The 2002 NBA Draft was 10 years ago. This draft was a fairly memorable one, for a multitude of reasons.
-Yao Ming entered the league as the most ballyhooed international player ever. Add to the hype the fact that no one knew if his Chinese League team would let him out of his contract to play in the NBA right up until shortly before the draft, and the Yao Ming buzz took the NBA by storm.
-This was also the second year the Timberwolves lost their first-round pick from the Joe Smith scandal, resulting in only 28 first-round selections. Because you know, when you can give up 3 1st-rounders to sign a guy who averaged a 10/4 and couldn't crack the '98 76ers starting lineup, you have to do it.
-Shortly before the draft, the Nuggets and Knicks completed a horrifically one-sided trade that sent Antonio McDyess and Frank Williams to the Knicks for Marcus Camby and Nene's draft rights. Amazingly, Isiah Thomas would not be at the reigns of the Knicks for another 18 months.
So, there were some great storylines, and we haven't even talked about Nikoloz Tskitishvili yet. Let's dive in and see how it all played out.
Best Player: Amar'e Stoudemire, 10th Pick, Phoenix Suns
The '03 Rookie of the Year and a 6-time All-Star, Amar'e has made 7 playoff appearances, submitting one amazing playoff performance (A 30/11/1 for the 05 Suns WCF team), and 5 straight 20+ point, 8+ rebound seasons from '07 to '11. While he's known as an all-offense, no-defense player, and his career matches well with Yao's, Amar'e has been a centerpiece for multiple contenders and stayed healthy more than Yao did, even if he did miss almost all of the '06 season with knee issues.
Best 2nd-Round Pick: Carlos Boozer, 36th pick, Cleveland Cavaliers
Easy selection here. Boozer entered the league out of Duke with a chip on his shoulder and immediately posted a 14/11 in his first season. He is yet to average less than 14 points or 9 rebounds per game, peaking in '07 by averaging a 22/12/3 on 56% shooting for a Jazz team that made the Western Conference Finals. Even if he laid an egg in the playoffs this year, he's still got a lot of ground on his next competitor for this distinction, Luis Scola.
Biggest Bust: Nikoloz Tskitishvili, 5th pick, Denver Nuggets
He was picked over Amar'e, Nene (The Nuggets still got him but still), Chris Wilcox and Caron Butler. His career high MPG was 16.3 for an '03 Nuggets team that won 17 games. He played in more seasons (Five), than he averaged PPG (2.9). He's often rated as one of the top lottery busts of all-time, which isn't surprising seeing as he averaged under 7 PPG in an Italian league the year before being drafted.
Biggest Injury-Related What-If: Jay Williams, 2nd Pick, Chicago Bulls
Williams was drafted 2nd after Yao, and displayed world-class talent in his lone NBA season. Many believed he was going to be a future All-Star. However, in the summer of '03, Williams wrecked his motorcycle, severing a nerve in his leg, tearing three ligaments in his knee, and fracturing his pelvis. He would never play another NBA game. A great What-If because if Williams doesn't wreck, the Bulls likely still draft Kirk Hinrich, but are in much better shape to not tank in '04, and also may not make the Luol Deng deal with Phoenix since they'd probably be drafting late in the lottery. The Bulls already competed in the mid-'00s with Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Deng, Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler. Would they have been in better shape with Williams, Hinrich, we'll say Andre Iguodala from the '04 draft, Curry, and Chandler? We'll never know, but I say yes.
