NBA Draft 2012: Biggest Draft Mistake in Every NBA Franchise's History

NBA Draft night can be a glorious occasion for a franchise.

It can also be a disaster.

For every Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant or Kobe Bryant, there's a Sam Bowie, Marvin Williams or just about anyone ever picked by the L.A. Clippers.

Drafting is an inexact science. All the scouting and background checks in the world can't really tell teams how a specific player will perform when the lights come on. A fair amount of whether a team hits on a certain pick can be related to luck.

Each and every franchise has at least a handful of drafts they'd give anything to have back, to get a do over.

Here's a look at some of those situations.

Atlanta Hawks: Marvin Williams

The Hawks have had their fair share of draft no-no's over the years but none stand out as sorely as the night of the 2005 Draft on which Atlanta had the No. 2 overall pick.

In need of a point guard in a major way, the Hawks eschewed the chance to get either Deron Williams or Chris Paul and instead chose Marvin Williams, a freshman tweener out of North Carolina who hadn't even been a starter in his one year as a Tar Heel.

The Williams pick was made on potential and promise as opposed to need and boy did the Hawks pay for it.

In 487 career games, the 6'9", 230-pound Williams has averaged 11.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting a pretty mediocre 33 percent from long range. By comparison, Deron Williams, Paul and even Raymond Felton, the next three consecutive picks after Williams, have all posted better scoring numbers, shooting percentages and, naturally, better assist totals.

Also, if you believe in advanced statistics, Deron Williams and Paul, each of whom has considerably more playoff experience in their careers thus far than Williams, who comes off the bench for Atlanta, carry higher win shares (Paul's is 89.1, Deron Williams' is 54.1).

The Hawks clearly didn't.

Honorable Mention: Shelden Williams, 2006; Trading Pau Gasol (No. 3 overall) to Vancouver for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, 2001

Boston Celtics: Kedrick Brown

The C's had the No. 10 and No. 11 picks in 2001 and smartly took the smooth shooting guard from Arkansas, Joe Johnson, 10th.

But at No. 11, they gambled on an explosive leaper out of tiny Okaloosa-Walton Community College named Kedrick Brown.

They lost.

Brown, a 6'7" swingman who could jump out of the gym but not shoot, rebound, pass or defend, lasted 101 games with the Celts and managed to score just 3.6 points per game over that stretch.

He was part of the 2003 deal with Cleveland that netted the Celtics Ricky Davis, a trade that got the C's some production (and a crazy, whacked out attitude) although it was a couple years too late.

In order to take Brown, the Celts passed on the likes of Richard Jefferson, Troy Murphy, Zach Randolph, Gerald Wallace and Tony Parker, not to mention Gilbert Arenas, who went in the second round.

Honorable Mention: Jerome Moiso, 2000 (11th overall); Eric Montross, 1994 (ninth overall); Acie Earl, 1993 (19th overall).

Charlotte Bobcats: Adam Morrison

In Michael Jordan's first draft as the head honcho of the Bobcats in 2006, he took National Player of the Year Adam Morrison, a skinny small forward out of Gonzaga, No. 3 overall.

That season's pickins were a bit slim, with Andrea Bargnani going first overall to Toronto and the likes of Shelden Williams, Tyrus Thomas and Patrick O'Bryant going top 10.

But Charlotte passed on both Brandon Roy and Rudy Gay to take Morrison, who scored 14.2 points per game as a rookie, then missed his second season with an injury before being jettisoned to the Lakers in 2009 for Vlad Radmanovic.

Morrison, who was taken over Brandon Roy and Rudy Gay in that lottery, won a ring with L.A. as the last guy on the bench and is now playing in Europe.

Honorable Mention: Sean May, 2005 (13th overall).

Chicago Bulls: Marcus Fizer

Two years removed from the Jordan/Pippen/Jackson dynasty, the Bulls were a floundering franchise doomed to pick in the lottery for years to come.

They didn't do themselves any favors in 2000 when they took Iowa State power forward Marcus Fizer at No. 4 overall, passing on guys like Jamal Crawford, Hedo Turkoglu and Jamaal Magloire in the process.

