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9th January, 2008 - 11:08 am
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| Current Features |
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SCOOP DU JOUR: Iverson With The Knicks, Joe Alexander, Lincecum's Cy Young & More
Allen Iverson and the Knicks is a marriage out of necessity, forecasting Joe Alexander's future, why there hasn't been any players compared to Magic or Bird, plus Tim Lincecum's Cy Young and the possibility of Pacquiao/Mayweather at Cowboys Stadium.
TEAM RANKINGS: NBA Power Rankings For The Week Of November 12th
While the Cetlics remain an easy number one in our rankings, Greg Oden and the Blazers have moved up to the second slot, ahead of Dallas, Miami and the Lakers.
MOCK DRAFT: 2009 NBA Mock Draft, Version 11.0 (Draft Day Edition)
How will the 2009 NBA Draft shake out? We're only hours away from finding out.
LOCKER TALK: Nash, Cleveland, & Orlando
Steve Nash could draw trade interest this summer and Cleveland isn’t overlooking Orlando…
PLAYER RANKINGS: The Final NBA Player Rankings For The 2008-09 Season
The 2008-09 season is in the books and how did players rank individually?
CLASSICS: Hakeem Vs. Ewing: Who Was The Better Center?
Born within six months of each other in opposite corners of the world, two seven footers who are finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame this fall are two of the best ever to play the center position.
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By Nick Obergan
Welcome to the new special draft edition of the Standing 10. Over the course of the next 6 months or so I will be counting down the top 10 players selected at each numerical draft slot (whether No. 30 was in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd round, it is still No. 30) in the history of the NBA Draft. There will be a new list each week, and sometimes the pickings were so slim (as with the two draft slots below) that it made more sense to combine two draft slots than to bleed them out individually with irrelevant players; doing this also helps to ensure the entire group of articles is done before the NBA Draft. Hope you enjoy the trip through the history of the draft with us here at RealGM; you may be surprised at some of the steals.
10. Mark West – No. 30 in 1983
West had an incredibly long and an incredibly consistent NBA career that lasted 17 seasons spanning from 1983 to 2000. He had stops in Dallas, Cleveland (twice), Milwaukee, Phoenix (twice), Detroit, Indiana and Atlanta, and was a member of the 1993 Suns' team that lost to Michael Jordan’s Bulls in the 1993 NBA Finals. West boasts career averages of 5.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 18.5 minutes of action over 1090 games. Over a 10-year span from 1985-95, he averaged 6.9, 5.8, and 1.5 respectively in 21.2 minutes. His best season was 1989-90 when he averaged 10.5, 8.9 and 2.2 blocks in 29 minutes with the Suns. He also had a stellar playoff run in that same year where he averaged 11.1, 10.3, and 1.2 in 34 minutes. His career 58% field goal percentage is 2nd on the all-time list behind Artis Gilmore and just a shade ahead of Shaq.
9. John Long – No. 29 in 1978
Long was drafted by the Pistons and had the good fortune of starting alongside Isiah Thomas until Joe Dumars was drafted in 1985. The 6’5” guard/forward was a great slasher and good mid-range shooter. In his first 10 seasons (8 with Detroit, 2 with Indiana) he averaged 15.5 points with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal while shooting 47% from the field. His banner year came in 1981-82 (Thomas’ first season) where he poured in 21.9 points on 49% shooting. In 1988-89, after two and a half seasons starting on the Pacers, they dealt him back to the Pistons where he played on the 1989 championship team as a little used bench player. He then played on Atlanta, a third time with Detroit, and finally Toronto in 1997 before retiring after 893 career games with 13.6 career points per game.
8. Nate McMillan – No. 30 in 1986
McMillan played 12 seasons in the NBA, all with Seattle. He was 6’5” and could play point guard, shooting guard, or small forward; but, he was predominantly a point guard when he first entered the league. In his rookie season in 1986-87 he tied an NBA rookie record with 25 assists in a game. He averaged 8.2 assists that year, and averaged 8.3 over his first 4 years with a high of 9.3 in 1998-89. McMillan averaged 5 or more assists in 8 of his first 9 seasons. He was also a very good defender, earning NBA All-Defense 2nd Team twice in his career.Four times he was in the top 10 in steals, leading the league once in 1993-94 with 3.0. In his 796 game career he averaged 5.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.9 steals in 25.7 minutes per game, including 4 career triple doubles. In 98 career playoff games, he averaged 5.0, 3.5, 5.2, and 1.3 in 22 minutes. His #10 jersey has been retired by the Sonics.
