NBA Draft: Ranking Pacers' 10 worst picks in history – Indianapolis Star
On Wednesday, we gave you the Pacers’ best draft picks since joining the NBA in 1976.
That was easy.
But what about the other side of the coin? The Pacers, like every NBA team, aren’t immune to completely whiffing on draft picks. It’s the nature of the business. And it’s fun to look back at how those selections were received then and how they panned out.
As we did with our best list, how high a player was drafted is taken into consideration.
Here is the list of players Pacers fans wish they could forget:
10. Steve Stipanovich (1983, No. 2)
Who they could have drafted: Clyde Drexler (No. 14, Portland), Byron Scott (No. 4, San Diego) and Dale Ellis (No. 9, Dallas)
Many older fans may take exception with Stipanovich’s inclusion on this list, but before you send me your hand-written letters and telegraphs, hear me out.
Stipanovich was a productive big man, averaging 13.2 points and 7.8 rebounds a game in his five seasons in Indiana. Heck, he was a Wall of Fame honoree at Market Square Arena. But he was also the No. 2 overall pick and was limited to just 403 career games before retiring because of injury. It stinks, but of the top 12 picks from the ’83 draft, only Purdue big man Russell Cross (No. 6 to Golden State) played fewer games than Stipanovich.
At least on the bright side, while in Indy Stipo didn’t accidentally shoot himself like he did in college.
Yup, while at the University of Missouri he inadvertently shot himself in the shoulder but told police a man “wearing a ski-mask, red-checkered flannel shirt and cowboy boots” broke into his house, shouted obscenities about basketball players and opened fire. A day later he recanted his story.
“It was real scary, very embarrassing. I just panicked,” he told Sports Illustrated in 1981. “I wanted a way out without making myself look bad. I thought people would forget about it. Everything just backfired.”
Now to a man we’d much rather trust with a firearm…
9. Dudley Bradley (1979, No. 13)
Who they could have drafted: Bill Laimbeer (Cleveland, No. 65) and James Donaldson (Seattle, No. 73)
Appropriately nicknamed “Dud,” Bradley spent two meh seasons with the Pacers before being traded to Phoenix for two second-round picks.
He played for seven teams in nine NBA seasons, averaging 5.2 points and 1.9 assists a game. But Bradley’s story gets interesting when he became a police officer in 2003, an idea he said was planted in his head by former Pacers legend Roger Brown.
“One day, he said, Roger ‘The Rajah’ Brown, then the leading scorer in Pacers history, came into the locker room with a gun.
“‘As big as you are, why do you have a gun?’ Bradley asked Brown. The Pacers legend said he was now a sheriff and that it was a good career to have after the NBA.
“‘I was interested,” Bradley told the Baltimore Sun, “but it was just in the back of my mind.'”
8. Fred Jones (2002, No. 14)
Who they could have taken: Tayshaun Prince (Detroit, No. 23), John Salmons (San Antonio, No. 26) and Carlos Boozer (Cleveland, No. 34)
From former IndyStar columnist C. Jamal Horton:
“Picking Jones, a guard from Oregon, with the 14th overall pick of the NBA draft Wednesday night was the perfect move for the Pacers. It was a championship move.
“I’m so serious.”
Seriously, get outta here with that.
Pacers coach Isiah Thomas said he thought Jones was “the most unique player in the draft,” which in hindsight isn’t nearly as outlandish as calling it a “championship move.” Jones was at least a slam dunk champ (2004) during his Pacers tenure. He scored just 420 points in his first two seasons, but nearly doubled that amount (813) while most of the Pacers roster was in suits following the Malice in the Palace in 2005.
Donnie Walsh said on draft night, “I know we’re going to have a long, long relationship.” And they might. Fred still lives in town. But he was a Pacer for just four seasons, starting a mere 19 times in 245 games.
7. Tyler Hansbrough (2009, No. 13)
Who they could have drafted: Jrue Holiday (Philadelphia, No. 17), Ty Lawson (Minnesota, No. 18), Jeff Teague (Atlanta, No. 19), Taj Gibson (Chicago, No. 26), DeMarre Carroll (Memphis, No. 27)
To think the Pacers’ decade-long point guard woes could have been solved had the Nets drafted Hansbrough rather than Louisville’s Terrence Williams two picks ahead of the Pacers.
Larry Bird had a contingency plan if the UNC star wasn’t around when Indiana picked: either Jrue Holiday or Ty Lawson. Indy native Jeff Teague wouldn’t have been a bad pick either.
