So your team has a high draft pick, huh? That doesn’t mean you are safe from picking a player who is destined for perpetual mediocrity or worse. We’ve found the worst draft picks made at each spot in the lottery from the past decade (this isn’t an all-time list – you don’t need to remind me about Sam Bowie).  You’re about to witness a heaping dose of untapped potential, career-hindering injuries and bad draft decisions. This could be painful.

1st Pick: Kwame Brown, Washington Wizards, 2001

Back when drafting players straight out of high school was all the rage, the Wizards fell in love with Kwame Brown’s size and athleticism. Team president Michael Jordan was enamored with the determination that Brown exhibited in a one-on-one workout pitted against fellow rookie Tyson Chandler. In that workout, Brown would tell Jordan “If you draft me first, I’ll never disappoint you.” In Brown’s nine seasons in the NBA, he has only averaged more than 10 points per game one year, and has never emerged as anything more than a role player. I think it’s fair to say that Brown has been disappointing.

2010 1st Pick: Washington Wizards

2nd Pick: Darko Milicic, Detroit Pistons, 2003

Detroit’s pick of Darko Milicic was particularly bad, especially when considering what other players were still on the board – including Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Milicic was buried behind a solid Pistons front line that featured Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace in their primes. Early in his career, the only time Milicic entered the game was when it was nearly decided, earning him the nickname of the “human victory cigar”. Milicic has been a disgruntled player for much of his career, always unpleased with his role, the system he is in, or the lack of playing time he is receiving.  It is expected that Milicic will return to Europe next season.

2010 2nd Pick: Philadelphia 76ers

3rd Pick: Adam Morrison, Charlotte Bobcats, 2006

Adam Morrison got the reputation of a fiery competitor while in college at Gonzaga. While he wouldn’t beat you with his athleticism, he would beat you with his sweet jumpshot and will to win. While he was fairly productive in his rookie campaign, averaging nearly 12 ppg, his poor shooting percentage led him to a reserve role in his second year. The Bobcats decided to cut their losses and trade Morrison to the Lakers mid-way through his second year, but an ACL tear in his second year seriously derailed his early career. Morrison has never found any significant playing time as a member of the Lakers, but has two NBA championships to show for along with his career field-goal percentage of 37%.

2010 3rd Pick: New Jersey Nets

4th Pick: Eddy Curry, Chicago Bulls, 2001

If you asked me to make this list four years ago, Eddy Curry wouldn’t have been on it. Curry had a fairly productive beginning to his career, producing double-digit scoring averages in the six seasons following his rookie year. But my how he has fell off. Amidst weight gain, knee surgeries, calf strains, and debt problems (despite having a $60 million contract) Curry has been limited to just ten games in the past two seasons. It would be truly surprising if Curry ever returns to relevancy in this league.

2010 4th Pick: Minnesota Timberwolves

5th Pick: Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Denver Nuggets, 2002

Ever since Dirk Nowitzki was drafted in 1998, everybody wanted a piece of that European crop of sharp-shooting big men. Nikoloz Tskitishvili was expected to be a Nowitzki clone, a seven-footer with a feathery jumpshot. But he just wasn’t ready for the big lights. In four seasons in the league, he never improved off of his rookie season where he averaged 3.9 ppg.

2010 5th Pick: Sacramento Kings

6th Pick: Dajuan Wagner, Cleveland Cavaliers, 2002

The hype doesn’t get much bigger for a player who has scored 100 points in a high-school game, especially when they are only 6′2″. This was the case for Dajuan Wagner, a high-octane scoring guard who drew comparisons to Allen Iverson. While he showed flashes of brilliance in his rookie campaign, leading the Cavs in scoring 11 games, his career has always been held up from a variety of ailments. Whether it was a bladder infection, a torn meniscus, a stomach virus, or recovering from surgery, Wagner often found himself out of the lineup. Currently, Wagner is working on getting back into the league after undergoing a major surgery to remove his colon. It’s hard to imagine how good Wagner could have been in the NBA, but it seems like all the cards have been against him thus far.

