SPORT
Draft-Brewed Goodness: A Look Back, and A Look Ahead
/ Adam Underhill
06.26.09
And now, a look back at the last ten #1 picks in the NBA draft.
1999: Elton Brand, Chicago Bulls. With a career 20/10 average, Brand has been solid for most of his NBA tenure. The Bulls traded him after two seasons to the Clippers for Brian Skinner and Tyson Chandler; lose-lose as Odom languished in L.A. while Chicago turned Chandler into J.R. Smith and P.J. Brown (remember him?), then traded Smith for two second-rounders and Howard Eisley (remember him??). Meanwhile, Brand purportedly screwed over the Clippers by assuring them he’d re-sign in 2008 if they landed a big name free agent. Los Angeles signed Baron Davis, and Brand signed with Philly. On the plus side: Brand’s production company produced Rescue Dawn, a film by Werner Herzog starring Christian Bale and Steve Zahn, which I recommend. Summed up in a few words, Brand is good for 20 and 10 a night, he got away from the Clippers, and produced a quality film.
2000: Kenyon Martin, New Jersey. When Joel Pyrzbilla is in the top ten, you know it’s a weak draft. Martin has been a solid contributor with the Nets and Nuggets, but a bit of a head case. He’s just a one-time All-Star, a record incommensurate with the ballyhoo he received coming out of the University of Cincinnati.
2001: Kwame Brown, Washington Wizards. Team President Michael Jordan proves that those who win championships don’t necessarily know how to build championship teams. Brown has average 7.1 points with four teams since this draft.
2002: Yao Ming, Houston Rockets. Yao was drafted ahead of Amare Stoudamire. At first I thought, if the Rockets could, would they do it the same way a second time? Then I looked at Yao’s numbers: He hits 52% of his field goals, 83% of his free throws, and scores just under 20 a game. The Rockets have been in the playoffs as many times as the Suns since 2002. Yao/Rockets merchandise probably sells like hot cakes in China. Hell, it’s probably all made in China. Win-win.
2003: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers. The biggest no-brainer since Vito Corleone picked Michael over Fredo. That’s not to say the rest of the draft was Fredo - quite the opposite. In any other year, Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade, and possibly Chris Bosh, could have been #1 picks. (Detroit Piston fans just collectively threw up in their mouths a little.) LeBron’s that good. He currently averages 27.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game in Cleveland, where he’s been to the Finals once (losing to San Antonio). Call him the Anti-Kwame Brown.
2004: Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic. He’s also been to and lost one Finals, in 2009. Howard is the breakout star of the year from a marketing standpoint, though he’s been solid his whole career. It’s worth mentioning that the #2 pick was Emeka Okafor, who has been serviceable with the Charlotte Bobcats. Well, every part of that sentence was worth mentioning except for “Charlotte Bobcats.”
2005: Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks. It’s hard to call Bogut a “bust” when he’s played solid ball for four seasons (with some injury setbacks). It’s hard to call him a success either, considering he was the consensus #1 pick going in and has been since outshone by Deron Williams (#3) and Chris Paul (#4). But the Bucks probably wouldn’t have taken those players had they not taken Bogut; the only question at the time was whether Marvin Williams of UNC might be the better pick.
2006: Quick – which team had the first pick? Whom did they select? Where did he play before the NBA? Is he still playing? Do you think his name makes him sound like a professional basketball player, or a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model? Do you even remember what you were doing in 2006? This was also the year Crash won Best Picture. Does that help? No? Let’s move on.
2007: Greg Oden, Portland Trail Blazers. We’re in the “it’s too early to tell” portion. Oden sat out his rookie year with an injury, then scored 8.9 ppg last year. Kevin Durant, chosen second by Seattle, has been terrific, averaging 20 his rookie year and 25 last year with The Team Formerly Known As The Sonics. The team was hijacked and taken to a tiny Midwestern market, where it plays under a name and logo so clearly brainstormed and focus-grouped by a consortium of marketing experts, yet so vapid and unimaginative, it does not deserve mention, other than alongside similarly contrived endeavors like Surge soda, or the movie Crash.
2008: Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls. Yes, it’s early, even earlier than for the earlier paragraph, but Rose had a terrific rookie year, and elevated his game in the playoffs. It already seems like a long time ago, but remember that the Bulls stretched the Celtics to seven games in round one. In Game 1, Rose’s first playoff game, he dished 11 assists to go along with 36 points in an overtime win. The 36 points were tied for the most by a rookie in his playoff debut (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee).
As you can see, it’s a mixed bag. There’s no sure thing in the NBA, but we’ll know more in a few months, when the days are short and the air is crisp. For now, let’s take a break, turn up the music, check the baseball standings, and go for a swim.
