Anthony Bennett and the Unknown of the NBA Draft
The NBA Draft always begins with the debate of who should be at the top. The conversation carries more weight than you would think. Normally, when it gets closer to draft time, we can begin to tell who the No. 1 pick in the draft will be. However, teams still continue to do the song and dance of bringing in multiple guys to workout, even though it has already been leaked that they are leaning towards picking one player.
Looking back at recent history in the draft, there is good reason as to why they do their homework and due diligence.
Anthony Bennett might be the poster child for just how much unknown goes into picking at the top of the draft. Bennett was selected No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2013. Going into draft night, DraftExpress had him going 8th and ESPN.com’s Chad Ford had him No. 4 on his big board. No one really expected him to be even in the conversation for No. 1 but sure enough, his name was called by David Stern before anyone else’s.
Bennett disappointed in his first season with the Cavaliers, so much so that they included him in the trade that sent Andrew Wiggins to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love. Bennett continued to disappoint so much that the Timberwolves reached an agreement on a buyout this week. Without him, the Cavaliers probably don’t get All-Star Kevin Love and the Timberwolves don’t get budding young star Andrew Wiggins. These draft decisions play a huge role in your franchise’s immediate and long-term future.
Of the 39 players drafted in the top three from 2000-13, 16 of those players (41 percent) made All-Star teams and 14 (35.8 percent) have made All-NBA teams. It is still early to tell for some of the later years in that sample size, but the majority of top three picks didn’t turn into the type of player those teams needed. When you draft in the top three, you’re hoping that player will be not just an All-Star, but a franchise cornerstone. The jury is still out on players such as Bradley Beal, Victor Oladipo and a few others who have flashed the potential to make an All-Star team and be a huge part of a championship roster. As of right now, however, the odds would give a slight edge to those players just having long careers instead of being top of the league.
There are so many other stories, in addition to Bennett’s, that everyone knows and loves. The Wizards took Kwame Brown as their center of the future instead of Tyson Chandler or Pau Gasol, the second and third picks of the 2001 draft. Poor Darko Milicic is still the brunt end of jokes today, being selected right before Carmelo Anthony in 2003. LaMarcus Aldridge went right after Andre Bargnani in 2006, Greg Oden was drafted before Kevin Durant in 2007, and the Memphis Grizzlies could’ve had James Harden instead of Hasheem Thabeet.
The list goes on and on.
We often criticize teams for failing in the draft, and maybe deservedly so. The amount of resources and scouting that is available is incredible, and that’s coming from someone who only has access to what is free. NBA teams should do their due dilligence and absolutely make sure they are going with the right pick. Teams may not swing and miss completely like in Bennett’s case, but many have shown over the course of those 13 drafts that it is harder to hit a home run than what fans might make it seem.
The current and future outlook of your franchise hangs in the balance, and one wrong pick can hinder the rebuilding process of a team.