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Remembering the 1987 NBA Draft



Here's original footage from TBS Sports covering the 1987 draft. Just how long ago was 1987? Well, I was about to enter the third grade, the NBA had only 23 teams, David Stern still had more pepper than salt in his hair and the draft lasted seven rounds.

At 9:25 minutes, the video is long, but once you get past the ridiculously cheesy intro, it's worth it, from the unintentional humor of Patrick Ewing's blatant goal-tending "highlight" (1:05) to the shots of Reggie and sister Cheryl shooting hoops in his backyard (6:50).

Kudos to YouTube user 1987Hawkeyes, who also posted the entire first round. Seriously, it's like cracking open a time capsule, going back to a time when drafting Dennis Hopson (3rd overall) over Scottie Pippen (5th) and Reggie Miller (11th) actually made sense.

#2 Biggest Bust of the '00s: Kwame Brown


This offseason, NBA FanHouse will address important questions about the league. It will be a Summer of Answers
. First up: the biggest draft busts of the decade.

The 2001 NBA Draft was pretty weak in terms of legitimate ballers who would be found contributing meaningful minutes for seasons to come. Sure, '01 gave us Tony Parker and Gilbert Arenas, but they went 28th and 31st overall respectively. Lottery picks that year were far from household names: Eddy Curry, Eddie Griffin, DeSagana Diop, and Rodney White were all selected in the top 10. But all of that doesn't make that year's number one overall selection, Kwame Brown, any less of a bust.

Before we lay out the evidence of Kwame's career suckitude, let's admit that he had quite a bit working against him coming into the league, shall we? He was the first player ever drafted number one overall directly out of high school (KG was taken fifth in '95), and to go along with that he had the pressure of being Michael Jordan's first draft pick as an executive of the Washington Wizards. Considering that Kwame turned out to have the mental toughness of a certain cake he destroyed one fateful night in Hermosa Beach, this was clearly going to be too much stress for the youngster to handle.

#3 Biggest Bust of the 00's: Rodney White


This offseason, NBA FanHouse will address important questions about the league. It will be a Summer of Answers. First up: the biggest draft busts of the decade.

Joe Dumars is widely recognized as one of the top executives in the NBA, and while the Pistons have been unable to get over the hump since 2004, he's done an enviable job setting up his team to remain in contention through the draft, snatching up guys like Tayshaun Prince (2003), Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson (2005) and Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo (2007) after lottery teams had passed them over.

Of course, Dumars didn't always have such a deft hand at the draft -- and I'm not just talking about a certain Serbian center who went second overall in 2004. In 2000, Dumars selected hometown hero Mateen Cleaves 14th overall out of Michigan State, passing on the likes of Hedo Turkoglu, Desmond Mason, Quentin Richardson, Morris Peterson, DeShawn Stevenson, Marko Jaric, Eduardo Najera, Eddie House and (this one hurts the most) Michael Redd.

It didn't take long for Dumars to realize his mistake (Cleaves was dealt to Sacramento after one season), and as a consolation prize he was rewarded with another lottery pick. Unfortunately, he committed an even bigger blunder by taking Rodney White ninth overall. Rodney who? Exactly.

#4 Biggest Bust of the '00s: Rafael Araujo


This offseason, NBA FanHouse will address important questions about the league. It will be a Summer of Answers
. First up: the biggest draft busts of the decade.

Unless you're a fan of the Toronto Raptors or a huge NBA Draft nerd follower, you may have read that headline and thought, "who's Rafael Araujo? Never heard of him." That was my initial thought anyway, and that, my friends, is exactly why Mr. Araujo comes in at number four on our Biggest Busts of the '00s list.

When you look back at the 2004 draft, everyone taken in the first seven picks before Araujo turned out to be productive NBA (or Euroleague) players. Well, except for Shaun Livingston who had the gruesome knee injury two seasons ago. But that's no biggie, right? The talent level could have simply dropped off after that point, and Araujo could have been the first on a long list of disappointments who just happened to be drafted eighth overall. Unfortunately for him (and the Raptors), this was a very deep draft.

