Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Worst Warriors Draft Pick #2: Todd fuller

Imagine how worthless this Card is?


The 1996 Draft. Only the 1984 one can equal in talent but even then it really is a toss up. To put it this way this is the sort of draft that changed the NBA for years to come produced so much depth and entertaining stories and it had Kobe.

The Superstars: Allen Iverson, Steve Nash, Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O'Neal

The All Stars: Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Antoine Walker, Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash, Zyndrunas Ilgauskas

The Solid Role Players: Marcus Camby, Kerry Kittles, Erick Dampier (admit it- he's decent when healthy and feels like playing), Tony Delk, Derek Fisher, and Jerome "Junkyard Dog" Williams, Othella Harington, Moochie Norris, Jeff McInnis, Malik Rose,

Even some of the scrubs won titles or went deep into the playoffs: Samaki Walker, Travis Knight, Shandon Anderson

And in this great draft who did the Warriors take?

11. Golden State - C Todd Fuller, North Carolina St.

I can't even began to describe how painful this was. You pass up on Jermaine O Neal ok that hurts a little. But to pass up on Nash or Kobe is a collective stab in the back towards the fanbase and really exposed the front office as clueless. Fuller is probably the only player in NBA history who's College GPA is higher then his PPG. Let's look back and try and wonder what the hell GM Dave Twardzik was thinking in June of 1996...

Everything was slammin' about this draft except for the Warriors' #11 pick.

Twardzik: "Todd Fuller, I really like him. I see him becoming the next Bill Walton. Did you know he was a Rhodes Scholar finalist this year as a Math major?!"

Asst. GM: "Umm...okay. I don't know, boss. He seems like a stiff. Kobe Bryant has star potential written all over him, maybe we should take a closer look at him."

Twardzik: "Nah. We have a great kid in Latrell Sprewell who promises to be a model citizen in Oakland for years to come."

Asst. GM: "What about this kid playing in Greece-- Peja Stojakovic? I heard he's a Eureopean version of Chris Mullin. Maybe Mully could help bring the kid along?"

Twardzik: "Nonsense. Mully isn't ready to take a backseat. He's still got 4 or 5 good years left in him."

Asst. GM: "Well what about a point guard? We could really use a talented and seasoned college player like Steve Nash after you traded Tim Hardaway to the Heat for a bag of pretzels?

Twardzik: "Steve who? I told you I'm going after Mark Price this summer. Nobody will suspect a monster comeback season from him after he missed 109 games the last 2 seasons."

Asst. GM: "Well maybe we should consider giving a look to at least one of these high school players. I hear this kid Jermaine O'Neal is a real project, but the upside is undeniable."

Twardzik: "C'mon. Joe Smith is a future Hall of Famer and Clifford Rozier is going to be a great back-up for years to come. What we need to do is trade away Donyell Marshall-- is Adam Keefe available?"

Asst. GM: (Slams head against the wall) "I don't think we should give up on Donyell just yet. We'll talk about that later, but if you really want a center, let's at least work out Todd Fuller against that gigantic Lithuanian."

Twardzik: "Yeah, I've already scheduled it. Priest Lauderdale will be going up against Fuller on Friday."
Asst. GM: "Not him, I meant Zydrunas Ilgauskas. I think he's got a lot of potential."

Twardzik: "I'm not drafting a guy who's name I can't pronounce. Listen to me-- everything is under control. I've been doing this for years! Trust me, Fuller is the real deal."

I'll have more on the Worst Draft Picks tommorow and I alo plan to write about the Front Office's that have caused this mess. Keep checking in each day!

Worst Warriors Draft Pick #1 Chris Washburn

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Good set! I agree with you on the top two but I'd reverse them. I mean at least Washburn /might/ have become an NBA player. Fuller never had a chance. My most distinct memory of him is watching him choke away the Jazz playoffs missing two free throws in the clutch.