OT: Is Anthony Bennett the worst #1 pick ever?
There are busts, players who got hurt, players who never realized their potential, players with drug issues, family issues, drug & weight issues (I'm looking at you Jamarcus Russell) but when it comes to absolute futility my Cleveland Cavaliers Anthony Bennett stands alone. It certainly appears that the Cavs GM Chris Grant has massively whiffed on his controversial selection.
Granted we are a mere 12 games into the season but ask yourself if you've ever seen anything quite like this before from any NBA player, much less the #1 pick in the draft:
5 for 37 from the floor (that's 13.5%)
1 for 13 from three (that's 8% - you keep firing Anthony)
And 2 for 4 from the free throw line (yippie.....50%)
And the topper is the Cavs found out after the selected him that he suffers from both sleep apnea and asthma making it difficult for him to stay on the court for more than five minutes at a time. Unhappy Cavs coach Mike Brown also added "he likes to stay out late" which certainly isn't helping his cause either.
Last night Bennett entered the game and the first time he touched the ball he immediately air-balled a three pointer. The Cavs are now talking about sending him down to the D-League which would be the first time that I can recall that the #1 pick in the draft couldn't even stay on the team's active roster for his first year.
Worst #1 pick ever? I nominate Anthony Bennett and like they say around here OIC (Only In Cleveland). Can you think of anyone worse?
November 21st, 2013 at 9:53 PM ^
Hes up there
November 21st, 2013 at 9:53 PM ^
November 21st, 2013 at 10:03 PM ^
Len Bias was a hugely talented player who never got a chance to showcase his talent in NBA games. It was a tragic case regardless of the drugs.
November 21st, 2013 at 9:54 PM ^
He's more of a lifetime acheivement award nominee in my book. Bennett is still 20 so I'll give him a couple years before putting him in the "worst ever" category.
November 21st, 2013 at 9:57 PM ^
I thought about him too. But his first year he shot 94 for 243 or 38%. For Bennett to reach that lofty level of excellence he'd have to shoot lights out for the rest of the season. But I agree, Brown is definitely in the conversation.
November 22nd, 2013 at 4:58 PM ^
Considering he never should have been taking a shot more than 3 feet away from the basket....
November 22nd, 2013 at 12:53 AM ^
Kwame definitely wasn't worthy of a #1 pick, or even a first-round pick, for that matter; but he wasn't a total waste. He at least made himself valuable off the bench in the meat of his career. I really don't see Bennett doing that unless he starts taking care of his body and, you know, giving a shit. Bennett's on pace to take his rookie contract money back to Canada and buy all the denim he can afford.
November 22nd, 2013 at 6:37 AM ^
November 22nd, 2013 at 8:57 AM ^
Freakanomics?
November 21st, 2013 at 9:58 PM ^
If Bennett is the worst then Andres Bargnani has to be the second worst. Though that 2006 draft was absolutely abysmal so most would be considered busts.
EDIT: Somehow I forgot about Kwame. He's gotta be the worst.
DOUBLE EDIT: Greg Oden. Duh. Portland, you so stupid.
November 22nd, 2013 at 12:57 AM ^
Bargnani is soft and all, but he's a decent player. Aside from last year and his rookie and sophomore years, he's had his PER in the 15-18 range. Not #1 overall worthy, but I'm not sure I'd even call him a bust.
November 21st, 2013 at 9:56 PM ^
November 21st, 2013 at 10:00 PM ^
I thought about Oden but hard to say he's the worst given that injuries have kept him from being able to perform cause when he was in the game he was pretty good. Not so with Bennett, he just sucks - he cant blame knee problems like Oden.
Plus with Oden I always wanted to see his birth certificate. That dude seemed REALLY old.
November 21st, 2013 at 10:13 PM ^
Don't forget about Michael Olowokandi.
November 21st, 2013 at 10:42 PM ^
Ohio seems to have a habit of recruiting players that look old. Granville Waiters.
That just may date me a bit.
November 21st, 2013 at 10:01 PM ^
I don't understand how or why Miami signed him. According to Wikipedia, it was more than three years since he played in a game.
November 21st, 2013 at 10:22 PM ^
They needed help at center and his contract is only for one year.
November 22nd, 2013 at 12:44 AM ^
Yes. That, and the fact that there is still a chance that he can play. He should be okay, structurally. The problem is that long term, he'll break down again. But it would not shock me to see him be able to play in the NBA for a season or two of games before another injury, which seems inevitable given his medical history.
November 22nd, 2013 at 12:58 AM ^
Low risk, high reward. If he can play, he gives them something they don't have: A 7-footer who can rebound and protect the rim. If not? They're out the vet's minimum and in the same place they were last year from a personnel standpoint.
November 21st, 2013 at 9:58 PM ^
How does a professional sports organization not know all of the medical conditions that the player they're taking #1 overall in the draft has, including something like asthma?
(He asks, knowing full well that his avatar was inspired by two WRs discovering they needed glasses in as many years.)
November 21st, 2013 at 10:03 PM ^
OIC baby....OIC.
Only in Cleveland can you completely BOTCH the #1 pick in the draft. It appears they managed to select somebody without the ability to play basketball. That's not easy to do.