Fizer, who was a monster with the Cyclones, never molded into form in the NBA. He averaged around 12 points and six rebounds per game in his second and third seasons with the Bulls but those were hideous teams that won a combined 51 games in those two years.

Fizer lasted through 2004 in Chicago before being exposed to the Bobcats expansion draft by the Bulls. Charlotte took him but he never played a game for them, signing as a free agent with Milwaukee right at the start of the 2004 season.

He played one year for the Bucks, then played three games with the Hornets the next season before his NBA career came to an end.

Honorable Mention: Eddy Curry, 2001 (fourth overall); Stacey King, 1989 (sixth overall).

Cleveland Cavaliers: Luke Jackson

One year after drafting LeBron James, the Cavs came back with...

Luke Jackson?

Yep. Jackson went 10th overall to Cleveland in 2004, selected over Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, Jameer Nelson, Delonte West, Tony Allen and Kevin Martin.

The Cavs, in need of a big man at the time due to the checkered health history of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, were likely seduced by Jackson's size. What that size didn't come with however, was skill or production.

Jackson played 46 games for the Cavs, scoring a total of 125 points and grabbing a total of 46 rebounds (that's one per game if you're scoring at home). He then spread another 27 games over the next two seasons with Toronto, Miami and the Clippers.

The Cavs made up for the Jackson blunder somewhat by taking Anderson Varejao with the first pick of the second round in the same draft. But Jackson was still a terrible miss.

Honorable Mention: Dajuan Wagner, 2002 (sixth overall); DeSagana Diop, 2001 (eighth overall).

Dallas Mavericks: Samaki Walker

The Mavs were reeling from the inability to make the troika of Jim Jackson, Jamal Mashburn and Jason Kidd work out after drafting each in consecutive lotteries in the early '90s.

In 1996, they went for a big, physical presence with the ninth pick in Walker, a 6'9" power forward out of Louisville. But Walker never found his niche in Dallas, never playing in more than 43 games in any of his three seasons with the Mavs before signing as a free agent with the Spurs in 1999. He'd go on to have a halfway decent career as a journeyman, winning a ring with the Lakers in 2002.

Walker was taken ahead of folks like Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal and, ahem, Kobe Bryant, in the '96 draft. It's safe to assume that the Mavs would take a do over on this one if they could.

Honorable Mention: Cherokee Parks, 1995 (12th overall); Doug Smith, 1991 (sixth overall).

Denver Nuggets: Nikoloz Tskitishvili

The Nuggets had the fifth overall pick in 2002 and used it on a 19-year-old, 7' perimeter player from Georgia.

Not the state Georgia. The country Georgia.

Tskitishvili graded out well leading up to that draft, hence the interest near the top of the lottery. But he couldn't ever get it going in Denver.

He played 81 games as a rookie, starting 16 of them. But four points, two rebounds and 24 percent shooting from downtown wasn't cutting it.

He was gone 97 games later, off to spend a couple years bouncing around (Phoenix, Minnesota, Golden State) before being out of the NBA at age 22.

Players the Nuggets passed on in 2002?

Amar'e Stoudemire and Caron Butler.

Honorable Mention: Raef LaFrentz, 1998 (third overall); Tony Battie 1997 (fifth overall).

Detroit Pistons: Darko Milicic

It seems hard to imagine now, nearly 10 years later and especially after all that most of the 2003 draft's top five have accomplished.

We use the word "most" because of the Pistons, who bypassed Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony in favor of an 18-year-old big man from Serbia named Darko Milicic.

That the Pistons chose to take on a project like Darko here was made even stranger by the fact that the team was coming off a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, had a nucleus that wasn't going anywhere and a coach in Larry Brown who was employed to win titles with a veteran group.

If the Pistons had taken Wade, Bosh or Anthony here, there's no telling if any of them would have played right away or been nailed to the bench like Darko, who played a grand total of 139 minutes in his rookie season, thus stunting their growth.

