The NBA’s All But Given Up On Team
Having been given a few years in the League to develop—and for some, that was a few years too many—these once projected gems, have surely not helped their GM’s resumes. For each of these players, their expectations—either be when they entered the League or were given a generous contract—have been high at one point or another in their respective careers. But with failed production and diminished minutes, each has seen their stock plummet.
With a little seasoning in the NBA, these guys were sure to make an impact in the League. Suffice to say, none have amounted to what was hoped of them. After looking at this list, it’s interesting to see both the Toronto Raptors and 2006 Draft class well represented. Sophomores are exempt, because they have not been given enough time to develop (For all those penciling in Joe Alexander and Alexis Ajinca, it will have to wait—as will Hasheem Thabeet).
And no, J.J. Redick is playing fine and Chris Duhon—as terrible a fit for the Knicks as he is—is still playing relevant minutes. Here is the “All But Given Up On” first team.
Past members include: Gerald Green and Kedrick Brown
GUARD: Marcus Banks, Toronto Raptors (Drafted 13th in 2003)
This season: 1.8 points, 1.2 assists and .4 rebounds in five games
Career: 6 points, 2.1 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 328 games (37 starts)
The 6-2 point guard out of UNLV is in his seventh season in the League and has found refuge on the Raptors’ bench (which I’m told is pretty comfy). Since Banks has entered the NBA, he has routinely failed to reach the level of play he was expected of. For all his inconsistencies and lack of understanding schemes, Banks continues to rake coinage in the NBA; this season he is making $4.5 million (thank you Phoenix).
Banks’ career has taken him through Boston, Minnesota (Where he enjoyed his most success at 12 points and 4.7 dimes a game through 40), Phoenix, Miami and now Toronto. The asset that has always intrigued teams about Banks is his quickness. There is no doubt, even at 28, Banks is still one of the fastest guys in the League. Still, he has no work ethic and does not play well in a system offense. Lucky for him, he can continue to rack up DNP’s and collect his multi-million dollar checks for the next few years.
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GUARD/FORWARD: Adam Morrison, Los Angeles Lakers (Drafted 3rd in 2006)
This season: 2 points, 1.2 rebounds and.4 assists in 13 games
Career: 8.1 points, 2.3 and 1.5 assists in 143 games
Behind what has to rival as the dirtiest stache in professional sports, lies a former NCAA scoring champ and third overall selection. From one number three pick to the next, Michael Jordan helped make Morrison the Charlotte Bobcats’ prize for the future in 2006 (Blast, the Kwame Brown curse continues!).
For the 6-8 former Gonzaga legend, Morrison has been seen as one of the worst draft selections of the past decade. During his rookie year in 2007, he did score 11.8 points a game; although, that was also en route to being the statistically least efficient player in the NBA and shooting a dirty stache-esque 37.6 percent from the field. Morrison then went through an ACL tear that robbed him (robbed is also code for saved the Bobcats) of the 2007-08 season and then was shipped off to Hollywood when Larry Brown had lost all patience (Insert D.J. Augustin).
Adam, the baby-j bank is no longer open for business. At least you got a ring.
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FORWARD: Antoine Wright, Toronto Raptors (Drafted 15th in 2005)
This season: 4.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 20 games
Career: 5.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1 assist in 243 games
Wright is currently in his fifth year out of Texas A&M and after finding nothing long-term in both New Jersey and Dallas, is trying to revive his career in Toronto. Wright is getting the most burn out of anyone is this group, with 17.4 minutes a game and is working to become a more solid role player.
He didn’t start out his NBA career on a great note—only seeing action in 39 games for the Nets—where he averaged 1.8 points and .8 boards a game. Mark Cuban then took a chance on Wright with the Mavericks and he actually started 53 contests before ownership felt he wasn’t in their future plans. Coming into the League, Wright was tagged as a do-all player who was a lanky defensive presence (6-7) and a crafty offensive wing. However, in his 243 career games, he has yet to find a niche and assert himself as the player New Jersey thought he’d become. Toronto is hoping he can fill their role of defensive stopper for opposing small forwards, but his inconsistent play and inability to mix-in with offensive schemes have kept him on the bench more often than not.
