Until looking back tonight, I had always assumed the worst draft ever (at least in the last 20-25 years) was the 1989 draft where we were "lucky" enough to have the #1 pick. It was easily the worst top 10 I had ever seen and while some of the later picks were better, it was still very mediocre. Here's the draft from that year:
1 Sac Pervis Ellison Louisville
2 LAC Danny Ferry Duke
3 SA Sean Elliott Arizona
4 Mia Glen Rice Michigan
5 Char J.R. Reid North Carolina
6 Chi Stacey King Oklahoma
7 Ind George McCloud Florida State
8 Dall Randy White Louisiana Tech
9 Wash Tom Hammonds Georgia Tech
10 Minn Pooh Richardson UCLA
11 Orl Nick Anderson Illinois
12 NJ Mookie Blaylock Oklahoma
13 Bos Michael Smith Brigham Young
14 GS Tim Hardaway Texas-El Paso
15 Den Todd Lichti Stanford
16 Sea Dana Barros Boston College
17 Sea Shawn Kemp Trinity Valley
18 Chi B.J. Armstrong Iowa
19 Phil Kenny Payne Louisville
20 Chi Jeff Sanders Georgia Southern
21 Utah Blue Edwards East Carolina
22 Port Byron Irvin Missouri
23 Atl Roy Marble Iowa
24 Phoe Anthony Cook Arizona
25 Clev John Morton Seton Hall
26 LAL Vlade Divac None (Yugoslavia)
27 Det Kenny Battle Illinois
Second Round
1 Mia Sherman Douglas Syracuse
2 Char Dyron Nix Tennesse
3 Mil Frank Kornet Vanderbilt
4 LAC Jeff Martin Murray State
5 NJ Stanley Brundy DePaul
6 LAC Jay Edwards Indiana
7 Minn Gary Leonard Missouri
8 Dall Pat Durham Colorado State
9 Port Cliff Robinson Connecticut
10 Orl Michael Ansley Alabama
11 Minn Doug West Villanova
12 Wash Ed Horton Iowa
13 Bos Dino Radja Virtus Roma (Yugoslavia)
14 Wash Doug Roth Tennessee
15 Den Michael Cutright McNeese State
16 Clev Chucky Brown North Carolina State
17 Phil Reggie Cross Hawaii
18 Mia Scott Haffner Evansville
19 Phoe Ricky Blanton Louisiana State
20 Den Reggie Turner Alabama-Birmingham
21 Utah Junie Lewis South Alabama
22 Atl Haywoode Workman Oral Roberts
23 NY Brian Quinnett Washington State
24 Phoe Mike Morrison Loyola (MD)
25 Phoe Greg Grant Trenton State
26 Dall Jeff Hodge South Alabama
27 Phil Toney Mack Georgia
In this draft:
- There were only two all stars in the top 10 - Glen Rice and Sean Elliot
- 6 of the top 10 are widely considered busts
- There were only 2 legitimate stars - Shawn Kemp and Tim Hardaway - and they were both drafted outside of the lottery, though you could make a case for Glen Rice
- Danny Ferry played overseas for a season instead of playing for the Clippers
However, glancing over some of the recent drafts, I noticed that the 2000 draft is making a serious run at 1989 for it's level of absolute futility. The weird part is that not only is the 2000 draft already looking worse, but it has the potential to blow the 1989 draft out of the water in terms dreadfulness. It's like thinking the Trailblazers are the biggest mess in the NBA and then finding out about the Knicks. Here's the draft from that year:
1. Kenyon Martin Cincinnati New Jersey
2. Stromile Swift Louisiana State Vancouver
3. Darius Miles East St. Louis (IL) HS LA Clippers
4. Marcus Fizer Iowa State Chicago
5. Mike Miller Florida Orlando
6. DerMarr Johnson Cincinnati Atlanta
7. Chris Mihm Texas Chicago
8. Jamal Crawford Michigan Cleveland
9. Joel Przybilla Minnesota Houston
10. Keyon Dooling Missouri Orlando
11. Jerome Moiso UCLA Boston
12. Etan Thomas Syracuse Dallas
13. Courtney Alexander Fresno State Orlando
14. Mateen Cleaves Michigan State Detroit
15. Jason Collier Georgia Tech Milwaukee
16. Hidayet Turkoglu Efes Pilsen (Turkey) Sacramento
17. Desmond Mason Oklahoma State Seattle
18. Quentin Richardson DePaul LA Clippers
19. Jamaal Magloire Kentucky Charlotte
20. Craig Claxton Hofstra Philadelphia
21. Morris Peterson Michigan State Toronto
22. Donnell Harvey Florida New York
23. DeShawn Stevenson Washington Union (CA) HS Utah
24. Dalibor Bagaric Benston Zagreb (Croatia) Chicago
25. Iakovos Tsakalidis AEK (Greece) Phoenix