Most Indefensible Pick: The Nuggets taking Tskitishvili over everyone
We're not done with the lanky Georgian yet. The Nuggets had gaping holes at point and SF heading into this draft, and while they weren't likely to really fix PG, the Nuggets had a completely logical option outside of "Let's take the guy who averaged 7 PPG in a Mike D'Antoni offense in Italy!!!" That option was Caron Butler, who was coming off a 20/8/3 season at UConn and had spent two seasons dragging the carcass of that Huskies team around for two seasons (Butler's best teammate at UConn? Freshman "Before I was awesome" Ben Gordon. Yeesh). Why don't you take the near-sure thing??? I get Tskitishvili had upside, but Christ, you plug your biggest hole with a future-All-Star and have to start Ryan Bowen 31 less times than you actually did in '03! Also, this has great what-if potential; if the Nuggets take Butler 5th, they probably pick lower than third, and even if they do suck there's no way they need Melo. That means there's a good chance the Raptors or Heat end up with him, and we then need to re-write every title from '06 to present. So in a way, much less messy that the Nuggets blew the 5th pick.
Biggest Non-Tskitishvili-Related Mistake: Chris Wilcox, 8th pick, Los Angeles Clippers
This one is a little more defensible. Wilcox was coming off a National Championship at Maryland, and considered on par with Amar'e and Caron Butler, two upside guys. The Clippers wanted a backup forward that could run, so Wilcox and Amar'e were both good options. They went with the safe pick in Wilcox, which is weird because, you know, it's the Clippers. What's not weird is this is the one time that doesn't pan out. Amar'e totally lived up to expectations, while Wilcox never really developed into anything more than a quality reserve. If the Clips gamble with Amar'e, they get a perennial All-Star who would have clicked with Andre Miller immediately, and the Clips could even hide him defensively with Elton Brand there. Meanwhile, the Suns would have struggled to net Steve Nash with Shawn Marion and Chris Wilcox instead of Amar'e and Marion, and the entire mid-'00s Pacific Division landscape changes. The Suns may not have become contenders, and may have been replaced by a formidable Clips team (Miller, Corey Maggette, Odom, Brand, Amar'e? I'd take it).
The Top 3 Quotes from Chad Ford's Post-Draft Analysis:
"In five years, (Nikoloz Tskitishvili) may be the Kevin Garnett of this draft."
"(Marcus) Haislip may be the best athlete in the draft."
"You can't do better than (Mladen Sekurlac) at No. 55." (Dallas drafted Sekurlac, who never played in the NBA, one pick before Luis Scola, a quality Rockets starter).
Funniest Moment of the Draft:
As Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith make fun of the foreign player influx, David Stern drops a bomb: "You know, when Kenny and Charles first came into the league, they didn't speak English, either."
Best Trade of the Draft: Nuggets rob Knicks
The deal: The Knicks send Marcus Camby, Nene's rights, and Mark Jackson to the Nuggets for Antonio McDyess, an '03 2nd-rounder, and Frank Williams' rights. Let's see how that worked out. The Nuggets waived Jackson. Camby played six seasons with the Nuggets, leading the league in blocks 3 times and being named the '07 Defensive Player of the Year. Nene spent 9.5 seasons as a great glue guy for the competitive Nuggets teams. Frank Williams did nothing in 2 seasons with the Knicks. The pick ended up being Maciej Lampe, who played 64 career games, none with the Knicks. And finally, Antonio McDyess played a whopping 18 games for the Knicks before getting shipped to Phoenix for Stephon Marbury, who was 21% responsible for killing Knicks basketball. That wasn't just the Nuggets winning the trade; they committed Grand Theft.
Quality Starters: Caron Butler, Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer, Luis Scola
Fringe Starters: Drew Gooden, Nene
Quality Bench Guys: Mike Dunleavy, Chris Wilcox, Nenad Krstic, John Salmons, Flip Murray, Matt Barnes
De-Railed guys: Jay Williams, DaJuan Wagner
Players who didn't play in the NBA: 9
Overall, a fairly weak draft. We still will have to see how the careers of Amar'e, Boozer, Butler, Scola, and Nene turn out, but right now, not much to be excited about, especially compared to its follower in '03. We'll remember this draft for Yao, for Tskitishvili, and for all the Europeans. We'll see if anything changes in 20 years.