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FORWARD: Shawne Williams, Dallas Mavericks (Drafted 17th in 2006)
This season: Goose egging across the board on injured reserve
Career: 5.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and .7 assists in 126 games
Williams is only 23-years-old, but is in his fourth year with the Association. After leaving Memphis as an inconsistent freshman, the 6-9 Williams has been nothing but that: an inconsistent freshman.
He has not really given himself a chance to succeed on the court; Williams’ career has been hampered with a mixture of immaturity, off-court problems and injuries. When the Pacers drafted him in 2006, they had pegged Shawne as the future anchor of their frontcourt. Williams arrived with hype similar to that of Marvin Williams coming out of college, but his lingering issues away from basketball have always scared teams away. While with Indiana, he did show rare spurts of the player he could have become—once putting up 24 against L.A. early in the 2007-08 season. Williams had all the talent and tools to one day become a solid NBA forward, too bad he couldn’t figure it out.
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CENTER: Patrick O’Bryant, Toronto Raptors (Drafted 9th in 2006)
This season: 2.8 points, 1 rebound and zero assists in 4 games (zero blocks)
Career: 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and .3 assists in 83 games
I’ll be the first to admit it: I’ve given O’Bryant a lot of slack over the past few years. From the moment Golden State drafted him in 2006 to when Toronto decided to keep him on the roster this year, I have scoffed at every O’Bryant decision. He is only 23; maybe I made a mistake on his potential…Nah.
For a ninth overall pick—who’s going into his fourth year in the League—to only log 5.9 minutes a game, through 83 games and three starts, is ridiculous. The Warriors found out pretty quickly that their project center was not going to pan out after his first two years in the Bay—as they did not pick up O’Bryant’s option. From Golden State, he then “played” in Boston and now resides Toronto—which is quickly becoming the central haven for NBA forget-me-nots (see Marco Belinelli next). He has a career high of seven rebounds in a game and still does not play with much confidence for a 7-footer. The trouble is, he really is a nice kid and works hard. On one hand, I am all for determined, class act guys to claim final roster spots. On the other, O’Bryant seems to get more jazzed about Twitter followers than playing time. And who wouldn’t be jazzed about 24 career assists—14 less than his turnover count—in four years? At least he can hope for better health care being in Canada.
Honorable Mention: Amir Johnson, Brandan Wright, Dorell Wright, Marko Jaric and Sean Williams
What do you think? Who did I miss?
December 16th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
hahns says:
stick jordan hill on this list.
December 16th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Chicagorilla says:
Sheldon Williams… He was like a #4 or #6 pick.
December 16th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
DZ says:
brendan wright from UNC!
December 16th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
sh!tfaced says:
How about the arguably the all time ultimate bust, Darko Milicic? Not only given up but apparently now forgotten…
December 16th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
KCL says:
Yeah definetly can’t see how shelden didn’t make the list feel bad for shawne Williams kid had so much talent and could have been a very unique star if he got it together
December 16th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
raptors says:
so basically, your ripping away at the raptors indirectly, saying that toronto is a team where all the failures end up. thanks for attacking my city. i just counted 5 players on the team right now. yes they aren’t good but belinelli is only in his third year and amir johnson got no burn to shine in detroit. your article is a great piece of writing.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
F.L.A.S.H. says:
love how all these guys are on the raptors
December 16th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
KnicksFan84 says:
Jordan Hill will be a player, don’t hate.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
ticktock6 says:
If you want to add the Hornets’ Julian Wright, who has yet to live up the flashes of brilliant athleticism, the clear rule we can get out of all of this should be never draft a guy named Wright.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
eyes says:
Brandon Wright-Injuries/Don Nelson
Amir Johnson & Sean Williams I put in the same boat. They both could be serviceable of the bench. Both are athletes who are long & block shots. Teams,coaches & GM’s have found the right suitors for their respective talent. Some of the other guys just were never good or got the prestige of the school they went to. Even if you have a good team & get lucky and go far in the tournament your automatically projected a pro. The media system & analysts from back in the day. Development is more based on the trainers,coaches than it’s the player. It’s funny how there seems to be a Duke thing going on in this list. BUMS is that on Coach K or the players. Is he a good judge of talent, does he get his players better & ready for the league. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Greatest coach ever. This is what I mean. Not taking anything away but not giving either. He had a great team.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Andy says:
Sheldon is playing quality minutes for the C’s. Yeah, he never should have been picked that high so he’s kind of a bust but he’s nowhere near the rest of these dudes.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Dennis Castro says:
You think Morrison knew he was going to make this list when that picture was taken? Sure looks like it.