1999: Elton Brand, Chicago Bulls. With a career 20/10 average, Brand has been solid for most of his NBA tenure. The Bulls traded him after two seasons to the Clippers for Brian Skinner and Tyson Chandler; lose-lose as Odom languished in L.A. while Chicago turned Chandler into J.R. Smith and P.J. Brown (remember him?), then traded Smith for two second-rounders and Howard Eisley (remember him??). Meanwhile, Brand purportedly screwed over the Clippers by assuring them he’d re-sign in 2008 if they landed a big name free agent. Los Angeles signed Baron Davis, and Brand signed with Philly. On the plus side: Brand’s production company produced Rescue Dawn, a film by Werner Herzog starring Christian Bale and Steve Zahn, which I recommend. Summed up in a few words, Brand is good for 20 and 10 a night, he got away from the Clippers, and produced a quality film.
2000: Kenyon Martin, New Jersey. When Joel Pyrzbilla is in the top ten, you know it’s a weak draft. Martin has been a solid contributor with the Nets and Nuggets, but a bit of a head case. He’s just a one-time All-Star, a record incommensurate with the ballyhoo he received coming out of the University of Cincinnati.
2001: Kwame Brown, Washington Wizards. Team President Michael Jordan proves that those who win championships don’t necessarily know how to build championship teams. Brown has average 7.1 points with four teams since this draft.
2002: Yao Ming, Houston Rockets. Yao was drafted ahead of Amare Stoudamire. At first I thought, if the Rockets could, would they do it the same way a second time? Then I looked at Yao’s numbers: He hits 52% of his field goals, 83% of his free throws, and scores just under 20 a game. The Rockets have been in the playoffs as many times as the Suns since 2002. Yao/Rockets merchandise probably sells like hot cakes in China. Hell, it’s probably all made in China. Win-win.
2003: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers. The biggest no-brainer since Vito Corleone picked Michael over Fredo. That’s not to say the rest of the draft was Fredo - quite the opposite. In any other year, Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade, and possibly Chris Bosh, could have been #1 picks. (Detroit Piston fans just collectively threw up in their mouths a little.) LeBron’s that good. He currently averages 27.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game in Cleveland, where he’s been to the Finals once (losing to San Antonio). Call him the Anti-Kwame Brown.
2004: Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic. He’s also been to and lost one Finals, in 2009. Howard is the breakout star of the year from a marketing standpoint, though he’s been solid his whole career. It’s worth mentioning that the #2 pick was Emeka Okafor, who has been serviceable with the Charlotte Bobcats. Well, every part of that sentence was worth mentioning except for “Charlotte Bobcats.”
2005: Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks. It’s hard to call Bogut a “bust” when he’s played solid ball for four seasons (with some injury setbacks). It’s hard to call him a success either, considering he was the consensus #1 pick going in and has been since outshone by Deron Williams (#3) and Chris Paul (#4). But the Bucks probably wouldn’t have taken those players had they not taken Bogut; the only question at the time was whether Marvin Williams of UNC might be the better pick.
2006: Quick – which team had the first pick? Whom did they select? Where did he play before the NBA? Is he still playing? Do you think his name makes him sound like a professional basketball player, or a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model? Do you even remember what you were doing in 2006? This was also the year Crash won Best Picture. Does that help? No? Let’s move on.
2007: Greg Oden, Portland Trail Blazers. We’re in the “it’s too early to tell” portion. Oden sat out his rookie year with an injury, then scored 8.9 ppg last year. Kevin Durant, chosen second by Seattle, has been terrific, averaging 20 his rookie year and 25 last year with The Team Formerly Known As The Sonics. The team was hijacked and taken to a tiny Midwestern market, where it plays under a name and logo so clearly brainstormed and focus-grouped by a consortium of marketing experts, yet so vapid and unimaginative, it does not deserve mention, other than alongside similarly contrived endeavors like Surge soda, or the movie Crash.
2008: Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls. Yes, it’s early, even earlier than for the earlier paragraph, but Rose had a terrific rookie year, and elevated his game in the playoffs. It already seems like a long time ago, but remember that the Bulls stretched the Celtics to seven games in round one. In Game 1, Rose’s first playoff game, he dished 11 assists to go along with 36 points in an overtime win. The 36 points were tied for the most by a rookie in his playoff debut (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee).
As you can see, it’s a mixed bag. There’s no sure thing in the NBA, but we’ll know more in a few months, when the days are short and the air is crisp. For now, let’s take a break, turn up the music, check the baseball standings, and go for a swim.