7. P.J. Brown – No. 29 in 1992
Brown has played 14 seasons in the NBA, and we are not quite sure if he is done yet. He is currently an unsigned free agent; however, teams still express interest in bringing back his veteran savvy and defensive mindset for a championship run. He was drafted by the Nets but had his most success as a member of the Heat and Hornets' organizations and was last seen as a member of the Bulls last season. He has averaged double digit points 5 times, at least 8 rebounds seven times, and over a block per game in 9 seasons. He has averaged 9.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 block in his 1071 game career. In 81 career playoff games he has averaged 8.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks. He is/was known as a great positional and team defender. Brown's intelligence is his strength, and that is what has earned him a spot on the All-Defense 2nd team three times (1997, 1999 & 2001). I expect he will retire as it is believed he turned down opportunities to play in Dallas and Phoenix this season.
6. Toni Kukoc – No. 29 in 1990
Though Kukoc was drafted in 1990, he didn’t come over from Europe until the 1993-94 season. At the age of 25, he had a very respectable rookie campaign, posting averages of 10.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals in 24 minutes as he came off the bench for all but 8 games and earned 2nd team All-Rookie honors. The following season he was a starter (mainly at power forward) and averaged 15.7, 5.4, and 4.6. Then Michael Jordan came back from baseball and Kukoc went back to the bench. The 6’11” Croatian had the body to play center and power forward as well as the shooting and ball handling ability to play small forward or shooting guard so he made an immediate impact as the team’s 6th man as he won the award with that title in 1995-96 – the year the Bulls went 72-10 and won their fourth championship. He came off the bench the following two seasons again, and the Bulls won championships again – all the while he was the team’s third leading scorer behind Jordan and Scottie Pippen despite being a reserve. He played with the Bulls until midway through the 1999-2000 season when he was dealt to Philadelphia. A year later he was sent to Atlanta for a season and a half before going to Milwaukee until he retired in 2006. Kukoc scored in double figures for 10 of his first 11 seasons until age limited him to playing 20 or less minutes a night in his final 3 seasons. In 846 career games he averaged 11.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1 steal in 26 minutes, with a career year in 1998-99 when he averaged 18.8, 7.0, 5.3.
5. Phil Smith – No. 29 in 1974
Smith was drafted by the Warriors and played there for six years. In his rookie season, the Warriors won the NBA Championship, and Smith played 15 minutes off the bench in the playoffs, contributing just over 6 points and close to 2 rebounds and 2 assists per game – fairly even with his rookie year regular season stats. The following season (1975-76) he was a starter. He averaged 20 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.3 steals en route to being named to the All-Star team, the All-NBA 2nd team, and the All-Defense 2nd team. He was an All-Star again in his third season, averaging an even 19-4-4, and poured in 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists during the All-Star game. That would be his last All-Star appearance even though he averaged 19.7, 3.7, 4.8 and 19.9, 3.6, 4.4 the following two seasons. After that his career went into a decline because of a ruptured Achilles tendon. That would mark his last season as a Warrior and then played one and a half seasons each with the San Diego Clippers and Seattle. In 9 seasons he played 652 career games, averaging 15.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 29 minutes of action. He was also a 47.6% shooter which helped him to be such a good scorer in the first half of his career.
4. Josh Howard – No. 29 in 2003
Howard plummeted down the draft board in 2003 despite being the A.C.C. Player Of The Year at Wake Forest, and many believe it was largely due to off the court issues and possible red flags in his character. The Mavericks were all too happy to scoop him up with the second last pick of the first round and were rewarded with a player who rebounds very well for his size and position, is a tenacious defender, and could emerge as one of the premier wing players in the NBA. Howard started 29 of the 67 games he played as a rookie and averaged 8.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.0 steal, and 0.8 blocks per game in 23.7 minutes of action, and he was chosen as a member of the All-Rookie 2nd Team. The next two seasons showed steady progression in his all around game. He started every game and immediately had his rebounds up over 6 and steals to 1.5, while upping his shooting from 43% to 47% by mainly slashing to the hoop for all of his 12.6 points. Howard then upped it again to 15.6. Last year he blossomed into an All-Star after he developed an outside shot and connected on 1.5 threes per game en route to raising his scoring again to 18.9 to go along with 6.8 rebounds. If you thought that was him reaching his potential, you were dead wrong. This season he is averaging career highs in points (21.1), rebounds (7.3), assists (2.2), and field goal percentage (48.2%) and is knocking on the door for his second straight All-Star appearance. If Howard keeps up this pace of progression, he should be a yearly candidate for the All-Star game and could even sneak up this Top-10 list before long.