December 16th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
calvin brodus says:
skita! dude was a #5 pick and then fell off the planet.
December 16th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Nautic says:
kwame brown
salim stoudemaire
rafeael arujao
gearld green
darius miles
December 16th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
@ says:
Sean May, McCants
December 16th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
magicfaninTN says:
@eyes: For having the moniker “eyes” you seem to have misread the article. There are no Duke players on the list. Lots of Duke players actually have some of the longest, most productive careers in the NBA (yes, they have busts, too…usually early departures from school or injured–see Hurley & Jay Williams). Currently on rosters Mike Dunleavy, Dahntay Jones, Josh McRoberts (can 2nd round picks be consider busts?), Elton Brand, Luol Deng, Chris Duhon, Gerald Henderson, J.J. Redick, Shelden Williams, Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer, Grant Hill, Corey Maggette. (I’m not a Duke homer, btw)
December 16th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
dan says:
Darko is a winner in my book, He’s married to Adriana Lima right? maybe not..
December 16th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
dan says:
@ticktock6….
Dorell Wright
December 16th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
K Dizzle says:
I would say Greg Oden….but that would be cold lol
December 16th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
kg fan says:
@dan
marko jaric is married to lima i think
December 16th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
eyes says:
@16 No I read it correctly. JJ Reddick still doesn’t count as a legitimate player. He could shoot open jumpshots that’s it. The whole roster of dukes players for the most part careers amounted to what??? Namely Maggette,Battier,Henderson,Williams,Randolph. Outside of HIll,Booze,Pre Injury Brand, The others could kick rocks. They aren’t legimitate anything.
Luol Deng was & is okay. He’s a role player(Jeff Green at Best) The Alumni games ad Duke must be bad. Who do you bring to a recruits house. Coach K. Come to my school I coach the olympic team. It’s because of me they redeem themselves. I know now why people hated Dukes team. What happen to Christian Lattener & Cherokee Parks. Trajan Langdon,Ricky Price,Wojo,Paulus,On & On even now they’re terrible. The players are just avg college players. He may never win a college chip again. It is what it is. No sugarcoating. Again once your politically correct he can do no wrong baby. He isn’t under any pressure to win anything.
Chris Duhon represents Duke Basketball best. WAY OVERRATED.
December 16th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
eyes says:
Marko Jaric I don’t mind him being rich but to steal $$ & roster spots all these yrs. It bothers me & also exposes GM’S & talent evaluators. I know he’s 6′5″ & has skills & he’s european. Still stands one of the worse N.B.A. players let alone bball players ever. Looks horrible in summer leagues everywhere I’ve seen him play.
December 16th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
raps says:
amir as honourable mention? he had no playing time in detroit b/cause they still had rasheed and dice, also, they weren’t willing to play him because they loved being in the ECFs. also, wright shouldn’t be on there. and marco, he was injured and playing on the warriors(where there’s biedrins and 14 wing players). how about jaric, dorell wright, jason smith in philly
December 16th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Hoodie says:
I’d have to say the entire 2000 Draft class…
December 16th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Iceman says:
Does the name DeJuan Wagner ring a bell? I mean this guy was one of the prolific scorers back in college but due to incredibly unfortunate circumstances, he, along with his game, just disappeared.
