Makings of an NBA BUST
 

Alrite so there have been many busts in the NBA and now in this thread is a place too write down reasons why players were bust or maybe write down the types of players that look like the makings of a bust and why.

Il start by saying any undersized SG who are too small to play the 2 and not fast enough to play the 1 are in for a bad NBA career. Example I can think of is Rashad Mccants and JJ Redick.

Re: Makings of an NBA BUST
 

anyone that's freakishly tall (7'2+) with "potential".

Re: Makings of an NBA BUST
 

Players whose legs aren't the same size should never be drafted.

Centers touted as the future most dominant bigman of his generation should never be touted, or the future of the C position. Also never assume these big defensive oriented athletes will develop a post game. Look at Kwame Brown, Michael Olawakandi, Greg Oden, Emeka Okafor, Tyson Chandler etc.

All of those players when scouted said they would be dominant offensively once they put a couple years of NBA work in, but not a single one has developed any form of post game.

Re: Makings of an NBA BUST
 

Add Hasheem Thabeet and Shelden Williams (#5 overall?!?!?!?) to that list. And yes all of those guys have been at least semi-busts (Kwame and Kandi were two of the worst busts ever).

I still reserve judgement on Oden, it's too early to call him a straight-up bust yet.



I don't know if you can call McCants or Reddick "busts", it's not like they were drafted high. A better example of an undersized SG who never learned to play PG is Ben Gordon drafted at #3 overall ahead of better players. Not that BG sucks, but Chicago could have had Al Jefferson, Iguodala, Kevin Martin, Andris Biedrins, etc in 2004.

Re: Makings of an NBA BUST
 

Ben Gordon is a better and more consistent player than all the ones you listed excepting Al Jefferson and possibly Igoudala. Though I believe that Ben Gordon's consistent offense and clutch play affect the game more than Igoudala's defense, which is not as good as it was when he first entered the NBA.

Re: Makings of an NBA BUST
 

In my opinion Ben Gordon is having himself a good career

Re: Makings of an NBA BUST
 

The one that's gotta sting the worst is Darko Milicic. With the depth in that draft!?, the Detroit Pistons must be kicking themselves.

Imagine if they did draft someone significant from the 2003 class, you could be talking dynasty.

Re: Makings of an NBA BUST
 

Thing is Pistons needed a bigman because they were already set with Prince, Billups and Hamilton ..if Prince played like **** the year before than they woulda went with Melo probably? But Prince had himself a good run during the playoffs

Re: Makings of an NBA BUST
 

Look, I didn't say Ben Gordon is a bust, but he was drafted #3 overall, and he would probably be a perrenial All-Star if he ever learned/decided to play PG. But no, he insists on being a 6'1 SG.

Re: Makings of an NBA BUST
 

There is nothing wrong with being a 6'1 SG. Ben has made a nice career out of it, and so have many other elite scorers in NBA history. Becoming a PG would cause Ben to go away from what makes him a special player on the NBA level. He is a top 5 player from his draft, and after Dwight Howard, he has been the most consistent. The others are either inconsistent, 1 year wonders, or not game changers.

Re: Makings of an NBA BUST
 

Chris Bosh was actually picked 2 spots after him.

Re: Makings of an NBA BUST
 

Its hard to compare the players of today to anyone that has historical value because this is 2009. The game has evolved and 6'1 to 6'3 shooting guards just aren't ideal anymore, especially when you talk about a prototypical sized SG is 6'6-68. 6'3 is a prototypical size for a point these days. If you're 6'8 these days, you're considered an undersized PF. Noone ever called Karl Malone undersized in the 80s. For every Ben Gordon there's a AJ Guyton, DeJuan Wagner, Fred Jones, Flip Murray or Juan Dixon. For every Gilbert Arenas there's a Joseph Forte, Kenyon Dooling, Gabe Pruitt, JamesOn Curry, Salim Stoudemire, Daniel Ewing, or Luther Head.

I would call anyone a bust or not, since the majority of combo guards are selected in the second round like Arenas and Ellis, but I wouldn't call anyone of them star players except Arenas.

Re: Makings of an NBA BUST
 

^Listing busts does not really prove anything. For every Kobe Bryant there is a long list of Kirk Snyder's, Morris Almonds, Felipe Lopezs, Demarr Johnsons, Courtney Alexanders, Rodney Whites, Jarvis Hayes, Reece Gaines, and others.

The game has not evolved to the point where the Ben Gordons, Monta Ellis-types, AIs, Dwyane Wades, and other "undersized" scoring guards are not effective. In fact the game has shifted in a direction where they are even more effective because of the rise in players who are point guards in name only. See: Devin Harris, Derrick Rose, and Gilbert Areanas. Height as the measure of player responsibility went by the wayside after the rise of the point forward, and an argument could be made that it never truly existed in the first place. The whole concept of the undersized powerforward is joke worthy anyway. Carlos Boozer, David West, and Elton Brand are all elite power forwards, and their supposed lack of size has not hindered them in their careers.

Re: Makings of an NBA BUST
 

Oh yeah forgot about Bosh but I guess Darko was still rated better than him? Correct me if im wrong I wasnt harsh following that deep into the NBA yet I was still young

Re: Makings of an NBA BUST
 

i think people seem to get "big man goggles" when they see tall players.