Remembering random bad draft picks: Fab Melo

[jayk009]

I know sometimes we tend to be armchair GM's and criticize draft picks even if we have no idea what we are talking about (ahem: EVERY celtics fan when we took Rozier) but sometimes Danny Ainge makes a pick soo bad that it reminds us that sometimes even Danny will make a terrible terrible pick,

I'm pretty sure every single person knew that this pick would not turn out well, and it seems like Ainge acknowledged how bad of a pick it was after giving up on him after 1 season. Yeah he was tall and he looked like he had some defensive potential..I remember that draft..I was so happy that we got Jared Sullinger late, and then was pumped because I thought the Celtics would take Perry Jones..then they announced the pick and I was like Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.!!

Just thought I would remind us of a bad memory of the Celtics, and how sometimes Danny is really really wrong on some things.

[Tr1boy]

I know sometimes we tend to be armchair GM's and criticize draft picks even if we have no idea what we are talking about (ahem: EVERY celtics fan when we took Rozier) but sometimes Danny Ainge makes a pick soo bad that it reminds us that sometimes even Danny will make a terrible terrible pick,

I'm pretty sure every single person knew that this pick would not turn out well, and it seems like Ainge acknowledged how bad of a pick it was after giving up on him after 1 season. Yeah he was tall and he looked like he had some defensive potential..I remember that draft..I was so happy that we got Jared Sullinger late, and then was pumped because I thought the Celtics would take Perry Jones..then they announced the pick and I was like ****!!

Just thought I would remind us of a bad memory of the Celtics, and how sometimes Danny is really really wrong on some things.

Well Perry Jones didnt end up becoming a good player or anything either

It was like the 22nd pick.. it was a risky move and didnt pay off for Ainge. Not a huge deal

The dummy move made by at least 20 was bypassing on Draymond Green , Crowder and Middleton

[OldSchoolDude]

People need to give Danny a break and stop acting like they knew Melo would bust. 
The pick was early 20s and we were in win now mode.   We were looking for a back up for KG and Fab looked Fabulus:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKyP3Por3xI
There were some questions about him as there were with every pick.  His questions pushed him out of the lottery and into the 20s.  The only other pick that would have been reasonable as we picked for need was Festus Ezeli, and his questions pushed him to pick #30.  Ezeli turned out as expectd a decent back up center.  Melo was a bust but he had the raw talent to be a lot better than Ezeli.  The big knock on Melo was his Basket ball IQ and really his IQ in general.   He didn't have what it takes between the ears, but physically he had everything you want.  We cut ties with him quickly because we learned pretty fast that there was no teaching him.  But even with that he had shown some D league promise:
14 blocks and a triple double
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0aPhku-v_0
32 points 9 boards and 9 blocks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy6OemhtCC4
I watched all his D league games that year and I was hopeful but when it came to NBA game time, and even summer league he was forever lost.

My point is the best Center in that draft was Kyle O'Quinn and he went 49th, and as good as he is he not a star.  Ezeli is no star either and never projected to be.   Melo had the most potential and was the right pick over those two.  Green was redundant at PF since we drafted Sully who was supposed to be a star, and really if he could control his conditioning he could still be one.  Like Melo he has all the tools to be really good. 

[ederson]

i am a bit confused here ......

Fab Melo : DA shouldn"t draft a guy just because he has great physical tools
Giannis : DA should have drafted him because of his unique body

[CoachBo]

I know sometimes we tend to be armchair GM's and criticize draft picks even if we have no idea what we are talking about (ahem: EVERY celtics fan when we took Rozier) but sometimes Danny Ainge makes a pick soo bad that it reminds us that sometimes even Danny will make a terrible terrible pick,

I'm pretty sure every single person knew that this pick would not turn out well, and it seems like Ainge acknowledged how bad of a pick it was after giving up on him after 1 season. Yeah he was tall and he looked like he had some defensive potential..I remember that draft..I was so happy that we got Jared Sullinger late, and then was pumped because I thought the Celtics would take Perry Jones..then they announced the pick and I was like ****!!

Just thought I would remind us of a bad memory of the Celtics, and how sometimes Danny is really really wrong on some things.

Yeah. Congratulations to Rozier for making the all-star team.

Uh, wait ...

[Somebody]

I know sometimes we tend to be armchair GM's and criticize draft picks even if we have no idea what we are talking about (ahem: EVERY celtics fan when we took Rozier) but sometimes Danny Ainge makes a pick soo bad that it reminds us that sometimes even Danny will make a terrible terrible pick,

I'm pretty sure every single person knew that this pick would not turn out well, and it seems like Ainge acknowledged how bad of a pick it was after giving up on him after 1 season. Yeah he was tall and he looked like he had some defensive potential..I remember that draft..I was so happy that we got Jared Sullinger late, and then was pumped because I thought the Celtics would take Perry Jones..then they announced the pick and I was like ****!!

Just thought I would remind us of a bad memory of the Celtics, and how sometimes Danny is really really wrong on some things.

Yeah. Congratulations to Rozier for making the all-star team.

Uh, wait ...

Wait. Is anyone picked after rozier an all star?

