Can you guys name some early draft picks who were raw when drafted and panned out?

I would say Marvin Williams as the example of buster who was drafted purely on "upside" and dissapointed and Bynum as someone who was drafted mostly because of his physical gifts and did work to make himself into of the best players at his position.

 

"Raw" to me means not close to the final product. Akeem upon entry into the league was not known as a great offensive player. He was known as an extremely physically gifted big man. He did not perfect the dream shake, the hook shots, spin moves, or the elite foot work until later in his career. This is why imo the Akeem that came into the league was "raw" compared to the finished product that won championships and mvp's.

 

I understand where you are coming from - but he only appeared raw due to the level that he managed to achieve.

I do not consider rookie averages of 21ppg and 12rpg raw.

 

Woah, woah.... You need to brush up on your history bud.

Akeem could be considered "raw" when he came over from Nigeria possibly, but not even close when he was drafted #1 overall he was the clear cut best big man in the NCAA from a production standpoint. Even at that point, his skill level was far beyond anyone else at his level.

Even if he never took his game to extreme levels year after year to improve, he still would have been a top-flight NBA big man for decades in the NBA. He just wouldn't have been a Rocket throughout the majority of his career, and Houston wouldn't have 2 banners to hang in the Toyota Center, and a nice monument out on the front lawn.


Being raw pretty much(should) mean that you look the part physically, but you have yet to translate your athletic abilities into production in the particular sport you are playing.

Michael Olowokandi and Hasheem Thabeet come to mind here. That being said, Thabeet was actually a productive big at the college level, and actually declined in his ability to produce what he did at that level in the NBA. Morey himself alluded to the fact that if Thabeet performed the way he did at UConn he would be able to get minutes in the NBA just for performing those skills even at a higher level.

So you have two things to look at here. Physical tools, and production. The notion of being raw shouldn't really be taken into account IMO. Its all about where you came into the NBA at from a production standpoint, and what you do to improve from that point forward.

By the standards I see set in this thread you should have been considering Dikembe Mutombo and Marcus Camby as "Raw" players. We really should just throw out this whole notion of being "Raw" and look more at production, and their ability to improve enough to be productive players for their team or teams.

 

One Word... No

LeBron was highly skilled, even outta highschool

 

thabeet

 

I understand. However as far as basketball skills are concerned, he was lacking in so many areas. He has no ball handling skills, cant shoot free throws, cant shoot period, and cant pass. Olajuwon is one heck of an athlete however - can run, jump and block shots. He's a physical specimen coming out to be sure, but athletic feats on a several of occasion does not translate to basketball skills, ask James White, Pops Mensah Bonsu, Tyrus Thomas, Stromile Swift, Gerald Green, Harold Miner and etc.

Olajuwon is special. Were just fortunate that he was able to refine his game in the end and led the Rockets to a championship. Twice.

 

Wasn't Tyson Chandler extremely raw?

I think for argument sake you could say Yao Ming was extremely raw. Not athletic, but you don't find many 7'6'' guys that can actually chew gum and walk at the same time. Remember Barkely's bet with his kissing the "Kenny's ass."

 

Not sure if serious, but Lebron was one of the most NBA-ready players ever.

Look at his first NBA game.

http://youtu.be/ryFtfALU4oo

 

Pretty much every single guy drafted out of HS ever taht was successful....Garnett, Kobe, McGrady etc.

 

Bynum and Howard (don't know how people are missing him, he was not polished coming in) are the best examples right now. I think it's much more realistic for a big man to come in and learn the game when skilled but un-coached.

 

Westbrook was a reach when he got picked. He was drafted for his defensive POTENTIAL/athleticism and no one was sure whether or not he was capable of playing pg....

 

Hakeem had more than general athleticism when drafted. He certainly improved a great deal, but I don't think he's that good of an example.

 

Michael Olowokandi

 

This is the answer. I wouldn't include Mutombo or Hibbert because they ended up being pretty much the same players they were in college.

 

Especially not when he was holding his own at the local rec center against Moses during his last year of school.

Again - look at his rookie stats. If you were offered those numbers now at the center position for the next four years you would be throwing out a max contract.

 

Dwight Howard !!!!


This guy was based solely on high school body and athleticism.

Based solely on potential

 

Definitely. He has developed nicely to the point where he is at Hakeem rookie numbers. Same points per game, few more rebounds, less blocks, more turnovers and lower free throw percentage.

Amazing when you think about it. Hakeem was the man.

 

Isn't Tyson Chandler still extremely raw?? On the offensive end, I mean. Not saying he doesn't contribute to his team on defense, but he never lived up to his hype on offense.

I do not think Yao Ming was raw. He may not have been as comfortable in the low post as he became when Van Gundy stuck him down there. When Yao came in though, I remember he was a marvel because he was so big and so skilled. Nice jumper. Heck, he was even a pretty slick passer, which didn't seem to be utilized as much after he showed flashes his first year.

 

What about this Favors kid in Utah? How polished was he coming out? Seems like he's going to be pretty productive.

I like this thread BTW. Would have been real timely to come out when we were considering Drummond at draft time - though I believe there were some discussions of the same ilk. Like everybody else, I get real excited about a true big man with real athleticism - even if he has no skills. You'd figure he'd have to be able to do something on the court to earn his keep. But then time and time again, there are these colossal busts....Olawokandi, Thabeet, Diop......