Players selected after Rafael (pronounced "HA-f-eye-ell" if you believe NBA.com) include Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, J.R. Smith, Kevin Martin, Sasha Vujacic, Beno Udrih, Anderson Varejao, Pape Sow ... just seeing if you were still paying attention. The point is this: when a player is selected with the number eight pick, with this much talent still on the board, and his career averages over three seasons are under three points and three rebounds a game, I don't know if "bust" is a strong enough word to describe his NBA status.

#5 Biggest Bust of the '00s: Nikoloz Tskitishvili

This offseason, NBA FanHouse will address important questions about the league. It will be a Summer of Answers. First up: the biggest draft busts of the decade.

Skita, née Nikoloz Tskitishvili, went #5 to Denver in 2002. As a product of the massive Euro hype which followed the strong entries of Peja Stojakovic, Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol into the league, Skita gave journalists like Chad Ford night tremors of excitement. The big man who could step outside and stroke was not quite the holy grail of Europe, if only because there were plenty young Dirks out there. Skita, a 7-foot 19-year-old, fit the mold like Jello.

Skita, of course, was terrible. He received ample opportunity on an awful Denver team -- 16 minutes a night in 81 games. He did almost nothing in those minutes, scoring less than 9 points per 36 minutes on 29% shooting, with less than 5 rebounds per 36 added in ... despite often being the tallest fellow in uniform. Skita's woeful rookie year dried up much future opportunity in Denver, and the knight was shipped to Golden State midway into his third season. His greatest achievement since might be a glorious, infamous carriage ride through Central Park with Andris Biedrins and Zarko Cabarkapa.

Lucky for Denver, Skita's disastrous career was overshadowed by a certain Serbian who came out the following year. And though the bad pick helped (by way of continuing the team's suckage) earn Carmelo Anthony's services in 2003, it remains a rather dour memory for fans of the Nuggets and beautiful basketball. Imagine Amare Stoudemire in baby blue, galloping with Kenyon Martin and Andre Miller. That's beside the point, though. We will never forget you, Skita.

Biggest Bust of the '00s: Honorable Mentions

This offseason, NBA FanHouse will address important questions about the league. It will be a Summer of Answers. First up: the biggest draft bust of the decade.

The new millennium has brought no shortage of pitiful draft selections. We limited our selections to the top-10 overall in each draft class, and took into account the quality of the players left on the board (but ruled out odd non-basketball injures -- Jay Williams, Dajuan Wagner and the like). We start with those draft choices not quite terrible enough to make the top ... err, bottom five.

Marvin Williams, Atlanta. The rubbery forward went #2 in a draft which featured two max contract point guard, Deron Williams and Chris Paul. Williams has become some version of the projection his potential screamed of, but he'll never catch up to Deron or CP. Painfully bad choice by the Hawks, all things considered.

Adam Morrison, Charlotte and Shelden Williams, Atlanta. It's a little early to write off class of '06 products, sure, but consensus rates the Ammo and Shel picks as ... awful. With Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay and Vladimir Veremeenko all on the board, the Cats and Hawks have little excuse.

Marcus Fizer, Chicago. The 2000 draft was historically bad, but Fizer at #4 still stinks. Mike Miller went one choice later, and decent players who are, you know, still in the league -- Joel Pryzbilla, Hedo Turkoglu -- went later.

Luke Jackson, Cleveland. Hmm, Jackson seems conspicuous in his absence from this summer's '04 revival madness. Luke earns his spot among the top busts of the Oughts based on those taken after him -- Andris Biedrins, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, Kevin Martin. Think LeBron could use any of those guys?

Brandon Jennings Signs With Virtus Roma

Shortly after confirming he'd be skipping the country to spend a year playing in Europe, L.A.-bred point guard phenom Brandon Jennings has signed with Italian team Virtus Roma, according to the club's website (via Ball in Europe).

Jennings' adviser, former adidas titan Sonny Vaccaro, told the Los Angeles Times the Roma deal runs three years, but has buy-out options as early as next summer. The Times reports the Jennings family will be along for the ride, with the club landing B.J.'s 13-year-old brother a spot on a Roman junior team.