November 21st, 2013 at 10:20 PM ^
he was pretty good in college. So you can't say he isn't good at basketball. Perhaps it's the shoulder surgery?
November 22nd, 2013 at 12:05 AM ^
November 22nd, 2013 at 1:01 AM ^
Those picks were pretty hard to mess up. LBJ and Kyrie were the consensus picks in their respective drafts. Every time CLE has to make a decision, they botch it. Waiters and Bennett being the obvious examples. Personally, I include Thompson too because I like Valanciunas' upside way more. Think of the Cavs with Drummond instead of Waiters....
November 22nd, 2013 at 9:29 AM ^
just wow. I think Chris Grant has "smartest guy in the room" syndrome. The Waiters pick was definitely a WTF moment. He came on towards the end of last season, but we are back to WTF this season. I stand behind the TT pick. He may not have the highest ceiling in the world, but he is a solid double double guy and his shooting really has improved since he switched his shooting hand.
And Mike Brown seems like a really good guy and all, but re-hring him is yet another WTF moment.
November 22nd, 2013 at 9:48 AM ^
.
You could say the same thing about this class. Is there anyone that was a clear cut #1 or is anyone (MCW aside) that's been tearing up the league. There hasn't been a rookie doing much of anything. Oladipo maybe.
November 22nd, 2013 at 10:05 AM ^
franchise is they had passed on LeBron. I'm not joking. He might well have been the biggest lock to go #1 overall of all time in any sport.
November 22nd, 2013 at 1:50 PM ^
there were talks about some franchises preferring Darko over LeBron at the time....
November 22nd, 2013 at 4:12 PM ^
Hard to tell since it was pre-internet (and the whole "I was -5 when it happened") and all, but Mario Lemieux has to be up there in terms of number one locks.
November 22nd, 2013 at 12:55 AM ^
November 22nd, 2013 at 1:07 PM ^
check or they think it's workable. It's impossible not to have any background check and medical evaluations on a prospects before the draft starts.
November 21st, 2013 at 9:59 PM ^
November 21st, 2013 at 9:59 PM ^
November 22nd, 2013 at 8:20 AM ^
November 21st, 2013 at 10:02 PM ^
Matt Bush instead of Justin Verlander
/end thread?
November 21st, 2013 at 10:06 PM ^
I'm going to have to exclude baseball from my debate WMUgoblue. Because I'm sure there are screwed up picks there every year and I know nothing about it. I'll give you that one and probably 50 more in baseball.
I guess I was thinking basketball & football. More draft-centric sports if you will. But yours IS a good one!
November 21st, 2013 at 10:09 PM ^
Fair enough, plenty of 1st overall busts in baseball. How about Ki-Jana Carter?
November 21st, 2013 at 10:10 PM ^
Knee injury in first pre-season game against the Lions. I'm not counting injuries - just players who sucked cause they sucked. Like Bennett for example.
November 21st, 2013 at 10:13 PM ^
You keep changing the rules on me. I'm having a hard time coming up with something nobody else has said thus far. Did Rick Mirer end up going #1 overall?
November 21st, 2013 at 10:14 PM ^
Nope. He went #2 behind Bledsoe.
What fun is a game if the rules dont change to suit the guy making them?
November 21st, 2013 at 10:19 PM ^
I hate to pick on your Browns, but what about Tim Couch?
November 21st, 2013 at 10:23 PM ^
Tim Couch actually wasnt a bad QB. He just had the misfortune of playing behind an offensive line that might have been worse than Michigan's this year and had terrible coaches. I feel a bit bad for him actually.
November 22nd, 2013 at 12:46 AM ^
Give him some time. So he's 20, and stays out too late. He probably was picked too soon, is immature, and needs to ride pine. That doesn't mean he can already be the worst #1 pick ever. I feel like you have to wait at least 3 years to say that, no? Seems a tad early; we are still in November of his rookie year.
Now, worst start ever for a Number 1 pick? Oh, God yes.
November 22nd, 2013 at 9:32 AM ^
is the best QB the Browns have had since the return. Brandon Weeden slots in somewhere between Spergeon Wynn and "Fans throwing water bottles"
November 21st, 2013 at 11:44 PM ^
Calvinball: Calvinball is a game invented by Calvin in which one makes the rules up as one goes along. Rules cannot be used twice.
November 22nd, 2013 at 8:53 AM ^
I think i would like Calvinball very much.
November 21st, 2013 at 10:15 PM ^
In 1997 the Tigers used the 1st overall pick on Matt Anderson, a relief pitcher out of Rice. The lowest ERA of his career was a 3.72 in his first season, the next five years in Detroit never got lower than 4.72 and he was out of baseball.
November 21st, 2013 at 10:18 PM ^
Yeah I had thought of Matt Anderson as well, but being a Tiger fan I didn't want to bring it up. His arm was golden coming out of college though, and of course it expolded.
November 21st, 2013 at 10:32 PM ^
he can throw a 100mph but couldnt find the strike zone to save his life. what about David Carr.
November 21st, 2013 at 11:18 PM ^
His first few years in the NFL the Texans had the worst O-Line in the history of the league. 249 sacks in his first five years, he never had a chance.