Because the 2000 NBA Draft sucked, that’s why. Universally
panned as the worst draft of the modern era (and if it isn’t considered as
such, it should be), the draft produced ok, mediocre and cry-yourself-to-sleep
why-did-I-pick-him results. Mark Madsen may be one of the most memorable people
to come out of this draft. Yes, the guy who danced a lot as a Laker.
Six picks between seven and fifteen were traded before their
rookie seasons, showing just how inconsequential this group was and how no team
was really all that interested in anyone.
I come back to write this paragraph after I wrote the rest
of this blog. And why? Because this was just plan sad and boring. It made me
hate that I decided to do this series and I seriously can’t wait until I get
the chance to write about the 2001 class just because they weren’t this pile of
whatever this pile is.
Its all just…gross.
Pick 1: New Jersey
Nets
Who they took: Kenyon Martin
Who they should have took: Kenyon Martin
Why: Martin was instrumental early on and one of the only
plays in this class to achieve any decent level of success. After averaging 12
ppg as a rookie, Martin would lead the Nets to the 2002 NBA Finals in his
second season and then post career highs in scoring in seasons three and four,
all while helping establish the Nets as an Eastern power. This was the right
pick then and remains so now. Even after he left Jersey ,
Martin has been a helpful performer, posting a career high in field goal
percentage during the 2012-2013 season.
Pick 2: Vancouver
Grizzlies
Who they took: Stromile Swift
Who they should have took: Mike Miller (5th pick)
Why: Another guy in this series who ended up there anyway,
Miller was a lights out shooter and still is when called upon. His best years
were in Memphis , where he shot
50-percent from three-point range in 2003 and averaged 18.5 ppg in 2007. The
Grizzlies could have used him earlier to ease their continued pain of bad
picks.
Pick 3: Los Angeles
Clippers
Who they took: Darius Miles
Who they should have took: Jamal Crawford (8th
pick)
Why: When he scores, he break records. 44 times Jamal
Crawford has made four-point plays. It’s a record….because it’s 44 times!
Crawford has been here, there and everywhere (including the Clippers) and is a
2-time sixth man award winner. Wherever he ends up, he helps and was a pretty
prolific scorer during one of the sets of down years for the Knicks. He led the
league in free throw shooting in 2012 in Portland
and has averaged over 18 ppg five times, including this last season on a roster
that boasts big time scorers Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. He has turned out
significantly better than people thought he would and probably still doesn’t
get the respect that he deserves.
Pick 4: Chicago
Bulls
Who they took: Marcus Fizer
Who they should have took: Hedo Turkoglu (16th
pick)
Why: Because he wasn’t Marcus Fizer? No seriously, Hedo is a
guy who can spread the floor and play pretty much any position other than point
guard, especially in his younger days. With the Bulls pretty much needing
everything right here, Hedo would have helped literally everywhere. He was a
terrific role player early on in Sacramento
(about the time the Bulls would have had him) and only got better as the
contracts got bigger. And my guess is the Bulls would have tried harder to keep
him on the payroll than the Kings did. And as good of an unlikely three-point
shooter as he always has been, he posted his best numbers there (44%) just this
last season.
Pick 5: Orlando
Magic
Who they took: Mike Miller
Who they should have took: Deshawn Stevenson (23rd
pick)
Why: Yup, he sure is a lifetime 7.2 ppg guy who didn’t even
play in the league last year. But Stevenson has done so many intangible things
in his career and has been reliable when a team shows him that he is relied on,
playing in and starting all 82 games for three straight seasons from 2005-2008,
all while averaging 11 or so points. He was a gifted natural athlete from the
get go and true bruiser.
Pick 6: Atlanta
Hawks
Who they took: DerMarr Johnson
Who they should have took: Jamaal Magloire (19th
pick)
Why: Magloire ended up being a bust that has been out of the
league for 2 years but it seems much longer. But spent his first 5 years in the
league (a big part of that rookie contract) as a possible long term All-Star,
instead of a one-and-done All-Star (which is still way more than most this
class can boast). He played, played often, played a lot of minutes and averaged
13.6 ppg and 10.3 rpg in his fourth season. Magloire would have been a band
aid, not any long term care. But he was, at that time, a pretty damn good band
aid.
Pick 7: Chicago
Bulls
Who they took: Chris Mihm (traded to Cavaliers)
Who they should have took: Michael Redd (43rd
pick)
Why: For an Olympic Gold Medalist and NBA All-Star, Michael
Redd’s name wasn’t on the tip of people’s tongues nearly as long as it should
have been because of back-to-back torn ACLs. Before that ACL tear, he was one
of the biggest steals in draft history with five seasons averaging 20+ ppg.