3. Dennis Johnson – No. 29 in 1976
Before Dennis Johnson the NBDL coach prematurely left us, Dennis Johnson the player had an outstanding pro career. He played 14 NBA seasons with stops in Seattle, Phoenix, and ultimately Boston. He began his career predominately as a shooting guard and averaged no less than 18.8 points per game through seasons 4-6 (to go along with no less than 3.7 rebounds, and consistently between 3-4 assists, and more than a steal per game). He then had a 7-year run as the Celtics' point guard playing with the The Big Three (Bird, McHale, Parrish). Between the ages of 29 and 33, the worst he averaged was 12.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists, but he got as high as 15.7, 4.0, 7.8. In all 14 years D.J. averaged more than a steal per game and never higher than 2.9 turnovers. He was a 5-time All-Star (1979, 80, 81, 82, 85) and was named Finals' MVP when the Sonics won in 1979. He also won two championships with the Celtics in 1984 and 1986 and lost in the finals with the Celtics in 1985 and 1987. Johnson played 180 career playoff games, averaging 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.4 steals. His regular season averages in 1100 games were 14.1, 3.9, 5.0, 1.3. He also had many more accolades: he was named to the All-Defensive 1st Team 6 times, All-Defensive 2nd team 3 times, the All-NBA 1st Team once (1981), and 2nd team once (1980). Not bad for a second round pick!
2. Gilbert Arenas – No. 30 in 2001
I know many will believe that Arenas belongs at #1 but hear me out. First or all, we are talking about ‘careers’, and Hibachi’s is far from finished. He could become even better as an all-around player (right now he is pretty much just a scorer). Or, he could get worse because of the knee injury he suffered at the end of last year. Yes, All-Star caliber players have had good success coming back from knee surgeries over the past half-decade but remember that he tried coming back this year, faltered, and ended up having more surgery. No one can say what kind of effect this will have on his future in the NBA. One thing is for certain: this guy was an absolute steal at #30. Through 6 full NBA seasons, he has been a 3-time All-Star that has averaged no less than 18.3 points per game after his rookie year, and 27.7 over the last 3 years. Arenas also chips in with career averages of 4.5 points, 5.9 assists, and 1.8 steals. Some may wish he was more of a pure point guard and that he got his teammates more involved, but he is just happier hitting 200 three pointers a season. Strangely, the Wizards look better with him out of the lineup this season. Still, they are missing a very explosive and exciting player who has been All-NBA 3rd Team twice and 2nd Team once, along with the 2002-2003 Most Improved Player.
1. Spencer Haywood – No. 30 in 1971
Due to NBA rules at the time (players could not play in the NBA until their class graduated college), Haywood had to play his first season in the ABA while fighting the NBA rule in the court system. At age 20, he dominated the ABA, posting averages of 30.0 points, 19.5 rebounds (all-time record for one season), 2.3 assists and shot 49% from the field. Haywood was named Rookie Of The Year, League MVP, and even All-Star Game MVP after posting 23 and 19. The next season he would join Seattle where he would stay for 5 seasons, averaging over 20 points every year and grabbing at least 12 rebounds in 4 of those 5 seasons. In 1976-77 he joined the Knicks and had a 19/11 season. The next 2 ˝ years in New York were up and down, but he only once averaged less than 16.5 points there and saw his rebounds dip to 6 per game in 2 of those seasons. He finished the 1978-79 season with the New Orleans Jazz showing he can still dominate, averaging 24.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 34 games. The following year he joined the Lakers and agreed to come off the bench. He played 20 minutes per night and averaged 9.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and won his only title with that squad. Haywood then played 2 seasons with the Washington Bullets before retiring in 1983 with career averages of 19.2 and 9.8. Take away his last 3 seasons and they would be well over 20 and 10 for his career – numbers that have long been the standard for elite big men. He was a 4-time NBA All-Star, 2-time All-NBA 1st Team, and 2-time All-NBA 2nd Team selection. Not to mention dominating the U.S. court system en route to changing the draft rule to allow high school players to make the jump and earn their millions.
Next week: Picks 27 & 28.
Comments are welcome: nickobergan@hotmail.com |
