18. Todd fuller-Warriors
No. 11, First Round –- 1996
An Academic All-American who couldn’t put two and two together on the court, Fuller was one in a series of disappointing Golden State picks. The last selection of the ill-fated Dave Twardzik Era, Fuller was taken ahead of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Peja Stojakovic, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Jermaine O'Neal. Ouch. Fuller averaged around four points and three rebounds in five NBA seasons.
13. Billy Owens, Kings
The Next Larry Bird? He was barely the Next Ken Norman. Owens was a jack of all trades, master of none, unless you count floating through practices and tipping the scales to be admirable qualities worth mastering. Drafted by the Kings, Owens became part of a Danny Ferry-esque deal between Sacramento and Golden State that saw the Warriors give up future Hall of Famer Mitch Richmond for Owens' rights
4. Joe Smith, Warriors
Average in name and game, Smith has parlayed his status as a top overall pick into a serviceable career for five different teams, but later selections Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace and (especially) Kevin Garnett all have had better careers. Smith's selection changed the way NBA teams look at lottery picks -- do you take the fully-formed All-American from the ACC or the rail-thin project out of high school? Unfortunately for the Warriors, in '95, orthodoxy was out the window.
2. Chris Washburn, Warriors
Of the dozens of busts in the '86 Draft, most either fell victim to obesity (William Bedford) or drug problems (Roy Tarpley). Somehow, Chris Washburn combined the two in one glorious, spiraling descent out of the lottery and into oblivion. The N.C. State product scored a grand total of 222 points in 72 career games.
Will write out another piece about each of these players soon but 5 years from today when we're talking about the 2013 NBA Draft let's pray we aren't joking about the Warriors 2008 lottery pick.
No comments:
Post a Comment