Redd established himself, in the mid-2000s, as one of the best players in the
NBA no only in scoring, but just working to get to the basket. On top of his
ability to create, he was a great shooter, only shooting less than 40-percent
from three-point range two seasons, including his rookie campaign. He could
have been the fact of the Bulls in an era where they were so desperate for
their “new Michael,” before Derrick Rose came in.
Pick 8: Cleveland
Cavaliers
Who they took: Jamal Crawford (traded to Bulls)
Who they should have took: Quentin Richardson (18th
pick)
Why: Expectation hurt Richardson
early. That and his teaming with Darius Miles that forced that young guns
expectation. But under that, Richardson
was a charger and the Cavs essentially used this pick to take beat up and
boring Chris Mihm. Cleveland was
still limping to that light at the end of the tunnel that was a couple of years
away and Richardson would have been
a great person to have with some experience when LeBron came to town. His best
season? LeBron’s rookie year where 17.2 ppg in Cleveland
would have gone a long further than it did with the Clippers.
Pick 9: Houston
Rockets
Who they took: Joel Przybilla (traded to Bucks)
Who they should have took: Keyon Dooling (10th
pick)
Why: Because I am grasping at straws? No really, I am. The
Rockets ended up with Jason Collier with this pick essentially and even though
they didn’t know the best player in franchise history (Hakeem Olajuwon) was
headed out the door, they really needed a scoring punch that they didn’t have.
If it wasn’t for Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley, this team would have been
awful. Worse than they were, which despite their 48-34 record in 2010-2011, was
pretty bad. Dooling would have provided way more of a lift than Collier, who
was the 13th best player on the team.
Pick 10: Orlando
Magic
Who they took: Keyon Dooling (traded to Clippers)
Who they should have took: Joel Przybilla (9th
pick)
Why: Pszybilla is functional. That function isn’t always
solid, but it does exist. And that counts for something, right? Who am I kidding;
he was a big body who wouldn’t have helped the Magic. Draft him, trade him
while he has some stock in 2000 (before he went on to be a top 10 pick who
averaged less than one point a game as a rookie)
Pick 11: Boston
Celtics
Who they took: Jerome Moiso
Who they should have took: Eddie House (37th
pick)
Why: Because he’s not Jerome Moiso. No seriously, I could
put anyone’s name here and it would be valid. House went on to be a reliable
third or fourth guy off the bench. That’s not usually worth an 11th
pick, but in this draft it sure is. The Celtics loved him eventually when he
was a big-time bench catalyst for their 2008 title team. He played for nine
teams and even though he was only good enough to get mostly one-year contracts,
there was a reason he kept getting picked up and that is because teams knew he
wasn’t going to hurt you and he would work hard. Boston
needed him in 2008 and really they could have used him much earlier.
Pick 12: Dallas
Mavericks
Who they took: Etan Thomas
Who they should have took: Desmond Mason (17th
pick)
Why: Mason was another solid out of the gate guy who didn’t
pan out. After a rookie struggle, he did well in Seattle before being a pawn in
the Ray Allen trade which helped him lift off in Milwaukee because while he was
the second best name value heading from Seattle (behind Gary Payton), the
Glove’s ability was dropping and someone needed to pick up the slack for losing
Allen. He put up 17.2 ppg in 2004-05, earning a great contract with the
Hornets, where his career started to flounder. Dallas
was loaded for that time and he could have slide in nicely to help up backups
Juwan Howard and Christian Laettner.
Pick 13: Orlando
Magic
Who they took: Courtney Alexander (traded to Mavericks)
Who they should have took: Eduardo Najera (38th
pick)
Why: As noted, Orlando
was garbage and Najera was a work horse, though never the best scorer. He was a
guy who was brought in for 15 minutes of mid range jump shots. But in this
shallow pool, I’d take it.
Pick 14: Detroit
Pistons
Who they took: Mateen Cleaves
Who they should have took: Brian Cardinal (44th
pick)
Why: This team had no short term prospects and they knew it.
They were a year from putting together their best team and knowing that they
were waiting for a good free agency boom, bringing in a misguided and overrated
Mateen Cleaves was pointless. They needed a blue collar 20 minute guy who would
throw around his weight and back up the emerging Ben Wallace better than the
Jerome Williams/John Wallace dud farm.
Pick 15: Milwaukee
Bucks
Who they took: Jason Collier (traded to Rockets)
Who they should have took: Chris Mihm (7th pick)
Why: Because he was 7-feet tall and had some athletic ability.
The end.
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