Reviewing the Draft: 1991

I love the NBA draft. In many ways it is probably my favorite sporting event all season. In keeping with that love, one of my favorite things about the draft is looking back and playing the "what could have been" game for the first few picks. Every year there will be a dozen or so picks that make absolutely no sense and it seems everyone in America understands this except the GM picking. And of course there are a number of picks that surprise everyone. What I have here is the first 11 picks from the 1991 draft and what, in hindsight, the order of the draft would be like now based on production and longevity.

The 1991 draft wasn't a particularly strong draft. While it did produce several solid, career role players on good teams (like Rick Fox and Luc Longley), only 7 players from this class made an All Star appearance and only one (Mutombo) made numerous appearances. It should be noted, however, that the first pick (Larry Johnson) could have potentially been a generation-defing player had it not been for serious injuries that turned him from the power player he once was into a jumpshooter.

1. Charlotte - Dikembe Mutombo (originally picked #4): One of the all time great defensive centers and 18 years later, the only pick still playing in the NBA. (Original pick: Larry Johnson)
2. New Jersey - Larry Johnson (1): Injuries ruined the career of Larry who could have been a position redefining player. Still, he made the transition from power player to finesse player and had some incredibly productive years. (Original pick: Kenny Anderson)
3. Sacramento - Terrell Brandon (11): An All Star multiple times and named the NBA's Best Point Guard at one point by Sports Illustrated. (Original pick: Billy Owens)
4. Denver - Steve Smith (5): Made an All Star appearance and served as a very important second or third option on some good teams. (Original pick: Dikembe Mutombo)
5. Miami - Kenny Anderson (2): Never lived up to expectations but made an All Star appearance in 1995 and was a solid player for a very long time. (Original pick: Steve Smith)
6. Dallas - Dale Davis (13): A strong, imposive force in the paint for a very long time, particularly on the defensive end. (Original pick: Doug Smith)
7. Minnesota - Stacey Augmon (9): Augmon wasn't great at anything but he was good at a lot of things. "The Plasticman" had a long career as a journeyman. (Original pick: Luc Longley)
8. Denver - Billy Owens (3): Owens was doomed from the start. A good player with a knack for scoring was asked to be a franchise player in Golden State and couldn't measure up. Weight issues abounded as well. (Original pick: Mark Macon)
9. Atlanta - Luc Longley (7): Longley won three titles with Jordan in Chicago and played his role, limited as it was, very well for many years. (Original pick: Stacey Augmon)
10. Orlando - Rick Fox (24): Fox wasn't much for stats but he was the ultimate role player on 3 Laker title teams. (Original pick: Brian Williams)
11. Cleveland - Greg Anthony (12): Never a great player or a stats guy, Anthony was a strong backup throughout his career, partiularly for some good Portland teams in the mid 90s. (Original pick: Terrell Brandon)

Honorable mention:
Bobby Phills (45): Phills was coming into his prime before his untimely death during a racing accident.
Erick Murdock (21): Had some of the fastest hands I've ever seen in the NBA but never got much of an opportunity to play big minutes.
Chris Gatling (16): Made an All Star appearance in 97 with the Mavericks but was mostly a shooter off the bench for the majority of his career.
Brian Williams/Bison Dele: A very weird career marked by a tragic, weird death. Williams had a lot of talent but didn't always maximize it.

Biggest Disappointment:
I'm going with Kenny Anderson. Sure, he had a very long, successful career in the NBA. But Anderson had the talent to be a once-in-a-generation type player. He just didn't have the work ethic.

-BG