At any rate, Detroit won it all in 2004 and made it back to the finals in 2005, but Brown quit anyway (go figure) and the championship core of Billups, Wallace, Prince and Hamilton went on to not quite get back to the promised land under Flip Saunders before breaking up in 2008.

And Darko? He was shipped off to Orlando after 76 whole games as a Piston.

Honorable Mention: Rodney White, 2001 (ninth overall); Mateen Cleaves, 2000 (14th overall).

Golden State Warriors: Adonal Foyle

The Warriors past couple of decades are riddled with bad draft decisions so be sure to check the Honorable Mention line below. For now, we'll give the honors the franchise's biggest draft mistake to Foyle, a 7-footer out of Colgate who went eighth overall in 1997.

Foyle had a semi-decent career, playing 10 seasons for Golden State as a backup center/space filler. But given where he was taken, his mundane numbers and a big name that went right after him, his longevity takes a back seat.

With the ninth pick in that same draft, the Raptors took Tracy McGrady. At the time, the Warriors, as they've been for years, were a perimeter oriented team, meaning a big man was a higher priority than a young wing player.

Foyle didn't prove to be that guy, as his 18.7 win share will attest.

Honorable Mention: Joe Smith, 1995 (first overall); Ike Diogu, 2005 (ninth overall); Patrick O'Bryant, 2006 (ninth overall); Anthony Randolph, 2008 (14th overall)

Houston Rockets: Joel Przybilla/Jason Collier

The Rockets don't have a particularly sordid history of bad drafting so we'll reach a little bit here and point to 2000, when they took Minnesota center Przybilla at No. 9 then traded him to Milwaukee for their first rounder, another center named Jason Collier (taken 15th) and a first rounder the next season.

Not exactly household names, any of them. Przybilla has had the more successful career, relatively speaking, toiling now for 12 seasons as a serviceable backup center for the Bucks and Blazers.

Collier played three anonymous seasons for the Rockets before moving on to Atlanta (11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds in 27 minutes per game) for his one productive year and was out of the league by 2005.

Honorable Mention: Marcus Morris, 2011 (14th overall).

11. Indiana Pacers: Erick Dampier

Like the Mavericks just one pick before them in the 1996 draft, the Pacers looked to their need for a big man over all else and took Dampier, a very good college center out of Mississippi State. 

Dampier, who is still kicking around at age 37, played just one uninspiring season for the Pacers before being shipped off to Golden State for an older Chris Mullin. That was a good deal at the time for Indiana. But like the Mavs, they really missed out on a lot.

Kobe, Nash and Peja all came among the next five picks. Drafting one of them may not have netted Mullin, but Mullin was past his prime when he arrived in Indianapolis.

In the end, it wasn't that big a bust. The Pacers were a perennial playoff team at the time and would remain so for several years after, even reaching the finals (with Mullin as a key component) in 2000.

Honorable Mention: Fred Jones, 2000 (14th overall); Steve Stipanovich, 1983 (second overall).

12. Los Angeles Clippers: Michael Olowokandi

If no one has ever written a book about the Clippers' years and years of draft follies, someone please volunteer.

In the meanwhile, let's hone in on the Kandi Man, who is arguably the biggest bust in NBA Draft history.

A giant from the University of the Pacific by way of Nigeria, Olowokandi was the first overall pick in the 1998 draft and put up fair numbers in his five years with the Clips, the final one even flirting with a double-double (12.3 points, 9.1 rebounds per game).

But the team was abominable all five of those years. Olowokandi never made any kind of winning impact. He's one of the more passive big men in league history.

He would sign with Minnesota as a free agent in 2003 then come to Boston in the Ricky Davis trade three years later. 

And in 2007, he was done, with career averages of eight and seven.

Honorable Mention: Yaroslav Korolev, 2005 (12th overall); Darius Miles, 2000 (third overall); Lorenzen Wright, 1996 (seventh overall); Randy Woods, 1992 (16th overall); Bo Kimble, 1990 (eighth overall); Benoit Benjamin, 1985 (third overall).

