One of the best drafts, if not the best of the 90's, with
four Hall of Famers and six more guys who were very good for what they did in
their careers as quality NBA players. It was also a showcase for 12 of the
biggest draft blunders ever. Those 12? The first 12 picks before the Charlotte
Hornets drafted this kid named Kobe .
But I guess you can count them as blunder #13 since they shipped him to Los
Angeles for Vlade Divac.
After a share of forward and center heavy drafts, this was
the guard draft that a lot of teams had been salivating for and when you look
at the names selected, you can see why.
Pick 1: Philadelphia
76ers
Who they took: Allen Iverson
Who they should have took: Kobe Bryant (13th pick)
Why: Why? Do I even need to fill this out? Like Garnett the
year prior, nobody really knew how to feel out a kid coming straight from high
school yet. And while Garnett became a great, Kobe
became a top 10 player in the history of the league and arguably the best
overall since Michael Jordan. Iverson turned Philly's fortunes around but Kobe
would have won them a title or two (or three or four). He was the best player
in this draft because he was (in my humble opinion) the best player drafted in
the 1990's or 2000's.
Pick 2: Toronto
Raptors
Who they took: Marcus Camby
Who they should have took: Steve Nash (15th pick)
Why: He was a quiet unassuming ex-soccer player when he came
into the league in 1996, but Steve Nash became an assassin on a basketball
court, one of the all-time great point guards. Unfortunately, because of their
pick of Damon Stoudamire the previous year, the Raptors were one of the few
teams in this draft not interested in the guard pool, even in their second
season. Camby wasn't a bad pick at the time for anyone, especially the Raptors
needs. But looking back, you send Stoudamire packing at take one of our
generation's great playmakers.
Pick 3: Vancouver
Grizzlies
Who they took: Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Who they should have took: Allen Iverson (1st pick)
Why: He ended up there years and years later, but imagine an
early Grizzlies with AI, where they wouldn't have had to (incorrectly) leaned
so much on Bryant Reeves. Iverson was such a strong presence on the court
throughout his career and while I doubt he would have been happy staying in Vancouver ,
British Columbia , Canada
Pick 4: Milwaukee
Bucks
Who they took: Stephon Marbury (traded to Timberwolves)
Who they should have took: Ray Allen (5th pick)
Why: While the Allen/Marbury pair was such a toss up from
the beginning (hence being swapped eventually anyway), Allen ended up being the
better NBA player mostly because of his willingness to play the game. When
things were ending for him credibly in Milwaukee ,
he accepted his move to Seattle .
When it was time to move on, he did again to Boston
and again to Miami . Marbury however
was never the player he could be because he wanted to do things the Stephon
Marbury way. Allen reached his potential and was great for Milwaukee
during his years there. I don't see any reason why they would want to change
that.
Pick 5: Minnesota
Timberwolves
Who they took: Ray Allen (traded to Bucks)
Who they should have took: Stephon Marbury (4th pick)
Why: In retrospect, I am sure they would rather just keep
Allen. But it doesn't work that way. Marbury was a hell of a basketball player
and even seeing how things shook out for him, you try to redo the hatred filled
Marbury/Kevin Garnett relationship if you can. And even for all of his
personality flaws, Marbury was still productive in all of the places he ended
up (except for that late run in Boston )
and still is productive on a lower level in China
today. He was the third best option in 1996 and went fourth. With Kobe ,
Nash and Allen becoming Hall of Fame players, he dropped down in this group,
but still stands as a tremendous player.
Pick 6: Boston
Celtics
Who they took: Antoine Walker
Who they should have took: Jermaine O'Neal (17th pick)
Why: Another high school kid in 1996 and it is funny to
think now that teams in the middle of the first round and late in the lottery
were trying to decide between he and Kobe ,
not that Jermaine wasn't more than efficient. One of 10 All-Stars in this
class, O'Neal was on the verge of being a long term upper echelon player when
he was averaging over 20 points per game in Indiana
before a basketbrawl kind of sent him backwards in performance and
expectations. A combo of he and future Celtic Paul Pierce would have given Boston
a great scoring duo to get them back towards the top quicker, even if Walker
was helpful in his own right in doing just that.
Pick 7: Los Angeles
Clippers
Who they took: Lorenzen Wright
Who they should have took: Peja Stojakovic (14th pick)
Why: Passing on KG and Kobe
in back to back years? Well at least they weren't the only ones. Peja was
almost as unknown of a commodity as the high school kids, but became such a
clutch scorer and the Clippers needed anything at this point. But again, the
European imports were just becoming popular like the high schoolers and it was
just so hard to gage what their success would be. His 13,000 points and 40.1
percent from three-point range for his career indicate that this was also a
golden era for European prospects coming in to the league.
