played a full season, never was an all star never won a ring. I mean be real here he may be a flop not a bust but come on don't give Keith too much credit okay. The team that he played his rookie year for had him for 5 seasons in which he produced til his last two. Look up Pervis Ellisons first 5 seasons he avered double digets per game in 3 of them including one with 20 even. Plus Pervis played 11 seasons. I'm not comparing the two i'm just saying Keith was not worth the second pick when you could have had Tracy McGrady or Chauncey Billups.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

Yeah I always say you should draft a guy based on what he did in the succeeding ten years after he was drafted into the nba.Except that information was not available when Van Horn was drafted.


Let's look at what happened to the teams that drafted your examples though.McGrady went to Toronto,didn't play much at first...then he played and he left for a big money contract.Does that make him a bust?If you are toronto you didn't get as much out of McGrady as the Nets got out of Van Horn.What about Billups?He was a complete bust for boston...In fact he was a complete nonfactor his first trip to denver and then until his final year with the wolves...What did the Celtics gain by drafting him that would have made him a better choice than Van Horn?


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## Full Effect (Dec 12, 2004)

Toronto had no Room for T-mac. Look I hear what your saying but i'm not changing my mind. Billups was MVP of the league. T-mac was a numerous All star, maybe not with the team that drafted them. Van Horn was drafted by Philly then traded to NJ. They Went to the finals then his numbers started to drop. Your saying 5 years with a team 3 good ones 2 mediocre validates you as a good second overall pick. He became a roll player 4 years into his career. Jersey had already decided to cut their losses and trade him. Someone has to see my point. I'm not saying he is the worst or even top 5 but please he was a flop.


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## Najee (Apr 5, 2007)

*Keith Van Horn*

The problem with your argument, Full Effect, is that Keith Van Horn's career is typical from what a person would expect from the No. 2 overall pick. He played nine seasons and put up very solid numbers (16 points, 6.8 rebounds per game) -- very reasonable production, IMO.

Look at the No. 2 picks from the past 20 years (1989-2007), and the only players whose careers were clearly better than Van Horn's are Gary Payton (Class of '90), Alonzo Mourning ('92) and Jason Kidd ('94). 

Even though Kevin Durant ('07) shows a higher ceiling than Van Horn, it's more based on projection and potential at this point -- one that could be derailed by injury or sudden decline. The same holds true for LaMarcus Aldridge ('06). If both players' careers ended now, then Van Horn would be considered having the better career.

Players like Kenny Anderson ('91) are debatable. Stevie Francis ('99) was in the same position as Durant and Aldridge, but his rapid and sudden decline makes his career vs. Van Horn's debatale. The same can be said about Antonio McDyess ('95). 

I can see someone giving an edge to Marcus Camby ('96) and Mike Bibby ('98), but it's not going to be by much. Tyson Chandler ('01) is possibly even, but before his emergence with the Hornets it was clearly in favor of Van Horn, IMO. More of the same with Emeka Okafor ('04) and Marvin Williams ('05), but it would not be a shock to give the edge to Van Horn (I likely would at this point).

We named the five players on this poll who clearly were worse than Van Horn.

For a No. 2 pick, Van Horn had an average career. In reality, he wasn't any better than worse than any other typical No. 2 chosen the past 20 years.

*NOTE:* Van Horn played for five NBA teams (New Jersey, Philadelphia, New York, Milwaukee, Dallas) in his career. Van Horn played for the last three teams in his final three seasons, which is typical for such a player at the end of his career. Van Horn's numbers fell off in his final two seasons.


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## Full Effect (Dec 12, 2004)

*Re: Keith Van Horn*



Najee said:


> We named the five players on this poll who clearly were worse than Van Horn.
> 
> NOTE:[/b] Van Horn played for five NBA teams (New Jersey, Philadelphia, New York, Milwaukee, Dallas) in his career. Van Horn played for the last three teams in his final three seasons, which is typical for such a player at the end of his career. Van Horn's numbers fell off in his final two seasons.


Agreed. He scored over 1,000 points in 6 out of 9 seasons. Missed 30 games in 2000-2001, averaged 17 points per game. Next season played in 81 games but only put up 14.8. His decline began in his fourth season. With philly the next year he put up much of the same 15.9. He never made it over 15 again in his career and the rest of his career he missed over 20 games in each of his last 3 seasons.


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