Sin #4: "I want a big man too..."

pavelact Republish: Seven Deadly Sins of the NBA Draft - Sin #4 - The Draft Review
Podkolzin

The NBA is obsessed with size. The center position is very hard to fill and this demand sometimes makes dreaded examples of GMs in their quest to find the next great big man. This has no doubt led to some draft day busts. Who could forget the amazing story of Pavel Podkolzin, whose tales spun by ESPN writer Chad Ford were greatly published and exaggerated. Despite limited basketball ability or experience, Podkolzin was taken with the 21st pick in the 2004 NBA draft. Not only did he look raw, but he was greatly out matched on the NBA level. Despite a first round flyer and 6 games in a two year NBA career the Podkolzin project was abandoned. One thing is for sure - 3 million dollars should get you more than 6 games if you’re an NBA team.

Although I understand the philosophy behind drafting big men, which is the old adage that you can teach skill but can’t teach height, the disparity between projects that succeed versus projects that fail is huge.

kandimanact Republish: Seven Deadly Sins of the NBA Draft - Sin #4 - The Draft Review
Olowokandi

Take the 1998 NBA draft for example. Michael Olowokandi and Mike Bibby battled for the number one pick as Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Dirk Nowitzki, and Paul Pierce contended for third. The Clippers were a severely battered franchise that needed help in every position. Bibby had the pedigree because his father, Henry Bibby, was an NBA ball player. As a freshmen, Mike took the underrated Arizona University to the national championship and was clearly the best point guard prospect on the board.

On the other hand, Olowokandi was a tale of fate. He he didn’t play basketball until the age of 18 because of his height led him to try his hand at basketball when soccer became too much of a challenge. After considering several universities the academic Olowokandi choose Pacific for their engineering program and left the comfy confines of England for America. Three seasons later he dominated the weak competition in the Big West Conference, led his team to the NCAA tournament, and jumped on NBA scouts' radar.

Olowokandi was initially pegged as a possible late lottery to mid-first round pick, but was ultimately selected #1 by the Clippers after scouts raved about his ability to run the floor and his lack of bad habits fundamentally. When the NBA lockout prevented

elgin-baylorgm Republish: Seven Deadly Sins of the NBA Draft - Sin #4 - The Draft Review
Clippers GM: Elgin Baylor
Olowokandi from playing he agreed to join Italian pro team Kinder Bologna with a contract clause that he would return to the NBA after the lockout ended. Olowokandi's play with Kinder Bologna was the writing on the wall of what was to come. Italian fans and media scratched their heads in bewilderment as to why the best basketball league in the world would select such a raw and underdeveloped player #1 in the draft.

Olowokandi spent the next nine seasons in the NBA generally despised for owning big a contract, yet being short production. This earned him the nickname, “Human Ebola Virus”. We all know Bibby went on to become one of the league's best shooters and steadiest point guards.

The lesson? Don't trust a big man by his cover. GMs should remember to look inside and study the pages.

Sins 1 & 2

Sin 3

Sin 5

Sin 6

Sin 7


Add comment

Submit