I took a gander at last year’s draft to see if I couldn’t find any mistakes we could try to fix and came up with 10 good ones. With the clarity of hindsight, these were pretty dumb picks. But just about every one of them was defensible at the time. Just about.
Mistake #1: Alex Caruso first overall.
A great decision for the laughs and for the heart, but not only was Caruso projected to go a couple rounds later, he also ended up starting. What can we learn for it? Arguably nothing. The Bulls will have a starting PG battle between Caruso, Carter, and White. So if you wanna risk it all and draft Caruso in the first round again, Cody, be my guest. Just don’t get mad when it’s a wasted pick again, haha.
Mistake #2: Montrezl Harrell third overall.
I’ll admit I thought he would feature more prominently for Philly last year. But after a dismal preseason he became a big swing. And then as the season wore on he became a complete non-factor. What can we learn for it? Don’t go name-hunting; look for stats.
Mistake #3: Spencer Dinwiddie fourth overall.
Listen I don’t really know if we could’ve avoided this one. Who knew he was gonna start, then get traded, then start some more? Not sure we can learn anything from that one, so let's move on.
Mistake #4: Letting Bobby Portis slide to 8th.
There’s no world in which this should’ve happened. In fact, if it happens again this year there will be serious repercussions. The most rock-solid backup in the league nearly fell out of the first round. Bush league.
Mistake #5: Falling for Robert Covington.
He makes all the sense in the world for the Clippers, but he pretty much didn’t play last year. On media day this year, Ty Lue brought up how little RoCo played last season and how that was Lue’s fault and he wanted to fix it. What can we learn for this? Don’t fall for it again.
Mistake #6: Seth Curry 16th overall.
The biggest problem with this mistake is I can see somebody talking themselves into making it again this year. He’s an elite shooting vet who has never caused trouble and is generally liked everywhere he goes. There’s pretty much no reason he should be bad, right? And now he’s back on the Mavs, running their second unit, right? They’re not gonna play a bunch of rookies and tall dudes over him while they stagger Luka and Kyrie and demote him to 10 mpg, right?
Mistake #7: Isaac Okoro in the third round
The lesson here is be wary of guys who are fighting for the starting position but can’t shoot. Cause either they lose eligibility, or they don’t give you anything, haha.
Mistake #8: Andre Drummond being drafted at all
I wanted him. I thought he’d continue to be his double-double self who would give a little toughness behind Vucevic. He just turned 30. Seemed like a solid pick. Wrong-o! Can we learn anything from this? Watch out for traditional centers who don’t offer multiple skillsets, I guess.
Mistake #9: John Wall and Derrick Rose
Old Man Team took John Wall because he fit the profile, not because he deserved to go in the second round. Turns out he didn’t deserve to go at all. Derrick Rose went in the fourth round, same story. The lesson here I guess is watch out for old point guards with injuries in their past who are playing for teams who have younger, more athletic options. That being said, I can feel myself getting sucked back into the Derrick Rose allure in Memphis this season.
Mistake #10: Immanuel Quickly dropping to the 7th round
We thought Rose was gonna take all his minutes, so I understand why we let him fall. But a guy taken 72nd overall in a bench league who finished 2nd in 6MOY votes is mind-boggling. The only thing we can learn for this is that I don’t know a damn thing.
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