2010 6th Pick: Golden State Warriors

7th Pick: Chris Mihm, Chicago Bulls, 2000

Chris Mihm has actually had a fairly productive career, but with career averages of 7.5 points and 5 rebounds per game, you should expect a bit more production out of a seventh pick in the draft. Although Mihm started 75 games for the Lakers in the 04-05 season, his career would slowly go down hill due to recurring ankle sprains, injuries and surgeries. Mihm is currently a free-agent and hasn’t appeared in a game since the 08-09 season.

2010 7thPick: Detroit Pistons

8th Pick: Rafael Araujo, Toronto Raptors, 2004

I’m not sure what’s worse for an eighth pick in the NBA draft – averaging a career 2.8 points per game and playing himself out of the league in just three seasons, or being traded along with an undisclosed amount of cash for Kris Humphries and Robert Whaley. That’s Rafael Araujo.

2010 8th Pick: Los Angeles Clippers

9th Pick: Rodney White, Detroit Pistons, 2001

Rodney White was highly touted after one prolific year at UNC-Charlotte, named the national freshman of the year by ESPN. With his stock so high, he jumped ship and declared for the NBA Draft. He soon clashed heads with Pistons’ coach Rick Carlisle, and hardly ever saw the floor. After being traded to Denver, he got an opportunity to show his stuff and became a dependable scorer off the bench. However, his lack of effort at times (primarily on the defensive end) led to his gradual decline out of the NBA and departure overseas. He is currently a player for Zhejiang Guangsha in China.

2010 9th Pick: Utah Jazz

10th Pick: Luke Jackson, Cleveland Cavaliers, 2004

As an Oregon alum, Luke Jackson is near and dear to my heart. I witnessed Jackson score 29 straight points to lead the Ducks to an NIT win over Colorado, and I was absolutely sold on his potential as a solid pro. After a prolific college career, ending as a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award and Naismith College Player of the Year award, Jackson was brought in to Cleveland to serve as the versatile spot-up shooter to complement LeBron James. Unfortunately, nagging issues with his back kept him limited to just 46 games in his first two seasons, and he didn’t have much of an impact when he did play. These days you can find Jackson playing for Carife Ferrara in the Italian LegaBasket.

2010 10th Pick: Indiana Pacers

11th Pick: Jerome Moiso, Boston Celtics, 2000

Coming out of UCLA Jerome Moiso had appeal as a long and versatile big man. You see a 6′10″ player with athleticism coming out of a storied program, you snatch him up quick, right? Not in the case of Moiso. While athletic, Moiso turned out to be a bit of a wallflower out on the court, generating career averages of just under three points and three rebounds per-game over his five-season NBA career. Moiso then took his career overseas where he has played for a variety of teams in Italy, Spain and Russia. He is currently playing for Club Baloncesto Bilbao Berri, a pro club in Spain.

2010 11th Pick: New Orleans Hornets

12th Pick: Hilton Armstrong, New Orleans Hornets, 2006

Looking back, it’s hard to imagine what the Hornets were thinking taking Hilton Armstrong this early. Armstrong was a four-year player at UCONN, but never averaged above four points per-game in his first three years there. He showed a great deal of improvement his senior year by nearly doubling his points and rebound averages, so perhaps it was thought that Armstrong would continue this steady ascent in the NBA. Instead, he reverted back to mediocrity when paired against the league’s talented big men. He has career averages of 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per-game over his four NBA seasons. Armstrong has only earned spot minutes on every team he’s been on, mainly serving as big-man injury insurance .

2010 12th Pick: Memphis Grizzlies

13th Pick: Courtney Alexander, Orlando Magic, 2000

Big things were expected of Courtney Alexander coming out of college. At 25.3 ppg, Alexander was the first player in the history of the Western Athletic Conference to become the nation’s leading scorer. After being traded to the Washington Wizards during his rookie season, he showcased his prolific scoring skills – averaging 17 ppg. He was traded after the following season to New Orleans for a 1st round pick in the 2002 NBA Draft (Juan Dixon), and after one season as a Hornet ruptured his right Achilles tendon. Despite several comeback attempts, Alexander hasn’t ever been able to return to his old form and play himself back into the league.

