On this side of the border, we all know what happened at the top of the 2006 NBA Draft. The Toronto Raptors selected Andrea Bargnani with the first overall pick. Four years of discussion, head shaking and hand wringing have followed.
Twenty picks later, the Boston Celtics selected (with a pick Phoenix essentially sold them) point guard Rajon Rondo from Kentucky. Rondo, a sophomore, was pegged as a shifty guard with no discernable jumpshot. Four years later, he has become the best player from that draft, despite only a mild improvement on that jumper. (At the very worst, he is the second-best player in that draft, debatably behind only Portland’s Brandon Roy, who comes with some injury concerns.)
On Sunday, Rondo posted 29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists in Boston’s Game 4 win over Cleveland to tie that second-round series 2-2. Only two other players in NBA history have posted those numbers or better in the same playoff game — Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson.
The uptake: The wrong pick was made in that draft at least 19, and maybe 20 times. What became of those 20 players drafted before Rondo? Here is a breakdown, with their draft slot in parentheses:
All-stars (1): Brandon Roy, Portland (6)*
Core players (3): Andrea Bargnani, Toronto (1)*; LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland (2)*; Rudy Gay, Memphis (8)*
Rotation players (6): Tyrus Thomas, Charlotte (4); Randy Foye, Washington (7); J.J. Redick, Orlando (11)*; Thabo Sefolosha, Oklahoma City (13); Ronnie Brewer, Memphis (14); Rodney Carney, Philadelphia (16)
Rarely used reserves (6): Adam Morrison, L.A. Lakers (3); Shelden Williams, Boston (5); Patrick O’Bryant, Toronto (9); Hilton Armstrong, Sacramento (12); Oleksiy Pecherov, Minnesota (18); Renaldo Balkman, Denver (20)
Out of the league (4): Saer Sene (10); Cedric Simmons (15); Shawne Williams (17); Quincy Douby (19)
* – Player is still with the team that selected him or acquired him on draft night
By that breakdown, two conclusions are pretty easy to come by. First, the 2006 Draft was a pretty awful one. Second, when a draft is that bad, scouting is more guesswork than a science. Each team that passed on Rondo had a look at him. But when there is an unpolished product such as Rondo available, it comes down to how much work a team thinks will be required to turn him into a valuable asset.
*Follow Eric Koreen on Twitter @ekoreen