“(Holiday is a) great kid, he’s beyond his years, but I’m going with guys that can come in and play and I felt very high of Tyler for a long time,” Bird said on draft night. “I was worried New Jersey was going to take him at (No.) 11, and if they did, I probably would have went with Jrue or Ty, but (Tyler is) who we wanted and we were lucky to get him.”
Drafting Holiday would have made life easier for his wife, U.S. women’s soccer team star and former Ben Davis standout Lauren (Cheney) Holiday.
Never short on hustle, Psycho T spent four seasons with the Pacers and showed flashes when inserted into the starting lineup, including a 22-point performance in the 2011 playoffs versus the Bulls. But those moments were few and far between.
In four seasons in Indiana, Hansbrough averaged 8.9 points and 4.7 rebounds before signing with Toronto as a free agent after the 2013 season.
The Pacers’ search for a “pure” point guard remains.
6. David Harrison (2004, No. 29)
Who they could have drafted in 2004: Anderson Varejao (Orlando, No. 30), Chris Duhon (Chicago, No. 38), Trevor Ariza (New York, No. 43)
Bird admitted trying to trade up to No. 3 for UConn guard Ben Gordon, but couldn’t get a deal done. Instead, the Pacers stood pat and took the big man out of Colorado.
“I’m going to show them I’m one of the hardest workers they’ve ever drafted,” Harrison said after the Pacers selected him.
Harrison started 33 games over the course of his first two seasons with modest returns, and was an afterthought in the 2006-07 season under new head coach Jim O’Brien. Harrison was out the league by 2008 and lays much of the blame for his flame out on O’Brien.
“I literally had to smoke pot every day so I would not hurt him,” Harrison told Yahoo Sports’ Marc J. Spears. “I would avoid him. I’d come in early and stay late. It wasn’t like he hit me; he verbally abused me. But what coach doesn’t?”
Last year, he posted a series of blog entries regarding the Malice in the Palace and its aftermath, in which he criticized the franchise’s retooling of the roster, among other claims.
“Unknowingly to me at the time, my life and career would continue the downward spiral leading to my exile to China,” he wrote.
Harrison played in China for three seasons and struggled financially without an NBA paycheck. For two weeks in 2013, he worked at an Indianapolis McDonald’s.
“I was embarrassed because of where I could be in life,” Harrison told Yahoo Sports. “Everybody has to work and make a living somehow. I have two children. They don’t care where I work. They just need to eat.
“People were showing up trying to take my car. My house was in foreclosure. I didn’t have any income. I just had everything going out. I have child support to one son. I have a really big family and I have to take care of them, even through I’m not playing in the NBA. I needed money.”
5. Rick Robey (1978, No. 3)
Who they could have drafted: Larry Bird (Boston, No. 6)
This is more about the pick that wasn’t rather than the one that was.
After winning a coin flip, the Pacers initially held the No. 1 overall selection in the 1978 draft, but traded the pick to Portland when they couldn’t convince Larry Bird to skip his senior year at Indiana State. Bird was eligible for the ’78 draft despite his intention to return to college because his original class at IU, where he attended briefly, had graduated.
Mychal Thompson went No. 1 overall, followed by Phil Ford to Kansas City. Then the Pacers — rather than risk drafting Bird only to lose his draft rights a year later — took Robey, a 6-11 Kentucky star fresh off a 20-point, 11-rebound performance in the NCAA title game. Bird was drafted three picks later at No. 6 by Boston.
Robey was traded 43 games into his Pacers career, while Bird was preparing for a road trip versus Wichita State. Bird signed with the Celtics after the Sycamores’ 1979 run to the title game, and the rest, well, you know. But hey, at least he’s ours now!
… Yeah, not the same.
4. Jonathan Bender (1999, No. 5)
Who they could have drafted: Richard Hamilton (Washington, No. 7) and Shawn Marion (Phoenix, No. 9)
I take no pleasure placing Bender this high on the list, but the facts are the facts — Bender didn’t provide anything close to what you’d expect from a No. 5 overall pick. Especially in a draft that produced six All-Stars selected after Bender.
“I’ve never drafted a player with more potential. I can tell you that without even thinking about it,” Donnie Walsh said of Bender 15 years after selecting him.
Bender was an athletic freak. A 6-11 bouncy small forward with silky moves and a competent jump shot. “Think Kevin Durant before there was a Kevin Durant,” Walsh told the IndyStar’s Zak Keefer last year.
