Can draft picks only be seen as Star or Bust? Or can they fall in between too?

It all really depends on the draft position and their expectations as well as their talent level. If a player is taken in the top 5 and their potential is high as well as their talent level is off the charts and he came no where near half of the player he was suppose to be, then yeah he's a bust. But most of the time, players that never reached their full potential usually ends up as a decent role player.

Its really hard to determined whether a player will become a superstar in the NBA. Even if he is incredibly gifted, it all depends on how hard he works, being put in the right position, and being able to accept the responsibility of being in the NBA, or even if he is able to avoid major injuries. Players like Kwame Brown or Darko have talents and potential but they both got their big pay checks and basically slacked off. They don't work as hard because they believed that they're talented enough to succeed and just settling as a average player.

Some players have the potential to be an all star player but been hit by major injuries that stunt their growth as a player (Shaun Livingston, maybe even Greg Oden). Remember Jay Williams who was drafted 2nd after Yao Ming back in the 2002 draft? He has the potential to be a very good point guard but made a bad decision one night which ended his career.

So it all really depends on the player. Each player is different in the career path they chose. There will be hidden stars, there will be big time bust, and there will be decent role players in the NBA.

 

It doesn't "warp" perspective at all. When people discuss prospects among themselves they're usually talking about lottery picks. With lottery picks there IS no in-between, these are boom-or-bust picks. Take for example Darko Milicic who was the 2nd pick in one of the deepest drafts in recent memory. He's an alright roleplayer, can defend and score a little bit. But because he became a roleplayer people call him a bust.

And seriously, when you're talking about lottery picks, does a player having a really high role-player potential seem appealing to you? C'mon now, if you want role players, you're betting of signing vets rather than wasting your lottery picks.

 

Darko, and others, are 'punished' by the 'look at the ones they didn't pick' argument. In his case Melo, Bosh, and Wade were passed on. Yes, Darko was a busted pick and Joe D is now desperately trying to salvage his roster.

 

It's really complicated because you can be a good star or a bad star and the same thing goes with busts.

For example this thread got 1 star but it is still a effing bad bust and yet the girl below is not a star and certainly you would have to agree she has awesome busts.

 

Rodney McCray was a stud!!!