NBA Draft 2005 Revisited (1-10)

1. Milwaukee Bucks: Andrew Bogut, C.  I was one of those who thought Bogut was a bit overrated in college and looked like an elite prospect due to playing against lesser competition.  Coming out of college Bogut was stiff and unathletic and that has hindered him to a degree in the NBA.  While Bogut has not lived up to the expectations that come along with being the top pick in the NBA draft I would not call him a bust either.  In the pantheon of top picks there have been worse than Bogut.  After all his scoring average has steadily increased from 9.4 to to 12.3 to 14.1 points per game and his rebounding has gone from 7 to 8.8 to 9.7 per game and he has developed into a pretty good shot blocker knocking away just under two per game in his third season.  He has a career .527 field goal percentage and he looks like he is going to be a guy who eventually gives your team 15 to 18 points per game and 9 to 11 rebounds per game which is nothing to sneeze at it just is not the production you expect from a big man who goes number one.  Grade: B-.

2. Atlanta Hawks: Marvin Williams, F.  I never understood this pick by the Hawks given that they already had Josh Childress and Josh Smith on the roster and their true need was a franchise PG and there was tons of elite talent at the position in this draft.  After a shaky rookie season Williams is starting to emerge as a quality player and is beginning to show some of the reasons why he was so highly regarded when he came out.  However, he still has yet to show he is going to be an elite player in the league.  He is a solid scorer but is still the third option behind Smith and Joe Johnson and is probably the 4th option now that Mike Bibby is there.  He does not have a 3-point shot to speak of and does not rebound particularly well for a 6′ 9″ forward.  Grade: B-.
3. Utah Jazz: Deron Williams, PG.  The Jazz had the pick of the PG litter when it came to their pick and it is hard to argue with how this turned out for them even though Chris Paul has turned out to be the better PG.  Williams has quickly developed into an elite NBA point guard already averaging 19 points and 10.6 assists per game.  He shoots over 50% from the field and is already a good shooter from behind the arc.  There is not much he does not do for the Jazz from the PG position.  Grade: A-. (Only because they missed on Paul.)

4. New Orleans Hornets: Chris Paul, PG.  Is head and shoulders above the rest of the players in this class and won the Rookie of the Year averaging 16.1 points, 7.8 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game.  Paul is arguably the best point man in the league just three years into his career.  He has lead the Hornets to the top of the Western Conference standings and is drawing comparisons to Isiah Thomas due to his hard nosed style of play and the way he elevates his entire team around him.  Paul has the ability to lead the league in scoring if he wants to, but, like Thomas he realizes how much better his team is when he is setting up his teammates around them.  Paul currently leads the league in assists and steals per game while scoring 21.1 points per game.  Grade: A.

5. Charlotte Bobcats: Raymond Felton, PG.  While Felton has not been nearly as successful as the two point guards taken before him he still holds his own out there.  He has struggled with his shooting which was to be expected in the early going but his 3-point shooting seems to be regressing as he has gone from shooting .358 his rookie year to .284 in his third season.  He is a solid scorer and good assist man who struggles when he is prevented from running the floor or being able to penetrate to the basket.  Grade: B-.

6. Portland Trail Blazers: Martell Webster, G/F.  This one was definitely a head scratcher when the Blazers made it given that players of Webster’s ilk have never been terribly successful coming straight from high school.  This pick is just now starting to pay some dividends for the Blazers as he has finally secured a starting spot and scores 10.7 points a game making his living being a long range bomber.  Webster still has a long way to go before the Blazers can feel justified with making this pick though.  Grade: C+.

7. Toronto Raptors: Charlie Villanueva, F.  Initially I thought this was a horrible pick given how Villanueva never came remotely close to living up to the hype he received at UConn.  However, this turned out fairly well for the Raptors as after a surprisingly strong rookie season that saw him score 13 points and grab 6.4 rebounds per game they promptly dealt him to the Bucks for T. J. Ford who was the PG the Raptors had been lacking since Damon Stoudamire left for Portland.  Unfortunately for the Bucks Villanueva has struggled to stay healthy and has yet to elevate his game to the next level after such a promising rookie campaign.  Grade: B-.

8. New York Knicks: Channing Frye, C.  Like Villanueva, Frye had an unexpectedly strong rookie season scoring 12.3 points and grabbing 5.8 rebounds per game.  Frye’s rookie season was so strong that the Knicks thought they finally had another big man to build around, that was until Isiah took over the reins and Frye wallowed under his coaching.  He has since been dealt to the Blazers and continues to struggle to find the productivity he had during his rookie season.  Grade: C.

9. Golden State Warriors: Ike Diogu, F.  Yet another player who looked like a budding star during his rookie season.  This pick was initially panned by most as Diogu was seen as a guy not quite big enough to play power forward and not quite quick or athletic enough to play small forward.  He raised a lot of eyebrows averaging 7 points and 3.3 rebounds in just 14.9 minutes per game.  But, after failing to earn more minutes during his second season he was dealt to Indiana where he has wallowed on the bench.  Grade: C.

10. Los Angeles Lakers: Andrew Bynum, C.  This one raised a few eyebrows as well when it was made.  Bynum was considered a very raw talent and a project player that would take a few years to develop and could go either way as there were a lot of questions about his dedication to conditioning and whether he had the drive to be a star in the NBA.  After two fairly forgettable seasons Bynum was having a breakout season averaging 13.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game when he hurt his knee.  Bynum appears to have all of the makings of being the next big time low post player but it remains to be seen how he comes back from theis first dose of adversity.  Grade: B.