Los Angeles Lakers: Javaris Crittenton

Good luck going through the annals of the Lakers and finding many major blunders. This franchise has been so consistently solid for so long, most of their picks have been late in the first round or somewhere in the second. 

And when they have picked high, they've wound up doing OK (hello, Magic Johnson and James Worthy).

So let's hone in on Crittenton, who played 22 games for the Lakers after getting taken 19th overall in 2007. He was traded to Memphis, barely played half a season for the Grizzlies and finally wound up in Washington, where he was more famous for being Gilbert Arenas's partner in gun play than playing hoops.

Now, Crittenton is out on bond after being charged with murder. Not much more needs to be said.

Honorable Mention: George Lynch, 1993 (12th overall); Kermit Washington, 1973 (fifth overall).

Memphis Grizzlies: Hasheem Thabeet

That the Grizzlies have managed to turn themselves into a fringe contender despite getting absolutely nothing out of the second overall pick from 2009 is an impressive feat.

Thabeet, who was very solid at UConn, simply can't play in the NBA. In his rookie year, he topped out at 13 minutes three points and two field goal attempts per game. Even at his size 7'3", 263 lbs., he's never grabbed more than 3.6 rebounds per game.

The Grizzlies gave up on him halfway through his second season, shipping him to Houston where he played in seven games over parts of two seasons. The Rockets sent him off to Portland this year and he didn't do much with in his 7.7 minutes per night.

By the way, Memphis took Thabeet over James Harden, Ricky Rubio, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holiday, Ty Lawson and Jeff Teague.

Honorable Mention: Stromile Swift, 2000 (second overall); Trading Steve Francis (No. 2 overall) to Houston, 1999.

Miami Heat: Michael Beasley

Beasley has become a pretty good player and had two pretty good years for the Heat.

But 14.5 points and 6.5 boards per game doesn't exactly scream No. 2 overall pick, which he was in 2008. 

There was some sentiment that Beasley could go No. 1 overall to the Bulls that year, but they smartly stuck with Derrick Rose in that spot.

Beasley wore out his welcome in Miami after two years and was moved to Minnesota to make room for LeBron James and Chris Bosh prior to the 2010-2011 season.

Honorable Mention: Khalid Reeves, 1994 (12th overall); Wayne Simien, 2005 (29th overall).

Milwaukee Bucks: Trading Dirk Nowitzki to Dallas

In 1998, the Bucks took Nowitzki, one of the top 10 players of the past 10 years and a sure-fire Hall of Famer, ninth overall and traded him to Dallas for the rights to Robert "Tractor" Traylor (that they included another player, Pat Garrity, in the deal, makes it even more hard to believe).

Not a lot more needs to be said. Nowitzki's reputation is pretty well known. And Traylor, who tragically passed away last spring, played in just 93 games for Milwaukee, averaging about 4.5 points and three rebounds per game.

Honorable Mention: Joe Alexander, 2008 (eighth overall); Yi Jianlian, 2007 (sixth overall); Marcus Haislip, 2002 (13th overall).

Minnesota Timberwolves: Jonny Flynn

2009 was the year of the point guard in Minnesota, with the Wolves taking one with each of their three first round picks (No. 5, No. 6 and No. 18).

Flynn was the oddest of the picks. The Wolves had just taken Ricky Rubio at No. 5 and even though they likely knew he'd be staying overseas for a couple years, going for another one right away made little sense.

Maybe the Wolves could have dealt the pick with another one coming up a little later in the first round. Maybe they could have taken Stephen Curry to solve their 2-guard woes. Or someone like Tyler Hansbrough to provide some toughness.

Taking Flynn just seemed counter-productive. He started off relatively well, averaging 13.5 points and 4.4 assists per game, starting 81 games. 

But it was all downhill from there. He was usurped as a starter in 2010-2011, slipped quite a bit with his numbers and was quietly sent off to Houston where he lasted just 11 games before being dealt again.

