I agree with Marinman in principle. Drafts overrate players based on abstract earning potential. But thumbsdown does present a good point. Here's the All Star team for Top 5 draft picks since 2000:
G: Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade
F: LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony
C: Yao Ming, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol
and here's the All Star team for picks 6-10 since 2000:
G: Kirk Hinrich, Joe Johnson, T.J. Ford
F: Shane Battier, Charlie Villanueva, Caron Butler
C: Amare Stoudamire, Andrew Bynum
Almost all of these players are either on a foreign Olympic Team or play for ours, or at least worked out with the group. But here's a team of Top 5 picks since 2000 as well (with their career points per game average in parentheses):
G: Jay Williams (9.5), Mike Dunleavy (10.5)
F: Marcus Fizer (9.6), Nikoloz Tskitishvili (2.9)
C: Darko Milicic (3.4)
And the same for the worst of picks 6-10:
G: DerMarr Johnson (6.5), Luke Jackson (2.7)
F: Rodney White (7.1 and out of the league), Mike Sweetney (7.3)
C: Rafael Arujo (2.8)
Both of these teams would get killed against a team of Raja Bell, Marquis Daniels, Bruce Bowen, Andres Nocioni and Ben Wallace. But the undrafted all-stars couldn't hold a candle to the Top 5 or 5-10 All Stars. 'Nuff Said.
G: Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade
F: LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony
C: Yao Ming, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol
and here's the All Star team for picks 6-10 since 2000:
G: Kirk Hinrich, Joe Johnson, T.J. Ford
F: Shane Battier, Charlie Villanueva, Caron Butler
C: Amare Stoudamire, Andrew Bynum
Almost all of these players are either on a foreign Olympic Team or play for ours, or at least worked out with the group. But here's a team of Top 5 picks since 2000 as well (with their career points per game average in parentheses):
G: Jay Williams (9.5), Mike Dunleavy (10.5)
F: Marcus Fizer (9.6), Nikoloz Tskitishvili (2.9)
C: Darko Milicic (3.4)
And the same for the worst of picks 6-10:
G: DerMarr Johnson (6.5), Luke Jackson (2.7)
F: Rodney White (7.1 and out of the league), Mike Sweetney (7.3)
C: Rafael Arujo (2.8)
Both of these teams would get killed against a team of Raja Bell, Marquis Daniels, Bruce Bowen, Andres Nocioni and Ben Wallace. But the undrafted all-stars couldn't hold a candle to the Top 5 or 5-10 All Stars. 'Nuff Said.
