H o o p s C o r n e r . c o m
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February 23, 2005
By Tyson Wirth
Continued
- From king of the hill to King James, I love Lebron as much as the next guy. I agree he’s the most amazing thing since sliced bread, and I definitely would have drafted him first overall in the 2003 draft, as the Cleveland Cavaliers did. Which leads to the point – everyone would have taken Lebron first given the chance almost two years ago.
Therefore, Cleveland cannot be given any special props for their drafting ability on that one unless it’s simply that they didn’t screw up, which admittedly is still better than the alternative. However, the rest of their recent draft history has shown an amazing ability to find overrated, over-hyped prospects come draft time. In 2000, as has been stated, there was an abundance of flawed prospects.
But seriously… Chris Mihm with a top ten pick? He has proved to be an adequate role player in Los Angeles, but you don’t spend lottery picks hoping they’ll pan out as a third wheel for a team 2300 miles away. In 2001 the infamous DaSagna Diop became a Cavalier with the eighth overall selection, and the 20th overall pick was traded for the one and only Michael Doleac.
In 2002 Dajuan Wagner was the first rounder; Wagner’s minutes have steadily declined since his arrival, injuries have taken their toll and he is currently on the trade block with no apparent takers. They did have a spectacular second round pick in Carlos Boozer, but ask Cleveland fans how they feel about Boozer nowadays. 2003 was the year of Bron-Bron of course, and the jury’s still out on 2004 pick Luke Jackson.
Let’s just hope for Jackson’s sake the jury rules more favorably than it has on the rest of Cleveland’s drafts.
- If Cleveland was lucky enough to land a first overall pick and done squat with the rest of its picks, call the Houston Rockets “Cleveland South.”
In 2002 the Rockets landed All-Star center and global marketing icon Yao Ming after the ping pong balls bounced their way, but have done their best to make sure Yao has a black hole of talent around him thanks to other failed draft experiments. In 2000 they traded their ninth overall pick for Jason Collier and a future pick.
Collier’s 3.5 points per game average with the Rockets didn’t exactly turn heads, and he was allowed to jump ship after just three years. In 2001, the Rockets held three first round picks and were poised to make the biggest splash of anybody come draft day. They drafted Richard Jefferson (13th), Jason Collins (18th), and Brandon Armstrong (23rd)… and promptly gave all three to New Jersey in exchange for Eddie Griffin, a headache who was waived just two years later. Griffin was immediately signed by...that’s right, New Jersey.
In 2002 Houston did what 28 other teams would have and took Yao first, then wasted yet another first rounder (15th overall) on Bostjan Nachbar, who played a grand total of 16 games with the Rockets before finding greener pastures in New Orleans.
Finally, the ’03 and ’04 drafts have been like the morning after a toga party for Houston management… they know they were there, but they just can’t remember what the hell they did.
THE GOLDEN RULE
One thing every team can remember doing, however, is missing on a “sure thing” draft pick. The drafts of the last five years have shown that even the sharpest teams strike out and, conversely, even the worst drafters can get lucky.
Although any fan would rather be managed by a shrewd and stellar GM than a stumbling and stupid one, there is hope for even the forlorn fans of the Hornets.
Let’s just pray, come the summer draft, that New Orleans’s good citizens entrust their hope unto a Lebron and not a Diop.
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