The good news about this thread is that the answer isn’t Tatum, Brown, or Smart. Those were the picks that he had to nail, and he acquitted himself well. Imagine keeping #1 and picking Fultz, or picking Josh Jackson? Bender instead of Jaylen? Stauskas or Vonleh ahead of Smart? Those were all real options.
James Young stunk, but if you look at the next 5 picks, they were Tyler Ennis (out of the league), Gary Harris (his play has cratered the last three years), Bruno Caboclo (somehow still given NBA deals, but he’s still two years away), Mitch McGary (out of the league and awaiting suspension should he ever decide to return), and Jordan Adams (out of the league). Same with Fab Melo — terrible result, but only one of the next 8 guys picked after him (Miles, not Mason, Plumlee) made it all the way through his rookie deal. It’s awesome to find the guy 12 spots before another team, and I admit to loving Draymond Green at draft time myself, but it’s not a big failure to miss a guy a dozen other teams also passed on. It’s just not a success.