Pick 8: New Jersey
Nets
Who they took: Kerry Kittles
Who they should have took: Marcus Camby (2nd pick)
Why: Camby could have benefited from another year in
college, but at this point he was looked at as a guy with an NBA ready body. He
wasn’t quite NBA ready, but that didn’t stop him from a productive career
spanning across the league. Sure his production has slipped, he never averaged
more points per game than he did his rookie year and although still playing, he
doesn’t do much. But at this stage, with the Ed O’Bannon experiment clearly
failing, Camby would be a good solid piece for the Nets to work with. And his
14 points per game in his rookie year would have helped them a lot.
Pick 9: Dallas
Mavericks
Who they took: Samaki Walker
Who they should have took: Zydrunas Ilgauskas (20th pick)
Why: When the Cavaliers ultimately decided to take a pair of
Europeans. Ilgauskas was not the one expected to be productive. Years later he
was an All-Star and had his jersey retired by the Cavaliers. As I said in the
1995 blog, the Mavericks were a team searching for an inside presence at this
point. And while Walker had
style...of some sort...Ilgauskas became the type of player that Dallas
tried and failed with when taking Cherokee
Parks
Pick 10: Indiana
Pacers
Who they took: Erick Dampier
Who they should have took: Derek Fisher (24th pick)
Why: Name a player in recent memory that has been reliable
on and off the court than Derek Fisher. This kid from Arkansas-Little Rock
didn’t turn many heads in 1996, but he did so almost every year afterwards. He
has won five NBA title and has been crucial in them all. Though mostly a Laker
during two separate runs, Fisher was helpful with every team he has been with,
including currently in Oklahoma City .
One day he will make a great coach because Fisher knows the ins and outs, in
every way, of this game. He was pretty unknown and dropped to the Lakers (who
combining the Fisher pick and getting Kobe, won this draft), but there is no
way he slides out of the top 10 if this draft is today.
Pick 11: Golden State
Who they took: Todd Fuller
Who they should have took: Erick Dampier (10th pick)
Why: Dampier ended up having his best season in Golden
State Golden
State Golden
State
Pick 12: Cleveland
Cavaliers
Who they took: Vitaly Potapenko
Who they should have took: Antoine Walker (6th pick)
Why: Walker ’s
decline was haunting. And that is one of the things we remember the very most
about him. We remember this aging, fattening man in decline who went bankrupt
and tried everything he could to get back to the league through the D-League.
That Antoine Walker may not be worth a first round pick. But while in Boston
early, he was a heck of a scorer. Six of his first 9 seasons were spent as a
20+ point per game scorer and he was a guy who was reliable right away. He knew
how to get to the basket and be a bully once he was down there.
Pick 13: Charlotte
Hornets
Who they took: Kobe
Bryant (traded to Lakers)
Who they should have took: Shareef Abdur-Rahim (2nd pick)
Why: Do the Hornets win because the draft isn’t today? No.
They lose. They lose a lot. They are the ultimate losers. The Charlotte Bobcats
laugh at them. As bad as it is for the 12 other teams to have passed on Kobe
Bryant (in retrospect), how much worse is it to have had him and then given him
away. Kobe Bryant. Its like
drafting Jordan or LeBron or Dwayne Wade and then just giving them up for Robin
Lopez. Abdur-Rahim is a way better choice than Vlade Divac.
Pick 14: Sacramento
Kings
Who they took: Peja Stojakovic
Who they should have took: Lorenzen Wright (7th pick)
Why: Wright floundered before finding his spot in Atlanta
and getting shipped to Memphis
where he led off with a 12 ppg and 9 rpg season, legitimizing his spot in the
mid-echelon of post players. And then he declined, almost every year. Sacramento
needed a strong strictly guard and at this point, there isn’t much talent that
way left. So you take the best prospect and that was Wright and is Wright, you
just hope you have him before the decline or can at least prevent it.
Pick 15: Phoenix
Suns
Who they took: Steve Nash
Who they should have took: Kerry Kittles (8th pick)
Why: The face of the starving generation of the Nets,
Kittles would still be a good pickup for a team because he had a worth ethic
almost unrivaled in this draft class at the time when the class was picked.
