OT- NBA players you were wrong about

[Mots010]

He was a lottery pick.

So was Thabeet. I don't think there was anyone predicting Noah would be and MVP candidate back when he was drafted.

 

[joober jones]

Kevin Pittsnoggle is another.

 

[huskypantz]

Kevin Pittsnoggle is another.

But the dude knows how to get married in style.

 

[Scoe]

Is it cause he's white?[/quote]

Yes it is, I did think he would be a good pro just not this good, I thought he would be like Wally Sczerbiak.

 

[Scoe]

Thabeet is a bust in every imaginable sense of the word, and nobody is using Thabeet in certain situations or for matchup purposes, he's firmly planted on the bench.

Thabeet is a bust but the grizzlies were stupid enough to draft him number 2 overall. He was a project player drafted number 2, when he should have been a late 1st early 2nd round pick and start in the Dleague to work his way up.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Lee Mayberry from the Arkansas teams in the early 90's. Thought he would be a defensive terror.

And from UConn I'll go with Chris Smith. Thought he had the talent to stick around for a second and third contract.

 

[uconnng8]

Blake Griffin. Thought he was way to one dimensional (could only dunk in college) to be a top 10, maybe even a top 5, player in the league. He's starting to become pretty well rounded too.

 

[elduderino]

Thabeet, thought he could play a little and contribute and he gets total garbage minutes in meaningless regular season games, let alone anything meaningful

Okafor, it's amazing to suggest he was ever considered as a better pick over D12, wow. He's a bust from the standpoint of he's paid vs. production. He's the worst max contract in the history of the NBA.

Challenge, Rashard Lewis's contract was much worse! Personally I never really thought Thabeet was a 2 pick. I've never been a huge fan of the raw potential argument in the first 5 picks. He seemed more like a 10 guy to me and unfortunately in hindsight even that was optimistic. Also, loved STAT, but he died a ways back and took a Knicks max contract down with him.

 

[Huskybass]

Thabeet is not a bust. GMs will always have a spot for a plus 7 footer in their arsenal. Those guys are the lefty relievers in MLB who stick around for ages because they can get leftys out. Randy Choate 13 year vet has been in 540 games, won 13,never pitched more than 50 innings in any year. Now 39 yrs. old.

Thabeet is the epitome of a bust. He was the #2 overall pick. His production is the lowest EVER for someone drafted that highly.

 

[huskypantz]

Thabeet is the epitome of a bust. He was the #2 overall pick. His production is the lowest EVER for someone drafted that highly.

Darko Milicic is a rough equivalent.

 

[UC990411]

JJ Redick is at the top of the list, I didn't think he would do anything in the league and he has become a very good NBA player. I give him a lot of credit for working extremely hard to diversify his game. Miles Plumlee and Josh McRoberts are two more that come to mind, it's amazing how little they did at Duke.

Posts that aren't even about Duke even have a way at bringing out the Duke obsession.

 

[Huskybass]

Milicic averaged 8 points and 5 rebounds a couple of years. Thabeet has never even averaged 3 points per game other than his rookie year.

 

[boog204]

Joe Alexander. 6'9" athletic freak who could shoot and D-up. Lottery pick, lasted 1 year on the bench. What happened?

Agree... Thought he would be a Tom Chambers-ish type of player.

 

[tzznandrew]

I hear Kevin Love all the time. Did people really think that? Wide bodied, 6'10, bruiser in the paint, rebounding machine with post skills and a professional pedigree? UCLA star? McDonald's AA? Top 5 recruit?

Is it cause he's white?

I remember I argued with people over this a lot. I thought he would be very good (not this good), but people argued he was not athletic enough, and that he's have trouble scoring. He developed some range on his jumper, which mitigated some of that concern.

 

[muhmitchell]

Surprised that Marcus panned out the way he did, same with Blair. Always thought he'd be feasted on by faster PFs and outjumped/outreached by taller C's

 

[huskypantz]

Milicic averaged 8 points and 5 rebounds a couple of years. Thabeet has never even averaged 3 points per game other than his rookie year.

Not until his fourth year. Darko was drafted 12 years ago, Thabeet has time.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Is it cause he's white?

Yes it is, I did think he would be a good pro just not this good, I thought he would be like Wally Sczerbiak.[/quote]

This is accepted racism. Like when every white WR is compared to Wes Welker.

 

[Scoe]

Yes it is, I did think he would be a good pro just not this good, I thought he would be like Wally Sczerbiak.

This is accepted racism. Like when every white WR is compared to Wes Welker.[/quote]

I just can't help the fact that a lot of white players never are the same player they were in college everybody has that on their mind they just won't say it. Bill Simmons said European players don't count as white guys.

 

[Huskybass]

Not until his fourth year. Darko was drafted 12 years ago, Thabeet has time.

Time? He has been in the league for 5 years and done virtually nothing.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Better then I thought: Bledsoe, Davis, mcw, waiters, Ross, hardaway,

Worse then I thought: mkg, lamb, bismack, others....

 

[elduderino]

This is accepted racism. Like when every white WR is compared to Wes Welker.

I just can't help the fact that a lot of white players never are the same player they were in college everybody has that on their mind they just won't say it. Bill Simmons said European players don't count as white guys.[/quote]

Yup, I'm well aware I am a racist, but not like Sterling, more like Barkley or Sharpton, but with better control of the volume of my voice.

 

[huskypantz]

Time? He has been in the league for 5 years and done virtually nothing.

It's not like he needs to become an all-star to surpass Darko.

 

[aceboon]

Thabeet is a bust but was stupid enough to draft him number 2 overall. He was a project player drafted number 2, when he should have been a late 1st early 2nd round pick and start in the Dleague to work his way up.

cmon, Thabeet was going lotto if the Grizz drafted him or not. The truth is Thabeet wasn't going to be much of a player in the league no matter where he was drafted.

 

[champs99and04]

Guys I thought would be better:

Terrence Williams
Joe Alexander
Doron Lamb
Jonny Flynn
Tyrus Thomas
Evan Turner
Jeremy Lamb
T.J. Ford
O.J. Mayo
Michael Beasely
Derrick Williams
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
James Anderson
Perry Jones
Acie Law

 

[auror]

Michael Beasley is a good one. Dude was a BEAST in college as a freshman. Multiple 40-point 10+ rebound games in Big12 conference play, finished with 26.2 and 12.4 for the season, again, as a freshman. Better numbers than Durant put up the year before.

 

[otp85]

I think the Durant comparisons had Beasley fighting an uphill battle from the start.
So much talent and just can't get the mental aspect on the same level. Makes me wonder how good Royce White could be as well

 

[Scoe]

cmon, Thabeet was going lotto if the Grizz drafted him or not. The truth is Thabeet wasn't going to be much of a player in the league no matter where he was drafted.

I know he would have gone lotto no matter what which is all the more reason it made sense for Thabeet to go pro, part the problem is a team was willing to gamble on him as the 2nd pick overall, not saying he was gonna be much of a player in the NBA I never thought he would be just saying he would have been a lot better off being a late 1st early 2nd round pick and starting in the D-league.