That Dejan Bodiroga -- one of the greatest modern-era players never to appear in the NBA -- runs Roma is a pretty interesting note. Bodiroga had ample opportunities to cross over the Atlantic (Geoff Petrie drafted his rights for the Kings in 1995), but preferred stardom in Europe over the tougher competition of the NBA. Vaccaro's influence and stateside endorsement possibilities for such a flashy player likely won't keep Jennings in Italy longer than a year. But if anyone provides a good example of the benefits of playing in Europe, it's Bodiroga.

Falling To the Second Round Could Make Chris Douglas-Roberts a Very Rich Man

Chris Douglas-RobertsChris Douglas-Roberts didn't anticipate to freefall all the way to the 40th pick last week, but he plans on making the team who passed him up pay. "Big chip. Big. That's the biggest motivation I have. Getting picked 40, I'm gonna write a book," he said during his introductory press conference.

According to multiple published reports, CDR refused to work out for teams with a low first-round pick, apparently taking for granted that he'd be long gone before they'd have a chance to draft him. Once he slipped a few spots below what he anticipated, he was stuck in no man's land with a bunch of teams he shunned no longer showing any interest in him. Fortunately he had worked out for the Nets before the draft, though at the time he was thinking they'd take him 21st overall instead of 40th.

In any case, a lot of people have chided CDR for his arrogance, citing the fact that it cost him a chance at the guaranteed contract all first-round picks receive. But if CDR is half as good as he thinks he is, this will end up being a blessing in disguise.

You see, second-round picks who blossom into stars end up making the big dollars a lot sooner than their first-round counterparts. Gilbert Arenas, Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer are all examples of players who broke the bank after proving themselves their first two years in the league, quickly making up all the money they lost and then some. Had they been first-round picks, they wouldn't have had a chance to test the open market until after their fourth year in the league.

Jay Bilas Wanted People Sober for the Draft

During the NBA Draft last week, Jay Bilas took pains to avoid using his favorite words when talking about the draftees: "long" and "upside." It wasn't because the folks at ESPN told him that his overuse of the words had become annoying and tiresome. No. He just wanted to keep people from getting too tanked that night ($).
I am aware of the drinking games that are based upon the use of such terms, and I did my level best to reduce binge drinking across the country. We all have to do what we can. Instead of "long," I used the terms "length," "stretch," "elongated," "extend" and the ever-popular "considerable linear extent in space." With one player, I stated that his arms "extend beyond normal or moderate limits."
The draft day drinking games featuring Bilas have been around for a few years. I doubt his direct avoidance of those words did much to slow it down. Especially with the other talking heads around him happily picking up the slack.

Still, that Bilas acknowledges the games are played, and actually has something approaching a sense of humor about it is a welcome thing. Most wouldn't admit to it, or at best might mention it in passing if pushed on a radio show. Instead Bilas came out with it on his own.

Darrell Arthur Blames Claritin for Draft Slide

Watching Darrell Arthur slip out of the lottery and deep into the end of the first round (he went #27) wasn't a whole lot of fun during Thursday's draft. ESPN's panel repeatedly reported that rumors of a mysterious kidney ailment circulated among the teams last week, leaving franchises uncertain of Arthur's health and unlikely to risk a decent pick on him. Via TrueHoop, Scott Cacciola of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal gets Arthur to explain the apparent real cause of concern.
Arthur won't be endorsing Claritin anytime soon. He blamed the anti-allergy medication for bloodwork that indicated kidney problems. Arthur said he took the drug at the Pre-Draft Camp in Orlando earlier this month, then the rumors spread.
Arthur says the misinformation had been cleared the day prior in tests with Washington, but that information didn't get out. But ... Arthur was on T.V. for like an hour! Couldn't his agent or handler have just hijacked Doris Burke's microphone or Stephen A. Smith's interview set and demanded Ernie Grunfeld tell the truth?

And shouldn't ESPN's reporters on the scene -- Burke, Ric Bucher -- have gotten to the bottom of it? Arthur seemed too shell-shocked in his interview with Burke to explain anything, but he had seven other people at his table. If allergy pills were really to blame, it seems like could have been cleaned up without the guy slipping 15 spots.
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