2010 13th Pick: Toronto Raptors

14th Pick: Mateen Cleaves, Detroit Pistons, 2000

After leading Michigan State to a NCAA championship and being named as the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, Mateen Cleaves was a sensible (but homer) pick for the Pistons. Cleaves was productive in his rookie season as a backup, averaging 5.4 points and 2.7 assists, appearing in 78 games. The following season he was traded to Sacramento for Jon Barry and a 1st-round draft pick, and Cleaves failed to fit in as a viable option for the kings – never playing more than 5 minutes per-game. While he would have additional stints with Cleveland and Seattle, Cleaves never turned out to be the floor general he was expected to be in the pros. The former lottery pick is now a music talent manager.

2010 14th Pick: Houston Rockets

Tonight kicks off what always seems to be one of my favorite weekends of the year. It’s a weekend full of old friends, friendly wagers, Kentucky Fried Chicken, booze and mass quantities of videogame battles. While you may think this sounds like the stereotypical romantic St. Valentine’s Day weekend, I’m actually referring to our traditional festivities around the NBA All-Star festivities.

T-Mobile Rookie Challenge
Tonight brings us the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge, and the rookies will indeed have their work cut out for them. The Rooks will be led by their dazzling backcourt players such as Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings and Jonny Flynn. While these guys will be able to push the tempo (which is important in these no-defense exhibitions), it’s unfortunate for them that all of their best players play the same position. Look for Evans and Curry to swing over to the off guard, and look for them to shoot at nearly every glimpse of an opportunity they get.

The Sophomore team is much more well-rounded by position, seasoned, and ultimately more talented. While Derrick Rose was excused from the game given his selection to the East All-Star team (Anthony Morrow ultimately replaced him) the Sophs have a wealth of other studs to lean on. They have backcourt players like O.J. Mayo, Russell Westbrook and Eric Gordon who are all fully capable of lighting it up. But it’s their front court that should have an absolute heyday – we’re talking about Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, Marc Gasol and Brook Lopez (who should be dominant) going up against guys like Taj Gibson and Jonas Jerebko. Check, please.

The Sophomore team almost always is dominant in these games, and I wouldn’t expect any different this year. Over the past nine times this game has been held, the Sophs have averaged over 127 points per game. I might also add that the Sophs haven’t lost since 2002, in a game which featured then-rookies Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Joe Johnson. I don’t think this year is a season that will buck the winning ways of the Sophomores.

My prediction: Sophomores by 15

Halftime Dunk-In

Let’s not forget that this year’s Rookie Challenge will also feature a dunk-off between Eric Gordon and Demar DeRozan. This face-off will take place during halftime, and the winner will round out the final field for tomorrow’s actual Sprite Slam-Dunk competition. Gordon, being the shorter player, will likely be able to demonstrate some more crowd-pleasing finishes, but DeRozan is built like a dunker and will probably take some people by surprise.

My prediction: Demar DeRozan

While all of the chatter around the upcoming NBA All-Star game has been about Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson as of late, we can now divert out attention to more important facets of the game: like what will T-Mac and A.I be wearing at the game. The NBA has unveiled the 2010 NBA All-Star uniforms, and they are looking pretty sharp. The jerseys have a large, but subtle ’star’ image on the front, and a star-ish pattern on the back of the uniform as well. These uniforms carry over a bit of the style from the 2009 All-Star jerseys, with the somewhat futuristic typeface. The biggest difference seems to be that the home team (West) will have red uniforms instead of last year’s white.

If you’re looking to get your All-Star gear in advance, the NBA Store already has these bad boys for sale. How are you liking this year’s duds?

Sometimes the marked improvement of a player is less of a reflection of a player’s increased skill level, and more dependent on the capitalization on opportunities. This is not to say that a player’s solid performance isn’t largely in part to the hours they’ve put in at the gym, but in the NBA, everybody who has made a roster can play. But most players who aren’t household names tend to need the appropriate situation, both in system and personnel, to truly let their talents shine. Here are a handful of players who are playing above and beyond their pre-season expectations:

Danillo Gallinari, New York Knicks - While the Knicks were high enough on Gallinari to take him 6th overall in the 2008 draft, he only appeared in 28 games last year due to lingering back issues and averaged a mere 6 ppg. Gallinari has blossomed into one of the leagues deadliest threats from long range. Shooting at an impressive 45% from long range has helped Gallinari to a league-leading 62 3-pointers made. Gallinari’s smooth stroke and a clear boost in confidence from last season has led to the Knicks using him in their starting lineup 17 out of 23 times this year. While Gallo (as they like to call him) has spiked his scoring average up to 14 ppg this season, the Knicks are hoping to see him add some versatility in his overall game to complement his outside shooting touch.

