Heres a list of some notable BUMS , Im sure a few surpass Thabeet ....
Darko Milicic1. Darko Milicic - Second pick in 2003 draft by Detroit
The Man Responsible: Joe Dumars
Career stats: 345 games played, 5.4 ppg, 4 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 12.6 PER
Best Players Available: Carmelo Anthony (No. 3), Chris Bosh (No. 4), Dwyane Wade (No. 5)
Earlier this month, closure finally came. Milicic, the most maligned bust in NBA Draft history, announced his plans to pursue a career in European basketball on Dec. 17, 2009, effectively ending a career defined by mediocrity in the face of harsh comparisons. Milicic is not the worst player on this list - not by a long shot. But considering he was drafted directly after one of the NBA's greatest talents and before 2 future hall of fame candidates and one perennial all star, there is little argument that Detroit did not make a huge mistake with the pick. The irony, of course, comes inthat the Pistons won the NBA Championship in Milicic's rookie year. These days, though, the 7-foot Serbian center who was hailed as the next Dirk Nowitzki has become synonymous with the flaw in risky draft picks. Anthony was a clear-cut budding star, Milicic the high-potential unknown from Eastern Europe. We'll never forget Darko Milicic, whether reading FreeDarko.com, a popular NBA blog, or hearing other players referenced as a "Human Victory Cigar," Milicic's ignominious nickname and a reference to Pistons' coach Larry Brown only using him at the end of big wins. Let's not forget, there were days when Milicic appeared to be a legitimate starting center. His shot blocking abilities and occasional mid-range jump shot made him an acceptable rotation player. But he never overcame the tremendous shadow cast upon him by LeBron James, Anthony, Bosh and Wade. And that shadow will define his legacy.
2. Nikolos Tskitishvili - Fifth pick in 2002 draft by Denver
The Man Responsible: Kiki Vandeweghe
Career stats: 172 games played, 2.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 5.2 PER
Best Players Available: Amare Stoudemire (No. 9), Caron Butler (No. 10), Carlos Boozer (No. 34)
A "workout wonder", Tskitishvili was drafted by a general manager (Kiki Vandeweghe) who hadn't seen him play. Frankly, that's the only explanation for this pick. Tskitishvili qualifies as perhaps the single least-talented player ever to be drafted in the top-5 of an NBA draft, certainly in the lottery era. His lone redeeming quality as a basketball player was his height. Claims have it that he wowed several teams in work outs, but there were still many shocked by how high he was taken, even in 2002. The Georgian 7-footer, along with Milicic, set back the market for oversized Eastern Europeans, that's how bad he was. Even as he moved past the NBA after a four-year career in which he shot 30.4percent from the field, Tskitishvili struggled in European leagues. According to Basketpedya.com, Tskitishvili has averaged more than 10 points per game just once in his international career, in the Italian League in 2008. There's a temptation to call a long, tall, athletic player "raw." Tskitishvili's example proves sometimes the properadjective is simply "bad."
3. Kwame Brown - First pick in 2001 draft by Washington
The Man Responsible: Michael Jordan
Career stats: 487 games played, 6.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 12.8 PER
Best Players Available: Pau Gasol (No. 3), Tony Parker (No. 28), Gilbert Arenas (No. 30)
I rooted for Brown. I really did. I wanted to see the 6-foot-11 power forward use some of the occasionally evident natural gifts and make something of himself. Through the years, he's flashed his potential. He's an athlete. He's strong. And sometimes, it almost looks like he hustles. There are some who say Michael Jordan, the same man who chose Brown as the first ever prep-to-pro top pick, broke Brown's confidence with incendiary remarks while the two played together in Jordan's comeback with the Wizards. Others claim Brown was always lazy and rough. There are moments even now, as he plays for the Detroit Pistons, where Brown's abilities are evident. But you can't score in the post if you can't catch the entry pass. That's the story of Brown's career - he simply had too many holes in his game to develop into a respectable player. As a result, he goes down as one of the all-time worst top picks ever.
4. Rafael Araujo - Eighth pick in 2004 draft by Toronto
The Man Responsible: Rob Babcock
Career stats: 139 games played, 2.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 6.3 PER
Best Players Available: Andre Iguodala (No. 9), Al Jefferson (No. 15), Josh Smith (No. 17)
College seniors are supposed to be the safest picks in the draft.They're supposed to be Shane Battier or Morris Peterson or Jason Thompson. When you take one of these guys in the top 10, as is seldom done, you expect at least stable results. That's what makes Araujo, the 6-foot-11 center from BYU, so confounding. The Raptors ignored all public logic and took a player whose upside seemed to be that of a borderline starter with the eighth pick of the draft. Araujo then rewarded them with less than three seasons in the league and now serves as a solid player in Brazil's top league. Has there ever been a bigger head-scratcher in NBA Draft history? Maybe the next player on this list qualifies.
