We all know that hindsight is 20/20. Looking back, it’s easy to say the Detroit Pistons made an egregious error in drafting Darko Milicic, the Wizards were clueless in their selection of Kwame Brown, and the Clippers…well, they were being the Cippers in 1998 when they went with Michael Olowokandi.
Still, there are some decisions that we question even as they unfold before our eyes. The 2004 NBA Draft comes to mind, when the Raptors took Rafael Araujo at No. 8—about 99.9 percent of the country knew that was a mistake as soon as the commish made the announcement.
On the other side of the coin, maybe you could look at ’98 when Paul Pierce slid down to No. 10, or 2005 when two teams that needed point guards passed on Chris Paul.
So who were the guys this year that went either way higher than they should have or inexplicably fell further than anyone would have predicted? Only time will tell. But here are a few guys that raised a few eyebrows when they heard their name called Thursday.
Went Too High
Paul George, SF, Indiana Pacers
George’s stock soared during the pre-draft workouts and combines, elevating him from a late first-round pick into the lottery.
However, it’s going to be a stretch for him to become a top-10 talent in this draft. Guys like Ed Davis, Xavier Henry, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe, and Avery Bradley (all selected after George) have a higher upside for their future.
Plus (and here’s the kicker)…he plays the same position as Indiana’s only cornerstone player, Danny Granger. So, unless the Pacers ship out Granger for more draft picks or a marquee point guard, this pick is kind of a head-scratcher.
Kevin Seraphin, F/C, Washington Wizards
The Bulls selected the Frenchman at No. 17, but will trade him along with Kirk Hinrich to Washington on July 8, when the Wiz can properly absorb Hinrich’s contract.
After landing John Wall at No. 1 and sitting on the 30th pick, Washington had a chance to add a few players who could step in and contribute right away. There’s a fine line in determining when a guy is ready to play in the NBA and when he’s not, but if it’s close, nothing is better than actual, in-game experience.
Instead, Seraphin will most likely play in Europe next year. How many times have we seen players selected, been told they’ll stay overseas for another year or two, and then never hear from them again?
Washington could have gone with a combo guard like Avery Bradley to team up with Wall; they could have maybe even reunited the first pick with his freshman teammate, Eric Bledsoe. If they wanted depth inside, they could have taken a bit of a gamble and selected their No. 23 pick (Trevor Booker).
Trevor Booker, PF, Washington Wizards
After acquiring the No. 17 pick, Washington had three first-rounders; three chances for an immediate impact player.
They got Wall and took a flier on Seraphin. Then, in a bit of a head-scratcher, they traded the No. 30 and No. 35 picks to Minnesota for the No. 23 and No. 56 spots. At No. 23, they took Booker, a guy who wasn’t a first-round pick on almost every NBA mock draft board in the world.
Booker has a chance to be a solid contributor off the bench and provide a nice, stark contrast in style with Andray Blatche. But if they really wanted him, why not just go a little further and take him at No. 17?
They could have held on to their two picks in the 30s and scooped up a project like Hassan Whiteside (a very low-risk pick at No. 30) and someone like either Terrico White or Lance Stephenson in the second round.
Instead, they wound up with Seraphin and Hamdy N’Diaye ,two projects that might not even play at all next year.
Lazar Hayward, SF, Minnesota Timberwolves
Last year, Minnesota stockpiled point guards like there weren’t going to be any more prospects in the next 10 years.
This year, they went the same route with small forwards, drafting Wesley Johnson, trading for Martell Webster, and picking up Lazar Hayward and Nemanja Bjelica in the latter half of the draft.
I don’t have anything against Hayward—he’s a gamer, he hits big shots, and he finds ways to leave an impact on the game.
But he was drafted to…to do what? Play behind Corey Brewer, Wes Johnson, and Webster? To be a back-up power forward (don’t they have Kevin Love)?
I just don’t see where Hayward fits in to what Minnesota is trying to do. Then again, no one really knows what Minnesota is trying to accomplish.
Andy Rautins/Landry Fields, G/F, New York Knicks
The Knicks’ back-to-back second round selections get a chance to share the spotlight.
Rautins was taken at No. 38, ahead of New York-native Lance Stephenson, who is a more complete offensive player and has a lot more room to grow than Rautins. Rautins is primarily a three-point shooter…and that’s about it.
Fields led the Pac-10 in scoring last year, but he’s an NBA tweener—too small to play power forward, not quick enough to keep up with small forwards, and not athletic enough to play shooting guard.
The Knicks didn’t have much room to improve in the draft, but in my opinion they were somewhat arrogant with their selections. To me, they were basically saying, “we’re just plucking a few outside shooters for when we sign LeBron and Bosh.”
I know that’s been their plan since 2008, but it wouldn’t hurt to have some semblance of a back-up plan…just in case.
Went Too Low
Jordan Crawford
Many will feel No. 27 is a proper spot for Crawford, but getting an explosive scorer and athlete this late in the first round is a steal.
One of the best pure shooters in the draft, he’s got appropriate college pedigree. He played at Indiana in 2008 with Eric Gordon and D.J. White (two first-round selections) and provided a nice complementary scoring piece for their arsenal.
Last year at Xavier, he was the premiere player, averaging over 20 points a game and shooting over 46 percent from the floor. He has the big-game experience, playing in two NCAA Tournaments and leading the Musketeers to the Sweet 16 last year, including an epic performance in the regional semifinals against Kansas State.
If Joe Johnson leaves, Crawford will get a good amount of minutes in Atlanta. And while it’s dangerous for a player with his mental instability to play on a struggling, losing team (which the Hawks most likely will be without Johnson), his upside makes him too good to pass up.
Lance Stephenson
If he was taken in the first round, he might be on the flip side of the list.
Instead, Stephenson watched teams that could use a scorer on the wing pass him up repeatedly as the second round began—Miami, Minnesota, Detroit, and New York all decided to go another route.
He probably should have stayed in school another year, not so much to improve the mechanics of his game but his mental toughness and focus. Still, guys like Tibor Pleiss, Dexter Pittman, Nemanja Bjelica, Andy Rautins, and Landry Fields shouldn’t be getting picked over Stephenson.
Devin Ebanks
When Ebanks declared for the draft, I had him as a top-20 pick in my first mock draft. While he slid a little further down the board, it’s inexplicable why he fell to almost the bottom half of the second round.
You’re telling me that almost every team can’t use an athletic slasher who is probably a top-five talent in terms of one-on-one defense?
His offensive game is very raw, and probably won’t ever develop into anything special. But he can move without the ball, play within himself in offensive sets, and be a tenacious defender.
He found the perfect fit in L.A., where he’ll see some decent minutes with Shannon Brown likely opting out and Ron Artest being another year older. Funny how the rich get richer, huh?
Gani Lawal
Lawal played alongside No. 3 pick Derrick Favors at Georgia Tech and wasn’t exactly outplayed—he averaged more rebounds a game than Favors.
He’s athletic, hard-working, and does all the dirty work in the paint—boxing out, keeping second-chance rebounds alive, and defending guys that have a size advantage against him.
From what I can gather, the main reason he wasn’t selected higher is that teams went with “potential” picks before him (Bjelica, Jerome Jordan, Paulao Prestes).
Solomon Alabi
Alabi was expected to be a first-round pick; instead, he had to wait until 49 other names were called before he finally heard his.
Apparently, his medical history scared off many potential suitors. According to a statement from his agent, Alabi has Hepatitis B, an inflammation of the liver.
Still, the disease is easily treatable and shouldn’t have any affect on his career. So it’s difficult to gage why Alabi fell from a potential top-20 pick to nearly the bottom third of the second round.
