NBA Draft Busts: Kwame Brown

It was just a matter of time before I found time to profile the founder, ceo, and president of the NBA Busts Club…the one, the only, Kwame Brown.

The Washington Wizards, under president Michael Jordan, selected Brown with number one pick in the 2001 NBA Draft (Jordan’s first draft as president). The 6-foot 11-inch 19-year old high-school kid out of Glynn Academy in Georgia was considered a no-brainer by many NBA executives. Unfortunately for Kwame, Jordan, and the Wizards,

NBA Draft Busts: Marcus Fizer

Former McDonald’s High School All-American, Fizer went on to have an exceptional 3-year collegiate career at Iowa State. Fizer’s junior year was by far his best, racking up multiple awards including Big 12 Player of the Year and NCAA First Team All-American. The Chicago Bulls selected Fizer with the 4th pick of the 2000 NBA Draft. Fizer played under head coach Tim Floyd, the same coach who recruited him to Iowa State. He spent his first 4 seasons with the Bulls, compiling an average of 10 points and 5 rebounds per game during his stay. Fizer’s final season in Chicago ended earlier then expected as he

NBA Draft Busts: Darius Miles

One of the more unfortunate stories surrounding a professional sports career is that of former 3rd overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft, Darius Miles. The Los Angeles Clippers selected the highly touted small forward out of high school and he delivered on all the hype in his first season as a pro. Miles was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, posting 9 ppg and 6 rpg. The Clippers then traded Miles after the 2001 -2002 season to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played in Cleveland for a season and a half before being traded again, this time to the Portland Trail Blazers. Miles and then coach Mo Cheeks did not see eye to eye and conflicts were very common between the two. Half way through his second season with the Blazers, Miles suffered what he would soon learn to be a career-threatening injury to his knee. He underwent microfracture surgery to repair his knee a few weeks later and ended up missing the entire 2006 -2007 and 2007 – 2008 seasons. Later in 2008, Miles accepted an invite from the Boston Celtics to try to earn a spot during training camp. unfortunately for Miles, he was waived by the Celtics right before the start of the 2008 -2009 season. In December of 2008, the Memphis Grizzlies gave Miles a shot to regain his career. He played in one game for the Grizzlies before being waived. Seven days later, the Grizzlies again signed Miles to a 10-day contract. He impressed this time around and the Grizzlies decided to sign him for the rest of the 2008 -2009 season. During the summer of 2009, the Grizzlies finally decided to part ways with Miles due to salary cap restraints. Miles is now attempting another comeback, as the Charlotte Bobcats have invited him to work out in their free-agent minicamp.

NBA Draft Busts: Adam Morrison

Any casual basketball fan remembers Adam Morrison leading his Gonzaga Bulldogs to the Sweet Sixteen in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. Morrison and the Bulldogs eventually lost that Sweet Sixteen game to UCLA in the final seconds, blowing a 17 point lead in the process. Morrison broke down emotionally after the final buzzer sounded and signaled the end of the Bulldogs season and later proved to be Morrison’s final game as well. Adam Morrison was awarded at the end of the year, sharing the National Player of the Year award with J.J. Redick of Duke. Morrison decided to leave Gonzaga with that bitter taste of being ousted in the Sweet Sixteen in his mouth and entered his name into the 2006 NBA Draft.

Adam Morrison was selected with the 3rd overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats, a pick made by the then manager of basketball operations for the Bobcats, Michael Jordan. Morrison started for the Bobcats during the first half of the 2006 season but was later removed from the starting lineup largely due in part because of his poor field goal percentage and lack of ability to defend his position. Morrison’s hard luck continued into his second year with the Bobcats, tearing his ACL in the pre-season and missing the entire 2007 -2008 season. Morrison was then traded by the Bobcats to the Los Angeles Lakers early into the 2009 season. He later went on to play absolutely no part in the Lakers back-to-back NBA Championships in 2009 and 2010, riding on the coat tails of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. It’s an absolute travesty that guys like Adam Morrison have championship rings while NBA greats like Charles Barkley and Karl Malone don’t even have one championship to their name, but that’s a rant for a different day. Anyway, Morrison signed with the Washington Wizards after his stint with the Lakers but was cut during training camp. No NBA team took a flyer on Morrison during this past season and he is currently a free agent.

NBA Draft Busts: Sean May

The 2005 NBA Draft was a solid one. Producing All-Stars and All-NBA players such as Andrew Bogut, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Danny Granger, and David Lee. Other above-average NBA players like Marvin Williams, Raymond Felton, Charlie Villanueva, Andrew Bynum, and Channing Frye to name a few, also came out of this draft. The 2005 Draft wasn’t without its busts, most notably the 13th overall pick, Sean May.

Sean May was a McDonald’s High School American and ended up playing his college ball for the University of North Carolina. May started at center for the Tar Heels in each of his 3 seasons in school. May’s shining moment came in the Tar Heel’s National Championship run in 2005 as he poured in 26 points on 10 of 11 from the field and adding 10 rebounds in the Championship Game win over Illinois. May’s outstanding play throughout the tournament earned him the Most Outstanding Player of the 2005 NCAA Tournament Award. May chose to go out on top and declared for the NBA Draft shortly after he and the Tar Heels won the school’s 4th National Title.

The Charlotte Bobcats took May with the 13th pick of the 2005 NBA Draft, one of 4 Tar Heels to be drafted in the lottery. The others included Marvin Williams with the 2nd pick, Raymond Felton with the 5th pick, and Rashad McCants with the 14th pick. May suffered a knee injury early into his rookie season and micro fracture surgery in the offseason held him out of the entire 2007 – 2008 season. May was never able to fully recover from surgery and the effects lingered into the following season, ultimately landing him on the inactive list due to not being physically fit to play. In 2009, the Bobcats chose not to pick up May’s 4th year option and he became an unrestricted free agent. Later in 2009, May was signed by the Sacramento Kings for the NBA’s minimum salary. The Kings did not resign May and instead the New Jersey Nets gave him a chance in 2010, but he was released in the preseason due to yet another injury. May decided to accept an offer to play overseas later on in 2010 and is currently employed by Fenerbahce Ulker of the Turkish League.