Honorable Mention: Ty Lawson, 2009 (18th overall); Trading Brandon Roy (No. 6 overall) to Portland for Randy Foye (No. 7 overall), 2006; Ndudi Ebi, 2003 (26th overall).

New Jersey Nets: Too Many to Count

Like the Warriors and the Clippers, the Nets have such a horrendous draft history, it's nearly impossible to pick just one terrible mistake.

So here's a list.

Terrence Williams, No. 11, 2009; Marcus Williams, No. 22, 2006; Antoine Wright, No. 15, 2005; Viktor Khryapa, No. 22, 2004; Zoran Planinic, No. 22, 2003; Eddie Griffin, No. 7, 2001; Ed O'Bannon, No. 9, 1995; Yinka Dare, No. 14; Chris Morris, No. 4, 1988; Dennis Hopson, No. 3, 1987; Pearl Washington, No. 13, 1986; Mike O'Koren, No. 6, 1980.

New Orleans Hornets: Trading Kobe Bryant to the Lakers

In 1996, with the 13th overall pick, the then Charlotte Hornets drafted a high school phenom named Kobe Bryant. 

Then they traded him for Vlade Divac.

Divac was a nice center, had big game experience with the Lakers and was able to contribute to the Hornets right away.

Bryant is one of the 10 greatest players of all time.

There you have it.

Honorable Mention: Cole Aldrich, 2010 (11th overall); Hilton Armstrong, 2006, (12th overall); Kirk Haston, 2001 (16th overall).

New York Knicks: Frederic Weis

The Knicks went to the Finals in 1999 behind Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell but minus Patrick Ewing. Maybe that's why they thought they needed to go big in that year's draft.

So they took a Frenchman named Frederic Weis at No. 15. And Weis never played a single game for them.

They could have had Ron Artest, James Posey or Andrei Kirilenko. Instead, they chose someone who they'd never see in their uniform in a move that set the team back a number of years.

Oklahoma City Thunder/Seattle SuperSonics: Trading Scottie Pippen to Chicago

The Sonics took Pippen No. 5 overall in 1987. Then they traded him to the Bulls for Olden Polynice.

Ouch.

There's no telling what kind of player Pippen would have developed into if he'd not played with Jordan and been coached by Jackson. But in retrospect, as one of the 50 greatest players of all time, it doesn't really matter.

Pippen won the first of his six rings four years later. The Sonics/Thunder last won one in 1979.

Honorable Mention: Mouhamed Sene, 2006 (10th overall); Robert Swift, 2004 (12th overall); Carlos Rogers, 1994 (11th overall); Rich King, 1991 (14th overall).

Orlando Magic: Fran Vasquez

Vasquez was a Spanish forward who had a good perimeter game so the Magic must've thought he'd make a good complement for reigning Rookie of the Year Dwight Howard in the 2005 draft.

The only problem was, he never played a single minute for them. And other wing/perimeter guys like Danny Granger and Hakim Warrick were still available. 

Not getting anyone out of that draft didn't wind up hurting the Magic too terribly. But having a guy like Granger alongside Howard may have made things a little bit easier for Orlando both then and now.

Philadelphia 76ers: Trading No. 1 Overall to Cleveland in 1986

The Sixers won the lottery in 1986 and three years past their most recent title, the No. 1 overall pick was seen as a way to get them back to that level.

Instead, they traded the pick (which was center Brad Daugherty) to Cleveland for small forward Roy Hinson.

They then watched Charles Barkley's prime slip away, winning just two playoff series until 1999.

It's hard to imagine even now what the Sixers were thinking here. Hinson was a nice player but Daugherty was a borderline Hall of Famer.

Honorable Mention: Larry Hughes, 1998, (eighth overall); Keith Van Horn, No. 2 overall, traded to New Jersey, 1997; Shawn Bradley, 1993, (second overall).

Phoenix Suns: Trading Rajon Rondo to the Celtics

The Suns took Rondo at No. 21 in 2006 then shipped him and Brian Grant to Boston for the 21st pick in 2007, which they used on Spaniard Rudy Fernandez.