December 16th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Paul Wall says:
Damn you Nikoloz Tskitishvili!!
December 17th, 2009 at 12:07 am
onezero says:
there are too many players named Wrights who failed here!
December 17th, 2009 at 4:49 am
sutton says:
@eyes you still have it incorrect about Redick. He is playing steady minutes in SVG’s second rotation. He is backup to VC and so when VC went down Redick started in his place doing a good job.
BTW I can always tell a Redick hater by the way they spell his last name. Sorry eyes you fit the bill.
AM is only going to see action overseas if that. I hope he saved his cash and invested well because after this season he is going to have to go to work like the rest of us do.
December 17th, 2009 at 6:16 am
nasirnasqb says:
saer sene he was the 10th pick f the sonics couple years ago. Any news?
December 17th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Peter says:
Acie Law
Ike Diogu
Zarko Cabarkapa (OK, he’s no longer in the league after going 17th in ‘03 but his name alone is a classic and he stands as a poster boy for the folly of the NBA GMs’ Euro-fetish).
We shouldn’t be too tough on these players, after all it was some GM who picked them. Keep in mind that the NBA is the most exclusive professional sports league on the planet. Basketball is the only sport played world-wide where just one league is the ultimate destination for the greatest of the great. Unlike soccer, where a superstar has at least five top-tier leagues to play in, basketball has only one destination: the NBA. Any of the players mentioned in this article or in the responses could go make serious money and fill the stat sheet for the next ten years outside the NBA. Appreciate what we have, it really is amazing.
December 17th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Big B says:
I am a Raptors fan but I can’t deny that O’Bryant and Banks are brutal! I like every other Raptors fan is hoping that Wright, Amir and Belli can be productive in the future.
December 18th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Kyle says:
Oden is a bust. Durant is on his way to being a superstar, and Oden is injured again. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t rather have Marc Gasol, Al Horford, Carl Landry, or a few other guys.
Yi Jianlian is done… Sergio Rodriguez didn’t live up to the hype, oh and how about Marvin Williams and Bogut. They were drafted ahead of Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Bynum, David Lee, Granger and Monta Ellis. There’s also Shaun Livingston and Luke Jackson(remember that guy?) who were picked before Josh Smith.
Dan Dickau… I know he’s been done forever, but if the person’s name isn’t Stockton, do not draft a guy from Gonzaga. He had half a decent season and disappeared. Sure, he’s like 32 now, but still. Redick is a superstar compared to him and Morrison combined.
December 20th, 2009 at 3:56 am
chief youngblood says:
c’mon adam i’m rooting for you
December 20th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
bigsowndz says:
As a long-time die-hard Pistons and Joe D fan, it pains me to say that both Darko and Amir Johnson belong in the thick of this list. How in the world was Darko not #1 on this list? What a horrendous pick he turned out to be in hindsight when you look at who else was available. Amir pretty much does nothing… Somehow, despite these two monumental blunders (Darko really still hurts bad), the Pistons seem to be a solid trade and one good draft pick away from being seriously relevant.
December 21st, 2009 at 9:02 am
Dr Drey says:
Kyle, you cant say a guys a bust due to un forseen cirumstances such as injury. Oden showed he had some game this season, same with Livingston. Bogut and Marv have been solid, hardly busts, same with Yi, its early time for him, but hardly busts, you need to go back and check the meaning of the word. Otherwise what about all the guys that got drafted ahead of Gilbert, Boozer, Redd, Ginobili, remember they are all 2nd rounders. What next? you gunna call out afew rookies as busts? lol
December 22nd, 2009 at 1:30 am
Sean says:
Robert Swift..
He looked 15 years old when he got drafted even though he was 7′ tall.
Played liked it too.