The list has a definite "Joe D" flavor to it.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/The-top-10-lottery-busts-of-the-last-decade?urn=nba,184973

I'm not sure it's fair to call Yi a bust just yet.

J.J. Redick?

Shelden Williams?

Jay Williams?

Fran Vasquez is another that comes to mind.

Oden

Dajuan Wagner...Ithink he scored 100 points in a highschool game too

You could argue Mike Sweetney and Acie Law...and all the 7footers the sonics drafted...

Redick was taken in the 20s, Morrison was top-10 IIRC. That's why Morrison is on there and Redick isn't.

Acie Law isn't going to get written off as one of the top-10 busts of the last decade. A bust, yes, but not top-10.

Jay Williams should get some consideration. Yes, it was due to injury, but he's still a bust. It's just his own fault, not the GMs.

Oden could easily make it into the top 3 of that list, probably #2, but he's still got a chance to redeem himself.

If Oden never gets any better, is he a bigger bust than Darko?

He is if Durant is better than Melo.

I think Zek got it with the Sonics trio of failed bigs...

Robert Swift, Saer Sene, Johan Petro...talk about a huge setback for that franchise...that's probably part of the reason why they aren't in Seattle anymore

Martell Webster is another one I thought of...

I don't think Petro was a lottery pick. Sene and Swift should definitely draw consideration (especially Sene). I think Korolev should be higher. And good call on Shelden Williams. I'd move Yi off and move Morrison back (he was the #3 pick).

But he got #1 correct. Darko may not only be the worst pick of this decade, but may be the worst pick ever by the time it's all said and done.

It's too soon to call the curtains on Yi Jianlian -- 8/5 in 20-odd minutes isn't total suck. I could see him making a Bargnani-like jump.

Darko has a ring right? Makes him less bust-worthy than some of those other "stars" drafted after him IMO. lol

Darko has a ring right? Makes him less bust-worthy than some of those other "stars" drafted after him IMO. lol
This is wrong
Kthanksbye

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Darko has a ring right? Makes him less bust-worthy than some of those other "stars" drafted after him IMO. lol

I think you and I could have played the same role Darko did and the Pistons still would have won. Plus I bet we wouldn't have gotten our ears infected trying to pierce them.

He is if Durant is better than Melo.
They took a bust over 1 guy that's a star. Dumars took a bust in a ridiculously deep lottery. That's what puts Darko over Oden if Oden turns out to be a bust.

The thing that factors most into Darko being #1 on this list is who we could've had instead (Bosh, Wade, Melo, etc.)

Whereas, the main reason the other 9 players are on the list, is because they all flat out sucked.

Darko sucks too, but he's not the worst player, production/talent wise, on this list.

It's kind of unfair, but at the same time-- it's hard to argue against.

If Durant is good enough, passing on him will eclipse Darko. Wade is the best of the 3 Dumars passed up for Sucko and he wasn't expected to be as good as he is. That may get Dumars off the hook eventually. If Melo and Wade never win anything and Durant becomes who some expect, Oden will be a terrible joke of a draft.

Fran Vasquez is another that comes to mind.
Vazquez is a bust for staying home for more money rather than playing in the NBA for less? He might've proven to be a bust in the NBA, but we'll probably never know.

It's a bust for Orlando for sure, but that's Orlando's own fault... how fucking Tragic of them.

If Durant is good enough, passing on him will eclipse Darko. Wade is the best of the 3 Dumars passed up for Sucko and he wasn't expected to be as good as he is. That may get Dumars off the hook eventually. If Melo and Wade never win anything and Durant becomes who some expect, Oden will be a terrible joke of a draft.

People that enjoyed this post also liked: http://wtfdetroit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8433&highlight=oden+durant

I will freely admit that I didn't believe Durant would be anything special. I hated the shots he took, and I thought he was way too skinny to be dominant. He's not there yet, but he's looking like he's going to prove me wrong.

I will also admit that I suck at predicting which players will be good. I thought Orlando was moronic for passing up Okafor for Howard.

MoTown = Good with X's and O's, awful with talent projection.

By the way, Matt Stafford's going to suck.

Vazquez is a bust for staying home for more money rather than playing in the NBA for less? He might've proven to be a bust in the NBA, but we'll probably never know.

It's a bust for Orlando for sure, but that's Orlando's own fault... how fucking Tragic of them.


That's what I meant...in the sense that it was a lost pick for Orlando

Definitely a bust pick.

If Vasquez was a lottery talent, he would have made a lot more over the course of an NBA career. He doesn't even stand out in Europe.

It was a bad pick.

Not NBA busts, but hey...


http://www.bustedcoverage.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/dcc_b-ballgame.jpg (http://www.bustedcoverage.com/?attachment_id=3513)

Works for me :)

If Vasquez was a lottery talent, he would have made a lot more over the course of an NBA career. He doesn't even stand out in Europe.

It was a bad pick.
Minor quibble.

He _might_ have made more. Or he _might_ have gotten injured and walked away with nothing. If someone guaranteed me $8 million after taxes, or I take $1-2 million total (subtract taxes and Euro buyout) for a couple years, gambling to make $80+ million a few years down the line, I'd probably take the $8 million and cruise through the rest of my career.

Personally, I think he'd have been be a crap player -- the one exhibition he had in the U.S. was awful -- but it's hard to say. Some top-flight Euro talent was drafted with fairly modest stats. Memo was 9/7 in a second-rate Euro team when drafted at 21. Vazquez was 10/6 and a shot-blocker for a better Euro team when he was drafted at age 22.

As long as they're Amway, I hope the Tragic continues to be doofuses.