mastermind
Rest In Power Kobe
He couldn’t shoot.
He was a modern NBA player outside of shooting.
I remember Kenyon Martin being consensus number one pick but there was nothing about him that said he would be a transcendent player.
Lets look back at the 2000 NBA Draft aka WOAT NBA Draft
- Thread starter firemanBk
- Start date
He was a modern NBA player outside of shooting.
I remember Kenyon Martin being consensus number one pick but there was nothing about him that said he would be a transcendent player.
mastermind
Rest In Power Kobe
the older I got, the more I realized SLAM was a joke magazine. It was better for fashion than actual bball analysis.
I don't know if I would go as far as calling it a joke, but it was definitely more style over substance. Still I think it was a good magazine for hoop culture as opposed to one for any kind of analysis.
firemanBk
The Manslayer
Dajuan was a damn monster in HS, wasn't just SLAM hype he was one of the top recruits in the nation. He had terrible health problems in the NBA that ruined his career. His son is one of the best recruits in the class of 2023. Maybe one of the first 3rd generation NBA players? Cause Dajuan's father briefly played in the NBA as well. Not sure of too many other 3rd generation players
Yeah K Mart pretty much lived up to what scouts had thought about him. I'm sure the Nets had hoped he would develop a better offensive game but he was supposed to come in NBA ready and immediately help with defense and rebounding, which he did. There wasn't really any aspirations of him being a franchise player basically ever.
mastermind
Rest In Power Kobe
it was a joke For hoop analysis, which they did want to provide.
I don’t care about college or nba player hyping, but they had a lot of high school hooopers thinking they were the next Kobe or LeBron. That’s what irks me in retrospect.
I enjoyed it as my gateway into hoops media, and the shoes, but i wish they didn’t cover high school hoopers.
They did have some good writers.
Tres Leches
Empire Business
turkoglu>mike miller
Wagner was Iverson Lite though, but those colon issues
fukked him up.
RhodyRum
Mark Gassed-A-Heaux
If I recall correctly Miles was being touted as a baby KG.
Those early 2000s Clippers teams were always the media's offseason darling as the next team to watch out for, and Miles I believe was supposed to be the final piece of their neophyte foundation (along with fellow rookies Keyon Dooling & Q Rich) that was was already being established with the young veterans Olowakandi, Odom, and Maggette. A young Earl Boykins was also on the 2000-2001 & 2001-2002 squads. Elton Brand also joined them in 2001.
They certainly didn't lack talent. The talent on paper alone seemed like they were a program on the precipice of becoming contenders, if not something special. However as we often see with bad teams that accumulate good talent through the draft, sometimes hitching your wagon to too much youth far too often leaves the ship itself rudderless from a lack of verteran presence and leadeship.
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Dariusfromboston
Pro
Had the kings sent Peja to the bench for Turk earlier in the series they probably would’ve won in 02
Mirin4rmfar
Superstar
There has to be a worse nba draft. Although none were overly dominant players BUT these guys were in the nba as role players for years. They didn't flamed out of the league.
My #1 Darius Miles memory was in the next-to-last game of the season in 2005 when he had this game where no one gave a shyt (Blazers were already out of the playoffs and in full JailBlazer mode) and he put up 47 points and 12 boards along with a ridiculous 4 steals and 5 blocks. I mean he might have had the wildest stat line of that entire season. That's when I started realizing (though it has been true for all of NBA history), "when the season is almost over and players start mailing it in literally any fukking crazy thing can happen."
Hedo Turkoglu could fukking ball
This forum really loves Detlef Schrempf and in a lot of ways Turk was kinda an evolutionary Schrempf. Size of a stretch 4 but could play like a point 3. Feels like he coulda been better in the right system, what they had going in Orlando was a good idea but just needed a bit more stability and better coaching.
There was a crazy moment summer of 2009 (right after Orlando lost in the Finals where Turk had his breakout postseason) and there was this big announcement he had signed with Portland. Next day he reneges and signs with Toronto instead because he didn't want to be stuck way out on the west coast in a white-ass city with no immigrants.
That woulda been a huge coup for Portland and a crazy-good squad on paper:
PG: Andre Miller (Steve Blake, Jerryd Bayless)
SG: Brandon Roy (Rudy Fernandez, Patty Mills)
SF: Hedo Turkoglu (Nicolas Batum, Martell Webster)
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge (Travis Outlaw, Juwan Howard)
C: Greg Oden (Marcus Canby, Joel Pryzbilla)
Team had quality at every position, depth, and a TON of potential. The Oden/Roy/Fernandez injuries and losing Hedo to Toronto turned a potential contender into just a nice story.
Stromilr and miles had some of the goat after dunk trademarks though
14. Mateen Cleaves (Pistons) - Perhaps best known for waving towels on the Sacramento Kings bench, I'm really shocked that Mateen Cleaves was considered a first rounder even in this weak draft. He had injury issues in college and just never really seemed like a pro style guard. Great college player though
I couldn't stand this nikka . Knew he was trash before the draft but that Final Four run with Sparty had him feeling himself too much. He Me-Too'd a PAAG I dated