As recently as last year, the Memphis Grizzlies took 7-3 Hasheem Thabeet with the No. 2 pick when they could have chosen Tyreke Evans. Thabeet is such a project that he became the highest draft pick to play in the NBA Development League. Evans, a Chester native, was the NBA's Rookie of the Year.
In 2003, after the Cleveland Cavaliers chose LeBron James, the Detroit Pistons took Darko Milicic, a supposed 7-foot wunderkind from Serbia. They had the opportunity to draft Carmelo Anthony (No. 3), Chris Bosh (No. 4) or Dwyane Wade (No. 5). No wonder the Pistons were in the lottery this year.
The Atlanta Hawks went with potential in 2005 and chose North Carolina's Marvin Williams, when they could have had their franchise point guard of the future in either Deron Williams (No. 3) or Chris Paul (No. 4).
And in 1984, the biggest No. 2 blunder of all was pulled off by the Portland Trail Blazers. Again, a team in love with a big man was burned. After the Houston Rockets selected Akeem (before he added the "H") Olajuwon, the Blazers picked Kentucky's Sam Bowie. They could have taken a guy named Michael Jordan, who went No. 3 to Chicago, or Charles Barkley, who went No. 5 to the Sixers. They could have traded down and gotten John Stockton, for crying out loud. But Portland figured that Jordan and their own Clyde Drexler were similar players, so they went big instead.
Bobby Knight, who coached Jordan in the 1984 Olympics, urged his pal, Portland general manager Stu Inman, to take Jordan with that second pick. "But we need a center," Inman shot back. To which Knight reportedly replied, "So play him at center."
Inman didn't listen and the rest is history.