However that promise never materialized due to chronic knee pain, which forced Bender to retire prematurely in 2006. He played just 30 combined games in his final three seasons with the Pacers and stepped away from basketball before re-emerging with Walsh and the Knicks for a 25-game stint in the 2009-10 season.
3. Shawne Williams (2006, No. 17)
Who they could have drafted: Rajon Rondo (Phoenix, No. 21), Kyle Lowry (Memphis, No. 24) and Paul Millsap (Utah, No. 47)
The immediate reviews of the pick weren’t glowing. During the draft’s ESPN broadcast, Jay Bilas didn’t exactly put Pacers fans’ mind at ease.
“I wonder, though, if he’s a winner,” Bilas said. “He’s physically weak right now. He has to improve that, and he has to be more focused as a defender, as a rebounder. Right now he’s only focused on scoring. Frankly, he’s such a young player, he plays only when he feels like it. He’s got the tools, though.”
His college coach, John Calipari, was quick to Williams’ defense: “They can say what they want, he’s going to be the sleeper of the draft.”
Asked about the doubters at his introductory press conference, Williams’ response: “You wait.”
Unfortunately for Williams, the wait on a verdict wasn’t long.
He backed up Danny Granger for two seasons, averaging 5.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 111 games in Indiana, but in 2008 was traded to Dallas for Eddie Jones, who was subsequently granted his release.
To Williams’ credit, he’s still in the league. He’s played for seven different teams and split last season between the Heat and Pistons. Though we’d be remiss not to mention his off-court issues, which included almost as many drug arrests as career double-doubles (three to four).
2. George McCloud (1989, No. 7)
Who they could have drafted: Shawn Kemp (Seattle, No. 17) and Tim Hardaway (Golden State, No. 14)
Things got off to a rocky start for McCloud in Indiana. Injuries limited him to just 413 total minutes as a rookie, and when he did play, he was lost trying to be a 6-6 point guard.
“George came into a tough situation, as a point guard, and he wasn’t ready for it,” said Chuck Person, who befriended McCloud. “He didn’t play much and lost his confidence.”
Years 2 and 3 weren’t much better and Pacers fans vented their frustrations — often.
“He got booed every time I put him in,” recalled former Indiana coach Bob Hill.
“Deep down I knew I could play but I was definitely thinking maybe Indiana wasn’t the place for me,” McCloud said when asked in 1993 if he thought his days here were numbered.
They were.
After averaging 5.5 points and 2.0 rebounds a game in four seasons, McCloud wasn’t re-signed by the Pacers and was out of the league, forced to head to Italy for a year. He resurfaced in the NBA with Dallas for the 1994-95 season and was a revelation a year later for the Mavericks, averaging 18.9 points a game. But as far as Pacers fans are convinced, he was and will always be a bust.
1. Scott Haskin (1993, No. 14)
Who they could have had: Sam Cassell (Houston, No. 24) and Nick Van Exel (L.A. Lakers, No. 37)
Pacers fans knew right away and weren’t shy voicing their displeasure, chanting “Walsh must go” after the pick was announced — and that was at the team’s official draft party!
Former IndyStar columnist Bill Benner on the scene in ’93:
“Departing from tradition and maintaining a low profile in an undisclosed MSA bunker, the Pacers’ president instead designated Mark Boyle, the team’s first-class radio voice, to be the public bearer of decidedly unpopular tidings.
“It was akin to being appointed Saddam Hussein’s spokesman to a group from the American Legion.”
Ouch.
Ironically, the Oregon State big man was strongly recommended to the Pacers by our No. 10 entry on this list, Steve Stipanovich, who was living in Oregon at the time.
Double whammy.
Haskin was a two-time All-Pac 10 performer and the Pacers were looking for another big man to provide depth behind Rik Smits and the Davis brothers.
“I just say to the fans, `Wait and see me play before you make a judgment on my skill or about me,’ ” Haskin said at his introductory press conference.
“With development, I think I can become like a Kevin McHale.”
• McHale: 13 NBA seasons, 7 All-Star appearances, 17,335 points, 7,122 rebounds
• Haskin: 1 NBA season, 0 All-Star appearances, 55 points, 55 rebounds
Yeah, not quite.
Dis-honorable mention: Malik Sealy (1992, No. 14), Primoz Brezec (2000, No. 27) and Erick Dampier (1996, No. 10)
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