Hoops

Draft Busts! The next Tim Duncan=Kwame Brown?

I think Bogut will make a team very happy one day.
He could have the sort of impact Gasol is having for the lakers. He will never be the star, but he will make a strong team a champion.

"He cannot get his team to the post season though."

That may have something to do with the rest of his team being deadbeats and also-rans. People rave on about Michael Redd but really, look at his stats...all he does is score points. Look at his stats since he started playing > 35 MPG, his PPG has gone up steadily over his career, but his APG and RPG have hovered consistently at fairly mediocre levels. It's one thing to be a scorer, but you need to help your team too.

You know i would have to say Bogut (patriotism aside) is not what a first pick should turn out to be.

I think he is a fantastic player, way better then joe smith ever was. He has a skill set similar to Divac in that he can do all things very well.

He cannot get his team to the post season though.

I think he would be a great 3rd best player on a championship team. Again, not what you want with your first pick of the crop.

And I left out that Paxson was an All-Star.

The Blazers picked Bowie ahead of Jordan because they already had Jim Paxson and Clyde Drexler (who they'd drafted the year before) battling over the starting SG spot, they didn't need a third SG. They wanted a centre, so took Bowie, who was rated highly but whose career succumbed to series of leg injuries.

Cavolo- the dude was a top pick. You don't want role players with decent numbers for a top pick...

To the OP - it's possible that Portland wanted a centre, and since Hakeem got taken at #1, they went for the next option. Big men do tend to be fairly sought after in the draft.

So much success for a player and a team depends on the coaching and the team design. Look how many teams Billups had to play for before scoring big time with the pistons...

The two biggest gut wrenchers in recent memory;

1/ The fact that Atlanta could of grabbed either D-Will or CP3 instead of Starvin Marvin Williams.

2/ The fact the T'Wolves (easier to spell than minniniminisotta) actuall swapped Roy (who won ROY) for Foye who is "coming along nicely" lol.

This years draft has some real good potential busts;

1/ Brook Lopez.
2/ Kevin Love. (i like him, but he got bust written all over his face)
3/ D-Rose- now before you all kill me dead, i am just putting him here coz he will be either pick 1 or 2 and will never be the player D-Will or CP3 are. Reason? Shooting. If there is a chink in your armour the NBA will smash it until you either fix it or it shatters completely. Rose has the potential to become a number 1 pick that has a solid pro career well short of expectations. See- Joe Smith.

The Australian Price Attack Opals overnight reversed a previous result, defeating the Czech Republic 57-48. Rachel Sporn was one of the stand-outs of the game, injected into the starting line up after being rested in the first game with a minor shoulder injury. She made a significant contribution in her 23 minutes of court time. Sporn's elevation allowed Suzy Batkovic, one of Australia's main stars on the tour so far, to come off the bench and take a well earned break. The key to the Opals win was a solid third quarter, where they built on their five-point halftime lead. Both teams were extremely fatigued in the last period but, led supremely by captain Trish Fallon, court general Kristi Harrower and the tenacious Allison Tranquilli, the Price Attack Opals were never going to let the game slip from their grip. We were much better as a group tonight, Opals head coach Jan Stirling said. Having Rachael (Sporn) back in the starting line-up really made a difference and Suzys (Batkovic) contribution was impressive. Australian top scorers: Batkovic 17 points (8 rebounds, 3 steals), Fallon 11 points (9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal), Harrower 10 points (2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals) Czech top scorers: Machova 7 points, Uhrova 5 points The Opals European record is now a confidence boosting 4-1, and now move on to the Greek isle of Crete, where they will be joined by WNBL and WNBA stars Lauren Jackson and Penny Taylor. The will play Korea in their first game of the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament. Regards, your womens basketball Olympics correspondent :)