Carl Landry, Houston Rockets - With the loss of Yao Ming, no Tracy McGrady and an otherwise limited frontcourt, Carl Landry has given the Rockets a much needed spark off of the Rockets’ bench this season. While he hasn’t started a game this year, he has averaged 16 points per game (7 ppg higher than last year) and has cashed in 20 points or more in nine games this year. He has honed his mid-range game, and has leveraged his tenacious offensive rebounding skills to pick up easy buckets around the rim and make his way to the foul line. Landry is a huge reason for the overachieving Rockets, who are off to a 13-9 record – good for fifth in the West. Not too shabby for a team we all thought would be associating themselves with the other clear-cut bottom feeders this year.

Ersan Ilyasova, Milwaukee Bucks – My guess is the only reason you may have heard of Ersan Ilyasova is because you bought into the Brandon Jennings hype machine and accidentally caught a glimpse of this game-changing Turkish forward. What you will notice right away about Ilyasova is that he plays hard and with passion. Either that, or his striking resemblance to Josh Hartnett. He’s not afraid to mix it up with the best of them, and he’s scrapped his way to 7.5 rpg this season. Ilyasova has also given the Bucks some versatility in the frontcourt, as he is tough enough to compete at the four, but has enough the athleticism and shooting range to be a serviceable small-forward. He has improved enough to start 13 games already this season, and play 10 more mpg than last year. The Bucks have a keeper in Ilyasova.

Channing Frye, Phoenix Suns - After a promising start to his career with the Knicks, Channing Frye was traded to the Blazers and quickly became a fan favorite during his time in Portland. Unfortunately, it was more due to his eccentric personality and approachable nature than anything he did on the court. Frye had found himself buried on the Portland bench, and was gradually being pushed further and further out of Nate McMillan’s rotation. I had nicknamed him “Charmin” Frye because of his double-quilted softness that is useless when it comes to banging in the paint. But then Frye signed with the Phoenix Suns this off-season, a team that would cater to his strengths as a big-man – getting up and down the court quickly and knocking down mid-range shots. Steve Kerr declared that he wanted to see Frye develop into a three-point shooting threat this season. I laughed at his (what I presumed to be) blind ambition and homerism. But oh was I ever proved wrong. Frye has been sensational from downtown this season, knocking down 56 threes (second only to Gallinari) at a stellar 44.4% clip. Now, I won’t stop calling him Charmin, but I will say that he has stepped his game up and turned out to be a great fit with the Suns.

Who have you been the most pleasantly surprised with this season?

If Tracy McGrady gets voted in as a starter of this year’s All-Star game, we might as well have these guys rounding out the two lineups. Fan favorites, talented players, and injured or largely absent from on-court action.

Utilizing screens to free yourself up on offense is a learned skill that truly can boost a player’s offensive production by leaps and bounds. Watch as Antawn Jamison’s futile attempt to front Kevin Garnett results in an effective screen and no hope for the Wizards to help out on defense. Rondo’s finish is nothing short of nasty.

As of 2008, the population of China surpassed 1.3 billion. Their sheer numbers along with their passion for Yao Ming (unarguably a national icon) has made Yao a starter in every All-Star game since he joined the NBA. Even as a rookie he was named the West’s starting center over Shaquille O’Neal, who was in the prime of his career.

This year, with Yao is injured and out for the entire season and left off of the All-Star ballot altogether. this being the case, one would expect that this aforementioned “China effect” would not play a role in this year’s voting. Oh, how naive we all must have been. With Yao out, the Chinese population has turned their sights on voting in any Houston Rocket on the ballot – even if it means Tracy McGrady…who has not appeared in a game this season. With the first update of the current All-Star ballot status revealed today, we found out that McGrady is second only behind Kobe Bryant for the West’s guard spot. The top two vote-getters at each position would serve as All-Star starters for their conference.

Oh, but they didn’t stop there. While it won’t have any major impact, Aaron Brooks (also of Yao’s Houston Rockets) had already received 131,167 votes. “So what?” you might ask. Well, it just so happens that those 131,167 votes are more than much more prominent West guards like Chauncey Billups, Brandon Roy and Deron Williams. It’s a travesty.

