Sam Bowie Is Not A Bust...

[JimmyMcAdocious]

I agree but still, I probably would not have drafted him. The Blazers were very impressed with Drexler and they had already made up their mind that they needed a C. They really took Bowie by default since Hakeem was gone. I don't know, I probably wouldn't have drafted Jordan either if I were Portland and had just drafted Drexler. I don't really think people really take that into consideration like they say they are, especially when there's another position that you REALLY need help at. Are you more likely to draft a guy at the same position, even if he was a sure bet, when at that time you had CLOSE to a sure bet in Clyde Drexler already on the team? Especially when you desperately need help at center which most people agree is one of the most important positions? This was the mid 80's when the NBA was used to watching guys like Kareem, Wilt, Moses Malone, and even Bill Walton be such difference makers previously. A team with second pick is probably going to use that pick to get something they really need instead of using on a player who at the time was similar to what they already had.

I don't necessarily disagree with the pick. I'm not informed enough about the Blazers in the 1983 season to say much either way. Your points about what they had in in the waiting are valid, and personally I've always been a big over wing guy when the comparison is somewhat close (I would have taken Oden over Durant). All I'm arguing is that Bowie should be considered a bust.

[I<3NBA]

i don't consider any player with their careers being derailed by injury a bust. they simply were unlucky. players that are real busts are those without injuries that still failed to live up to their expectations.

[Soundwave]

Sam Bowie -- the great thing to happen to Chicago sports -- ever.

Also IMO it's the text book example of why you never draft simply based on need.

Jordan + Drexler + the solid depth Portland amassed otherwise would've been enough to start winning titles by the late 1980s.

[chocolatethunder]

Yeah, but Jordan was a sure thing. People knew he was going to be real good at the next level. He had a pro game in college.

Hakeem is justifiable, even if in retrospect it was the wrong pick, but Bowie isn't. He wasn't an elite big in college, and he already had injury issues.

It would be like picking Noel over Lebron because you drafted Melo the year before.

Jordan was good in college but no one projected him to be the greatest player of all time. It was nothing like that. Everyone knew he was good and would be a good pro but when he became a pro he really just took his game to a different level. Not sure if you were alive back then but I was.

[Cleverness]

This is not a new documentary but for anybody who hasn't seen it, its a great watch. I'm in my 30's so I've already known that Bowie was more than just "the guy picked ahead of MJ", but obviously many don't since he's still the target of "bust" jokes. He had knee injuries, unfortunately, some of it due to his thin frame but the guy was a very skilled player and still went on to have a decent NBA career. Reading ish and other forums and listening to idiots in the media, you'd think the guy never accomplished anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1uTIZ_pPKk

Thanks for posting this

[RedBlackAttack]

Here's why Bowie was a horrible draft pick...

The guy suffered a catastrophic injury in college and he has even said himself that he was never the same after his sophomore year. As a professional franchise, you have to poke, prod and examine every joint and every bone, along with all of the tape available on the guy.

Truth be told, the Sam Bowie disaster is one of the main reasons I was so adamant about the Cavs not taking Alex Len, who also has micro-fractures. There have been guys who've had surgery and been totally fine, but it is an unpredictable injury that can end careers without warning.

When you are picking in the top 3, that's just too big a risk.

[Marchesk]

Jordan + Drexler + the solid depth Portland amassed otherwise would've been enough to start winning titles by the late 1980s.

You could have played Jordan at PG or one of them at SF. It's only a question of whether their styles would have meshed well enough as primary scorers. If Drexler would have been okay with being the second scorer, then it could have worked great.

[Marchesk]

Jordan was good in college but no one projected him to be the greatest player of all time. It was nothing like that. Everyone knew he was good and would be a good pro but when he became a pro he really just took his game to a different level. Not sure if you were alive back then but I was.

I don't know about that. I was certainly watching college when Len Bias was around, and everyone thought he was going to be something else in the pros. I don't think he was more highly thought of than Jordan was.

I'm sure that Dean Smith and Bobby Knight knew that he was special. I also recall reading that some team wanted to trade up for Chicago's pick, because they wanted Jordan, but Chicago refused.

[Dro]

I don't necessarily disagree with the pick. I'm not informed enough about the Blazers in the 1983 season to say much either way. Your points about what they had in in the waiting are valid, and personally I've always been a big over wing guy when the comparison is somewhat close (I would have taken Oden over Durant). All I'm arguing is that Bowie should be considered a bust.

Yeah, I would've taken Oden over Durant also. I don't really prefer one position over the other. I tend to lean more towards team need + how good the player is.

[wakencdukest]

This is not a new documentary but for anybody who hasn't seen it, its a great watch. I'm in my 30's so I've already known that Bowie was more than just "the guy picked ahead of MJ", but obviously many don't since he's still the target of "bust" jokes. He had knee injuries, unfortunately, some of it due to his thin frame but the guy was a very skilled player and still went on to have a decent NBA career. Reading ish and other forums and listening to idiots in the media, you'd think the guy never accomplished anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1uTIZ_pPKk

You sure it was Knees? I remember him breaking his leg four different times.

[RedBlackAttack]

You sure it was Knees? I remember him breaking his leg four different times.

When people talk about knee injuries, they're usually referring to ligaments which connect the joint. You are correct... Bowie's issues were always microfractures... His legs were essentially splinting like an old piece of wood and they'd snap without notice or even necessarily contact.

His leg snapped in half while in the layup line at one point. I think that's the one which finally ended his career.

[DCL]

i think injuries allow a player to get some kind of excuse card.

guys like oden, for example...

in college, healthy oden >> joakim noah

in the nba, joakim noah >>>>> broken oden

[Marchesk]

Hindsight is overpowering when it comes to Jordan, and they really didn't need another SG. But it does sound like Bowie was a huger risk due to his extensive college injuries, and Portland should have looked into it more carefully.

Charles Barkley was picked 5th. Maybe Portland should have tried trading down a couple spots if there was a team that wanted to take Jordan before Chicago got the chance?

I just read that Barkley was next on the list after Bowie. Jordan's name apparently wasn't brought up.

Barkley should have been there pick. Bowie was just way too risky for the that high of a pick.

[andgar923]

Sorry.

But nothing but "what ifs"

Truth is, we would've never known how good he could've been. There's been plenty of players throughout history with the 'potential' or the 'tools' to become great, but for some reason they simply never did.

[Dro]

You sure it was Knees? I remember him breaking his leg four different times.

Yes, you are correct, my bad. I have horrible knee injuries myself so when I hear of other people having lower body injuries, I automatically think knees