Fernandez never played for them.

In hindsight, the fact that Phoenix had Steve Nash coming off consecutive MVP awards probably informed their decision.

But now, with Rondo among the league's top point guards and Nash near the end, it's one they probably wish they could get back.

Honorable Mention: Earl Clark, 2009 (14th overall); Armen Gilliam, 1987 (second overall).

Portland Trail Blazers: Sam Bowie

This is it. The mother of all draft mistakes.

Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan.

It happened in 1984. Portland needed a big man, they took Kentucky star Bowie second overall, he never stayed healthy and Jordan, taken third overall by the Bulls, went on to become the greatest player of all time.

History may well repeat itself after the Blazers fell victim to a similar circumstance when they took Greg Oden first in 2007 instead of Kevin Durant. Durant probably won't be the greatest player ever. But the parallels are striking up to this point.

Honorable Mention: Greg Oden, 2007 (first overall); Martell Webster, 2005 (sixth overall); Qyntel Woods, 2002 (21st overall); Shawn Respert, 1995, (eighth overall).

Sacramento Kings: Pervis Ellison

Never nervous Pervis went No. 1 overall to the Kings in 1989. 

That experiment lasted 34 games and 866 minutes.

Ellison seemed to be made of glass for his whole career. He did average 20 and 17.5 points in consecutive seasons for Washington after the Kings got rid of him. But his career high in games played was 64, his second season with the then Bullets.

The Kings draft history is pretty checkered. But since Ellison went No. 1, he wins the prize.

Honorable Mention: Bobby Hurley, 1993 (seventh overall); Joe Kleine, 1985 (sixth overall).

San Antonio Spurs: Luis Scola

The Spurs are another team with a pretty short list of draft screw ups. But letting Scola get away hurt them.

San Antonio drafted the Argentinian in 2002's second round but kept him stashed overseas for five years. When Scola finally can stateside, the Spurs traded him to in-state rival Houston, where he's thrived as a borderline All-Star.

The last title the Spurs won came in 2007, right before Scola arrived in the States. It feels like if they'd kept him, given their nucleus and coaching, maybe they would have been able to capture at least one more.

Honorable Mention: Dwayne Schintzius, 1990 (24th overall).

Toronto Raptors: Rafael Araujo

Araujo, a center from BYU, is another example of a team grading out size as the most important aspect of a player's scouting report.

The Brazilian native parlayed his 6'11", 280 lb. frame into getting picked eighth overall by the Raptors in 2004, only to be out of the NBA in three years.

He played 111 games for Toronto and averaged 2.8 points and three rebounds per game.

The Raptors took him over Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, J.R. Smith and Kevin Martin, to name a few.

Honorable Mention: Michael Bradley, 2001 (17th overall).

Utah Jazz: Morris Almond

Most of the Jazz's picks over the past 25 years have come later in the first round, making them less susceptible to a huge miss. 

But Almond, taken 25th overall in 2007, still tanked pretty badly.

He played in just 38 NBA games, only 34 for Utah. In 25 games in 2008-2009, he scored 3.7 points per game. And that's about it.

The Jazz also took Almond ahead of Aaron Brooks, Arron Afflalo, Tiago Splitter and Carl Landry. All contribute far more that Almond managed.

Honorable Mention: Eric Maynor, 2009 (20th overall); Kosta Koufos, 2008 (23rd overall); Ryan Humphrey, 2002 (19th overall).

Washington Wizards: Kwame Brown

The first high schooler ever taken first overall, Brown talked then Wizards GM Michael Jordan into taking him in 2001, then curled up into the fetal position for the next 10 years.

It's been said that Jordan was so hard on the young Brown that he never was able to find any self-confidence. Maybe so, but he's still one of the biggest busts of all time.

Brown lasted four seasons in Washington, topping out at 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in his third year. His career high win share came that season too, at 4.9.

The Wizards passed on Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol and Jason Richardson in that draft.

Honorable Mention: Oleksiy Pecherov, 2006 (18th overall); Tom Hammonds, 1989 (ninth overall).