This leads into the age-old debate of whether the fans should be solely responsible for choosing the All-Star starters. Sure, it’s a showcase for the fans so I suppose they should have some say in who they want to see. However it’s always sad to see players voted in who are clearly undeserving of receiving such a prestigious honor. Thank goodness that the reserves are decided on coaches from their respective conferences, because they have gameplanned and experienced firsthand who the true All-Stars are.

Injuries are certainly a major factor that plays into the success (or lack thereof) for teams across the league. While the season is roughly only 1/4 through, several teams are (or have) battling through injuries for some of their key players. Here’s an assessment of some of the most notable injuries so far this season, and how their team has been able to cope with their absence.

Danny Granger – It’s always hard to lose your leading scorer, especially when talking about someone as prolific as Granger. Granger tore his right plantar fascia (and any hope for salvaging the Pacers’ season) in Saturday’s loss to the Clippers and will be out of commission for at least a month. The Pacers will have to rely much more heavily on Mike Dunleavy (who is just coming off an injury himself) and the surprise scorer of the season: Dahntay Jones. Pacers fans have to be rather disappointed with the limited offensive output from both Troy Murphy and T.J. Ford, both of whom have seen drops of over 4 points per game on their scoring average. All is not well in Indiana, as they have lost six straight and ten of their last 11 games. Let’s find a way to blame this on Josh McRoberts and his unkempt hair that screams “Really, I’m not a basketball player…trust me.”

Greg Oden – What would a discussion about injuries be without mentioning Greg Oden? Oden had a season ending fracture of his left patella during Sunday’s game against the Rockets. Bolstering Oden’s prolific injury lore even further was that the fracture came without any impact or out-of-the-ordinary motions – just a fracture after planting and jumping. Oden joins fellow Blazers Nicolas Batum, Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw, Jeff Pendergraph, Patty Mills and even coach Nate McMillan on the injured list. Fortunately for Portland, they still have their two best players in Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, but they will have to develop a comfort level moving forward with their current roster. Even Juwan Howard is getting some notable run.

Michael Redd – Redd has certainly seen his fair share of injuries over the past few years. It’s no wonder that people in fantasy drafts all over the world were avoiding him like the plague mixed with arsenic. Redd again finds himself nowhere near the hardwood, as his early season strained patella tendon has kept him out of all but five games.  Apparently he asked to be shut down again until his knee is fully healed, but the Bucks (surprisingly) are not in as much of a rush to get him back as one might have expected. They are easily the most overachieving team of this young season, starting out with a 10-11 record behind the brilliant play of rookie Brandon Jennings and the surprise production from players like Ersan Ilyasova. Still, their win tonight was their first in the past five games – so they’ll take any help they can get.

Devin Harris - In the midst of New Jersey’s “miracle run” to the worst start of any team in NBA history was a slew of injuries, but none more important than that of Harris – who missed 10 games during that stretch due to a groin strain. It’s hard to lose your primary playmaker, creator, distributor, scorer, etc…especially when you have a roster as thin as the Nets. Now, even if Harris was healthy that whole time, the Nets still would be bottom feeders in the league, but I don’t think there is any way they would have set that record – he has just too much big-game potential. While the Nets are currently sitting at a painful 2-20 record, the worst seems to be over as they have won two of their last five games. That’s two more than the entire month of October.

Louis Williams – The fractured jaw of Louis Williams might have been the most exciting injury in the history of Philadelphia sports. While no fan likes to see their starting point guard (who isn’t really a point guard) get injured and leave their team with no other real viable replacements at that position. But, this was an exception as it lead to the return of the most popular athlete the city has seen in this modern era in Allen Iverson. Iverson makes the 76ers an intriguing team with a starting lineup that is scary on paper, but he has been far from the “Answer” thus far. The 76ers have lost both games since Iverson’s return, and continue their unexpected skid of 11 straight losses. The good news is, when Williams returns he can return to his usual role as a sparkplug off the bench relied on more as a combo guard than the team’s floor general.

Honorable Mentions: Andris Biedrins, Chris Paul, Tyrus Thomas, Mike Miller