Biggest steal

Pick #1 of 2006 draft Andrea Bargnani

FYI, he's doing great for the Raptors as a rookie.

Top Steals

1) Gilbert Arenas
2) Michael Redd
3) Carlos Boozer
4) Josh Howard
5) Mehmet Okur



Biggest Busts

1) Nicola Tskitishvili
2) Dajuan Wagner
3) Rafael Araujo
4) Marcus Fizer
5) Kwame Brown


Bargnani isn't a bust, the guy is just new. Wait till he's older to have them opinions on him. Bogut was no bust either, it's not like he completely sucks or anything, he's a starting center for te Bucks.

the thing with darko is who he was picked ahead of. he could turn into a 20 and 10 guy for his career and people will still question detroits choice

how bout that shielden williams and lamarcus aldridge?are they doin any good?

Aldrigde is doing great for the blazers i dont know about williams

maybe good but not good enough for a 2nd pick...they're lucky they were able to get brandon roy

That's what I don't understand about the draft, He isn't good enough to be at #2, that's bullshit, If a team wants you and can get you it shouldn't matter what number you get picked at, that's why I don't see the big hype about the #1 pick and all the pressure about being #1. Its all about getting what you want from the draft. If Andrea was #13 in the draft it still wouldn't matter, he'd be playing how he's playing right now. Being #1 is overated.

good point. though in some cases i think a player who gets drafted low, or not at all, they could use that as motivation.

when it comes to picking a player as a "steal" you have to consider if he is still on the team that drafted him. if they were drafted and didnt start to shine til after a trade or soemthing then its not a steal at all.

good point

i would pick manu ginobili. how can a guy like manu rated around 86-87 in nba live games be drafted 3rd last

^ I pick you as an idiot.
Any poster who uses NBA Live to back-up his argument related to the real NBA should be labeled an idiot.

^ I pick you as an idiot.
Any poster who uses NBA Live to back-up his argument related to the real NBA should be labeled an idiot.

i was joking
any poster who cant see sarcasm with a " " should be labeled an idiot.

i was joking

I know, I guess you didn't notice the emoticon after my post..

idiot.

any poster who cant see sarcasm with a " " should be labeled an idiot.

You just categorized yourself into one by ignoring the emoticon after my previous post.

Pick #1 of 2006 draft Andrea Bargnani

FYI, he's doing great for the Raptors as a rookie.

Agreed!

The fact that Darko was picked at nro 2 was because Detroit had the luxury of picking a "project" instead of a finished product. Guys that come from Europe and rest of the world always take their time to develop. Dirk hardly did anything that special in the first couple of seasons in the NBA. The fact that Bargnani is already contributing points that he is well ahead on the curb when compared to Dirk for example.

I don't see Darko as a bust. Sure you could have picked more safely with the second pick in a draft featuring LBJ, Melo, Bosh, Wade etc. But the fact that Detroit had about 1 minute of playing time per game to spare to the number 2 pick of the draft, I would say Detroit made a wise pick. Dumars will be judged twice on the Darko subject. First, picking him at number 2 with more complete players available and a second time for giving up on him. LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade etc. all these guys cannot really compared to what Darko has been through in the NBA. The guys that are the "stars" now, were automatically put in situations where they had millions of tons of playing time available. Coaches looking to make plays where they end up with the shots and a lot of touches on offense in general. They had the PT given to them since they were drafted by teams desperate of success and needed some serious star power. Darko on the other hand, went to a successful team that really had no need for him! They didn't need anything from him and he definitely didn't have set plays that would have gone through him... In short, James, Anthony, Bosh, Wade were expected to make the team succesful right there and then and Darko was expected to be trod on the court how Detroit screwed another franchise of a really high pick that could turned the direction of an entire franchise... He was there to be the victory cigar... An overpaid cheer leader...

Only recently has Orlando let Darko start some games and he is playing at least decently. But with 60 minutes of playing time in the first 2-3 years in the NBA hasn't exactly given him a feel for the NBA game... The good news is that Darko is still very young and thus he still has a great chance of making a career for himself that will really make Dumars look like a genious and a fool at the same time... But if he starts pretty much the rest of the games for Orlando this season, he will be better for it for next season.