26. Mamadou N'diaye Auburn Denver
27. Primoz Brezec Olimpija (Slovenia) Indiana
28. Erick Barkley St. John's Portland
29. Mark Madsen Stanford LA Lakers
2nd Round
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30. Marko Jaric PAF Bologna (Italy) LA Clippers
31. Dan Langhi Vanderbilt Dallas
32. A.J. Guyton Indiana Chicago
33. Jake Voskuhl Connecticut Chicago
34. Khalid El-Amin Connecticut Chicago
35. Mike Smith Louisiana-Monroe Washington
36. Soumaila Samake Cincinnati (IBL) New Jersey
37. Eddie House Arizona State Miami
38. Eduardo Najera Oklahoma Houston
39. Lavor Postell St. John's New York
40. Hanno Mottola Utah Atlanta
41. Chris Carrawell Duke San Antonio
42. Olumide Oyedeji DJK Wurzburg (Germany) Seattle
43. Michael Redd Ohio State Milwaukee
44. Brian Cardinal Purdue Detroit
45. Jabari Smith Louisiana State Sacramento
46. DeeAndre Hulett Las Vegas (IBL) Toronto
47. Josip Sesar Cibona Zagreb (Croatia) Seattle
48. Mark Karcher Temple Philadelphia
49. Jason Hart Syracuse Milwaukee
50. Kaniel Dickens Idaho Utah
51. Igor Rakocevic KK Crvena Zveda (Yg) Minnesota
52. Ernest Brown Indian Hills (IA) CC Miami
53. Dan McClintock Northern Arizona Denver
54. Cory Hightower Indian Hills (IA) CC San Antonio
55. Chris Porter Auburn Golden State
56. JaQuay Walls Colorado Indiana
57. Scoonie Penn Ohio State Atlanta
58. Pete Mickeal Cincinnati Dallas
In this draft:
- Not only is there only 1 all star in the top 10 picks. There's only 3 in the entire draft and one was selected in the middle of the second round - Michael Redd (Jamal Magloire is the other one).
- There are already three guarenteed busts in the top 10 and not one member of the top 10 has played well enough to certify that they won't be considered a bust.
- The first "value pick" (player better than the position he was selected in) of the entire draft is Hedo at #16
- There aren't even a lot of quality role players in that draft, much less starters.
- Only 5 players in the lottery were starters this season and 3 of them were mediocre centers.
Any votes between the two, commetns, or proposals for worse drafts?
1 Sac Pervis Ellison Louisville
2 LAC Danny Ferry Duke
3 SA Sean Elliott Arizona
4 Mia Glen Rice Michigan
5 Char J.R. Reid North Carolina
6 Chi Stacey King Oklahoma
7 Ind George McCloud Florida State
8 Dall Randy White Louisiana Tech
9 Wash Tom Hammonds Georgia Tech
10 Minn Pooh Richardson UCLA
11 Orl Nick Anderson Illinois
12 NJ Mookie Blaylock Oklahoma
13 Bos Michael Smith Brigham Young
14 GS Tim Hardaway Texas-El Paso
15 Den Todd Lichti Stanford
16 Sea Dana Barros Boston College
17 Sea Shawn Kemp Trinity Valley
18 Chi B.J. Armstrong Iowa
19 Phil Kenny Payne Louisville
20 Chi Jeff Sanders Georgia Southern
21 Utah Blue Edwards East Carolina
22 Port Byron Irvin Missouri
23 Atl Roy Marble Iowa
24 Phoe Anthony Cook Arizona
25 Clev John Morton Seton Hall
26 LAL Vlade Divac None (Yugoslavia)
27 Det Kenny Battle Illinois
Second Round
1 Mia Sherman Douglas Syracuse
2 Char Dyron Nix Tennesse
3 Mil Frank Kornet Vanderbilt
4 LAC Jeff Martin Murray State
5 NJ Stanley Brundy DePaul
6 LAC Jay Edwards Indiana
7 Minn Gary Leonard Missouri
8 Dall Pat Durham Colorado State
9 Port Cliff Robinson Connecticut
10 Orl Michael Ansley Alabama
11 Minn Doug West Villanova
12 Wash Ed Horton Iowa
13 Bos Dino Radja Virtus Roma (Yugoslavia)
14 Wash Doug Roth Tennessee
15 Den Michael Cutright McNeese State
16 Clev Chucky Brown North Carolina State
17 Phil Reggie Cross Hawaii
18 Mia Scott Haffner Evansville
19 Phoe Ricky Blanton Louisiana State
20 Den Reggie Turner Alabama-Birmingham
21 Utah Junie Lewis South Alabama
22 Atl Haywoode Workman Oral Roberts
23 NY Brian Quinnett Washington State
24 Phoe Mike Morrison Loyola (MD)
25 Phoe Greg Grant Trenton State
26 Dall Jeff Hodge South Alabama
27 Phil Toney Mack Georgia
In this draft:
- There were only two all stars in the top 10 - Glen Rice and Sean Elliot
- 6 of the top 10 are widely considered busts
- There were only 2 legitimate stars - Shawn Kemp and Tim Hardaway - and they were both drafted outside of the lottery, though you could make a case for Glen Rice
- Danny Ferry played overseas for a season instead of playing for the Clippers
However, glancing over some of the recent drafts, I noticed that the 2000 draft is making a serious run at 1989 for it's level of absolute futility. The weird part is that not only is the 2000 draft already looking worse, but it has the potential to blow the 1989 draft out of the water in terms dreadfulness. It's like thinking the Trailblazers are the biggest mess in the NBA and then finding out about the Knicks. Here's the draft from that year:
1. Kenyon Martin Cincinnati New Jersey
2. Stromile Swift Louisiana State Vancouver
3. Darius Miles East St. Louis (IL) HS LA Clippers
4. Marcus Fizer Iowa State Chicago
5. Mike Miller Florida Orlando
6. DerMarr Johnson Cincinnati Atlanta
7. Chris Mihm Texas Chicago
8. Jamal Crawford Michigan Cleveland
9. Joel Przybilla Minnesota Houston
10. Keyon Dooling Missouri Orlando
11. Jerome Moiso UCLA Boston
12. Etan Thomas Syracuse Dallas
13. Courtney Alexander Fresno State Orlando
14. Mateen Cleaves Michigan State Detroit
15. Jason Collier Georgia Tech Milwaukee
16. Hidayet Turkoglu Efes Pilsen (Turkey) Sacramento
17. Desmond Mason Oklahoma State Seattle
18. Quentin Richardson DePaul LA Clippers
19. Jamaal Magloire Kentucky Charlotte
20. Craig Claxton Hofstra Philadelphia
21. Morris Peterson Michigan State Toronto
22. Donnell Harvey Florida New York
23. DeShawn Stevenson Washington Union (CA) HS Utah
24. Dalibor Bagaric Benston Zagreb (Croatia) Chicago
25. Iakovos Tsakalidis AEK (Greece) Phoenix
26. Mamadou N'diaye Auburn Denver
27. Primoz Brezec Olimpija (Slovenia) Indiana
28. Erick Barkley St. John's Portland
29. Mark Madsen Stanford LA Lakers
2nd Round
---------
30. Marko Jaric PAF Bologna (Italy) LA Clippers
31. Dan Langhi Vanderbilt Dallas
32. A.J. Guyton Indiana Chicago
33. Jake Voskuhl Connecticut Chicago
34. Khalid El-Amin Connecticut Chicago
35. Mike Smith Louisiana-Monroe Washington
36. Soumaila Samake Cincinnati (IBL) New Jersey
37. Eddie House Arizona State Miami
38. Eduardo Najera Oklahoma Houston
39. Lavor Postell St. John's New York
40. Hanno Mottola Utah Atlanta
41. Chris Carrawell Duke San Antonio
42. Olumide Oyedeji DJK Wurzburg (Germany) Seattle
43. Michael Redd Ohio State Milwaukee
44. Brian Cardinal Purdue Detroit
45. Jabari Smith Louisiana State Sacramento
46. DeeAndre Hulett Las Vegas (IBL) Toronto
47. Josip Sesar Cibona Zagreb (Croatia) Seattle
48. Mark Karcher Temple Philadelphia
49. Jason Hart Syracuse Milwaukee
50. Kaniel Dickens Idaho Utah
51. Igor Rakocevic KK Crvena Zveda (Yg) Minnesota
52. Ernest Brown Indian Hills (IA) CC Miami
53. Dan McClintock Northern Arizona Denver
54. Cory Hightower Indian Hills (IA) CC San Antonio
55. Chris Porter Auburn Golden State
56. JaQuay Walls Colorado Indiana
57. Scoonie Penn Ohio State Atlanta
58. Pete Mickeal Cincinnati Dallas
In this draft:
- Not only is there only 1 all star in the top 10 picks. There's only 3 in the entire draft and one was selected in the middle of the second round - Michael Redd (Jamal Magloire is the other one).
- There are already three guarenteed busts in the top 10 and not one member of the top 10 has played well enough to certify that they won't be considered a bust.
- The first "value pick" (player better than the position he was selected in) of the entire draft is Hedo at #16
- There aren't even a lot of quality role players in that draft, much less starters.
- Only 5 players in the lottery were starters this season and 3 of them were mediocre centers.
Any votes between the two, commetns, or proposals for worse drafts?