5. Yaroslav Korolev - 12th pick in 2005 draft by Los Angeles Clippers
The Man Responsible: Mike Dunleavy
Career stats: 34 games played, 1.1 ppg, 5.6 PER
Best Players Available: Danny Granger (No. 17), David Lee (No. 30), Monta Ellis (No. 40)
I was laughing. You were probably laughing. Well, unless you're a Clippers fan. Dunleavy found this European kid who he saw knock down a few shots and look kind of smooth with the ball in hand in some European juniors tournament, so he decided to use a lottery pick to test him out. This pick is confounding. It's inexplicable. It defies reality. Korolev is the worst player on this list, hands down. That Granger, a projected top-10 pick, was still on the board only makes the decision more ridiculous. In the most recent season I could find any information on, Korolev was playing in the Russian Superleague -- and averaging a whopping 1.2 points per game for Dynamo Moscow.
6. Adam Morrison - Third pick in 2006 draft by Charlotte The Man Responsible: Michael Jordan
Career stats: 147 games played, 7.9 ppg, 7.3 PER
Best Players Available: Brandon Roy (No. 6), Rudy Gay (No. 8), Rajon Rondo (No. 21)
This is why you don't take draft advice from college basketball analysts. Morrison tore up the NCAA his junior year, and everyone was just positive he could do the same thing in the NBA. He was like Larry Bird. He was the new "Great White Hope." It's difficult for me to allege Morrison's high drafting was not, in part, racially biased. Since being in the NBA, though, he's been routinely out-rebounded and out-defended and out-hustled. He's been one of the worst players in the league. That Michael Jordan, who also drafted Brown, picked Morrison has led to a lot of criticism. The truth is, though, that nearly everyone was convinced he was a top-10 talent. How wrong we were.
7. Luke Jackson - 10th pick in 2004 draft by Cleveland The Man Responsible: Jim Paxson
Career stats: 73 games played, 3.5 ppg, 9.3 PER
Best Players Available: Al Jefferson (No. 15), Josh Smith (No. 17), Kevin Martin (No. 26)
Luke Jackson had one discernible basketball skill, his 3-point shooting. And he wasn't good enough at that to make it. The year after drafting LeBron James, the Cavaliers decided to use a top-10 pick on another small forward. And they used it on the anti-James, a four-year college star who lacked size, athleticism and upside, gambling that Jackson could settle out on the wing and knock down 3-pointers much in the way Delonte West does these days. But West is an outstanding defender and solid ball-handler. Jackson is out of the league and country, playing in Italy. Oh, and by the way, West was available at the time of the pick, as were a bundle of other solid players in a deep 2004 draft.
8. Kedrick Brown - 11th pick in 2001 draft by Boston
The Man Responsible: Chris Wallace
Career stats: 143 games played, 3.6 ppg, 11 PER
Best Players Available: Richard Jefferson (No. 13), Tony Parker (No. 28), Gilbert Arenas (No. 30)
I'm not sure any player has ever benefited more from the internet era than Kedrick Brown. At the time, NBA Draft analysis was just starting around the web at sites such as this one. Brown became a hot name for his ridiculous athleticism shown in JuCo games. "Upside" took over for logic, and the Celtics took the kid with the huge athleticism over a significantly more sensible pick at the same position, Arizona's Richard Jefferson. Jefferson, of course, has developed into a very solid starter for the New Jersey Nets and now San Antonio Spurs. Brown had some success in the NBDL recently, but I couldn't find records of him playing anywhere this season.
9. Marcus Fizer - Fourth pick in 2000 draft by Chicago The Man Responsible: Jerry Krause
Career stats: 289 games played, 9.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 13.4 PER
Best Players Available: Jamal Crawford (No. 8), Hedo Turkoglu (No. 16), Michael Redd (No. 43)
For a chunk of his junior year, (after Kenyon Martin got injured) Fizer was the best player in all of college basketball. The 6-foot-6 power forward with the light skin, bald head and thick waist drew inevitable comparisons to Charles Barkley. But where Barkley was the "Round Mound of Rebound", Fizer was more just a round mound. He lacked the athleticism and length to hang at the NBA level, particularly in an era where the tall power forward was en vogue. Since falling out of the NBA, Fizer has proven that he was never actually all that bad at basketball. He's dominated in Puerto Rico and played well in Israel and Spain. But he was never able to compete with NBA-caliber athletes.
10. Stromile Swift - Second pick in 2000 draft by Vancouver
The Man Responsible: Billy Knight
Career stats: 547 games played, 8.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 16.1 PER
Best Players Available: Jamal Crawford (No. 8), Hedo Turkoglu (No. 16), Michael Redd (No. 43)