Drafting a seven footer with outstanding potential has been a norm for NBA in the last 7-8 years... They hope to find the next Shaq, Duncan, Garnett, Webber etc. Because those guys are even more rare today than Kobe's and Carter's and T-Mac's... If you happen to land a Shaq in a draft, everyone will be calling you a genious. But Shaq, Wilt, Russell, Duncan, Garnett are all special people and special players. The chances of finding one is slim to say at best. But the temptation of a great big man is something that teams just can't pass by. I believe that fear drives this too... I think that the fear of being the GM that passed on a Shaq or a Wilt or a Duncan or a Garnett is a big factor in these decisions as well...

As people have said in this thread, judged by who was picked later... So you have choices to make and it is never easy. You can easily get it wrong and you entire franchise may end up in a death spiral as the result. So there is huge pressure on the front offices when they draft young guys. Drafting young guys has always been a gamble at best... Even LeBron was expected to fail and fall flat on his ass with all the NBA pressure on him and he easily could have... And that would have kept Cleveland a bottom dweller for a long time... Cleveland lucked out and got an 18 year old phenom that actually had the right stuff to handle the pressure... How many "next Jordan's" have there been? How many of them have panned out?

Top 5 Steals:

1. Gilbert Arenas
2. Michael Redd
3. Carlos Boozer
4. Josh Howard
5. Tony Parker

Top busts:

1. Ndudi Ebi (Minnesota finally got a 1st round draft pick after being banned, and this is the guy they selected?)
2. Besides Collison, Desmond Mason and maybe Ridnour, pick any draftee by the supersonics in this millennium
3.) Nikolaz Tskitishvili

How on earth is Desmond Mason a bust? How is Ridnour either? Mason is avraging 14ppg and 5 boards isn't that bad. Ridnour is also avraging 12 ppg and 5 dishes. Is that considered a bust for a 17th and 14th pick? People drafted before them have worse stats.

Besides Collison, Desmond Mason and maybe Ridnour, pick any draftee by the supersonics in this millennium

He said all Sonics pics EXCEPT Ridnour, Mason, and Collison. Please read a little more carefully before posting.

He could mean besides Colison these are other busts. Atleast that is what I understood it as.

Biggest steal - Arenas
Biggest bust - Milicic

Steal - Arenas
Bust - Olowokandi (I hate that guy)

i would go with arenas if he was drafted by the wizards. not really a steal (draft wise anyway) since golden state didnt really get anything for it. did they trade him or he leave free agency? if traded who did gstate get in return?

I believe Golden State got nothing...Arenas left as a free agent. I only remember because there's a story that Arenas picked his team based on flipping a coin.

i was joking

I know, I guess you didn't notice the emoticon after my post..

idiot.

any poster who cant see sarcasm with a " " should be labeled an idiot.

You just categorized yourself into one by ignoring the emoticon after my previous post.

i guess you didnt notice the emoticon after my post...

idiot.

you just categorized yourself into one by ignoring the emoticon after my previous post.

I seriously dislike you. You're annoying. Coming from me, the King of Annoying, that says something.

i would go with arenas if he was drafted by the wizards. not really a steal (draft wise anyway) since golden state didnt really get anything for it. did they trade him or he leave free agency? if traded who did gstate get in return?

Why is he not a steal if Golden State didn't get anything out of it? The fact of the matter is, he was drafted at #32 or something and he's now a superstar. Who cares what team he ended up with?

i would go with arenas if he was drafted by the wizards. not really a steal (draft wise anyway) since golden state didnt really get anything for it. did they trade him or he leave free agency? if traded who did gstate get in return?

Why is he not a steal if Golden State didn't get anything out of it? The fact of the matter is, he was drafted at #32 or something and he's now a superstar. Who cares what team he ended up with?

imo to be considered a steal you have to get drafted and completly overperform for the team that drafted you. that is just my opinion of course but how is his draft status of any importance when he does not even play for the team that drafted him? i feel the same way about kobe. you can consider him a steal trade wise but not draft wise cause the drafting team never got a steal. again just my opinion.