Top 5 Celtics Busts

I like to talk a lot about drafts, draft busts, and busts in general in my NBA recaps. I'm kind of a basketball sadist. Anyway, I was thinking earlier while looking at a box score of a Hawks game about how the Celtics had drafted Joe Johnson once upon a time, and traded him away. This inspired a post, the Celtics 5 biggest draft busts or busts in general. Now, Len Bias will not be on this list. Though he was a huge bust, he never played a game, and I can't count him, though he would be a high placement. This list is more about Celtics impatience and odd draft picks.

5. Joe Forte and Kedrick Brown- The 2001 NBA Draft saw the Boston Celtics have three picks in the 1st round. One of the selection at 10th overall was Joe Johnson, but we'll look into him later. The next to picks were Kedrick Brown and Joe Forte. Yeah, they were about as busty as Dolly Parton. Forte played eight games for the Celtics, averaging .75 PPG, while Kedrick Brown averaged 2.5 points for the C's in two seasons. They were both out of the league within 4 years. Tony Parker, Richard Jefferson, and Gerald Wallace were all on the board when these two were taken. Ouch.


4. Vin Baker- Though we gave up 25 cents on the dollar to get the former All-Star, he only averaged 8 PPG in one and a half seasons for the Celtics. He was later released because he was a fat, lazy alcoholic. Though Baker had a promising career coming out of college, he never reached his true potential, especially with the Celtics.

3. Rick Pitino- Rick Pitino was an esteemed coach coming out of the University of Kentucky, where he won an NCAA Championship (while making other Final Fours.) But he went an abysmal 102–146 at the helm of the Celtics, angering fans with idiotic coaching and very questionable trades (more on this in a moment.) Pitino lasted only 4 seasons for the Celtics, and set the franchise back years in that time.

2. Joe Johnson for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers- Joe Johnson, unlike Kedrick Brown and Joe Forte, looked like he had star written all over him when the Celtics drafted him 10th overall in 2001. But for some unfathomable reason, the Celtics traded the future all-star to the Suns for career role-players Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers. Rogers was gone at the end of the 2001-2002 season, while Delk averaged a little over 8 points in two seasons with the team. Joe Johnson has gone on to make the past four all-star teams, and has averaged over 20 points the last five seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. The Celtics were too impatient with Johnson, as they traded a bright future for a slim chance in the present.

1. Chauncey Billups- What? Chauncey Billups was on the Celtics? Let's back track a bit. In the 1997 Draft, the Celtics were hoping to land Tim Duncan. However, they lost out, as the first overall pick went to the Spurs. The second pick was Keith Van Horn, allowing the Celtics to get Chauncey Billups. Despite averaging 11 points in his first 51 games with the Celtics, they grew impatient (a pattern here) and traded him in the stupidest trade ever for Kenny Anderson, the overrated, overpaid draft bust. Anderson, understandably, had an uneventful career with the Celtics, while Billups has gone on to lead a team to and NBA title and become a 5x All-Star and Finals MVP. Patience is a virtue, but it wasn't for the Celtics from 1997-2007, which lead to many disappointing seasons. They also drafted Ron Mercer in 1997, and was dealt away quickly too. Mercer hasn't had the career than Billups did, but he was a formidable player for teams in his NBA career, better than Danny Forston and Kedrick Brown (traded as a pick), the players who the Celtics traded Mercer for, turned out. The Celtics squandered the chance of having Antoine Walker, Ron Mercer, and Chauncey Billups (with Pierce drafted the next year) on the same team, which truly hurt the team.