[saltlover]

I know sometimes we tend to be armchair GM's and criticize draft picks even if we have no idea what we are talking about (ahem: EVERY celtics fan when we took Rozier) but sometimes Danny Ainge makes a pick soo bad that it reminds us that sometimes even Danny will make a terrible terrible pick,

I'm pretty sure every single person knew that this pick would not turn out well, and it seems like Ainge acknowledged how bad of a pick it was after giving up on him after 1 season. Yeah he was tall and he looked like he had some defensive potential..I remember that draft..I was so happy that we got Jared Sullinger late, and then was pumped because I thought the Celtics would take Perry Jones..then they announced the pick and I was like ****!!

Just thought I would remind us of a bad memory of the Celtics, and how sometimes Danny is really really wrong on some things.

Yeah. Congratulations to Rozier for making the all-star team.

Uh, wait ...

Wait. Is anyone picked after rozier an all star?

Heck, has anyone picked after Rozier started even half of his team's games this year?

[droopdog7]

Fab isn't random.  He's pretty [dang] memorable for this generation.

[hwangjini_1]

I know sometimes we tend to be armchair GM's and criticize draft picks even if we have no idea what we are talking about (ahem: EVERY celtics fan when we took Rozier) but sometimes Danny Ainge makes a pick soo bad that it reminds us that sometimes even Danny will make a terrible terrible pick,

I'm pretty sure every single person knew that this pick would not turn out well, and it seems like Ainge acknowledged how bad of a pick it was after giving up on him after 1 season. Yeah he was tall and he looked like he had some defensive potential..I remember that draft..I was so happy that we got Jared Sullinger late, and then was pumped because I thought the Celtics would take Perry Jones..then they announced the pick and I was like ****!!

Just thought I would remind us of a bad memory of the Celtics, and how sometimes Danny is really really wrong on some things.

Well Perry Jones didnt end up becoming a good player or anything either

It was like the 22nd pick.. it was a risky move and didnt pay off for Ainge. Not a huge deal

The dummy move made by at least 20 was bypassing on Draymond Green , Crowder and Middleton

for me, that is a key point. danny swung for the fences on a 7 foot athletic center who could play defense...at the 22nd spot. isnt this exactly what many fans want him to do?

i did not like the pick, but given the alternatives, i understand danny rolling the dice on melo. imagine if he really had wanted to play basketball and was focused on improving his game.

at that place in the draft, i dont mind ainge swinging for the fences.

[hwangjini_1]

I know sometimes we tend to be armchair GM's and criticize draft picks even if we have no idea what we are talking about (ahem: EVERY celtics fan when we took Rozier) but sometimes Danny Ainge makes a pick soo bad that it reminds us that sometimes even Danny will make a terrible terrible pick,

I'm pretty sure every single person knew that this pick would not turn out well, and it seems like Ainge acknowledged how bad of a pick it was after giving up on him after 1 season. Yeah he was tall and he looked like he had some defensive potential..I remember that draft..I was so happy that we got Jared Sullinger late, and then was pumped because I thought the Celtics would take Perry Jones..then they announced the pick and I was like ****!!

Just thought I would remind us of a bad memory of the Celtics, and how sometimes Danny is really really wrong on some things.

Yeah. Congratulations to Rozier for making the all-star team.

Uh, wait ...

Wait. Is anyone picked after rozier an all star?

dont bother coach with facts. they cramp his style.

[bdm860]

Fab Melo was a late teen to mid 20 pick on just about every mock.  I really don't think every single person knew it wouldn't turn out well.  Plus several post draft analysis seemed to think the Melo pick was fair and he had upside (like here and here).  Not to say everyone loved the pick (see here), but this is definitely not some head scratcher move where Danny drafted some guy 10,15,20 spots ahead of where he should have been drafted.

As always, people were split here.  Some people wanted their binkie (Perry Jones III), some people liked Melo's potential (hoping he'd develop similar to DeAndre Jordan).  I think Nickagenta said something along the lines of: "my son goes to Syracuse, said this guy is a complete idiot, I have no hope he'll ever develop." , but if any poster has proof that they really wanted Jae Crowder, Draymond Green, or Khris Middleton instead, I will be very surprised.  Only 2 guys picked after Melo in the first round are still playing in the NBA, one is avg 2.6ppg the other is averaging 1.8.  Ezeli was the only decent player, and who knows when/if he'll ever play again.

All this to say, Melo was not univerally panned (at the time), and there wasn't anything really better after him until 12 picks later.

[fairweatherfan]

Melo had an NBA body and decent enough mobility to be a limited backup big in the league. Problem was he was a knucklehead with zero work ethic. Kind of a far less talented Javale McGee without the semi-endearing goofy streak.

[saltlover]

Fab Melo was a late teen to mid 20 pick on just about every mock.  I really don't think every single person knew it wouldn't turn out well.  Plus several post draft analysis seemed to think the Melo pick was fair and he had upside (like here and here).  Not to say everyone loved the pick (see here), but this is definitely not some head scratcher move where Danny drafted some guy 10,15,20 spots ahead of where he should have been drafted.

As always, people were split here.  Some people wanted their binkie (Perry Jones III), some people liked Melo's potential (hoping he'd develop similar to DeAndre Jordan).  I think Nickagenta said something along the lines of: "my son goes to Syracuse, said this guy is a complete idiot, I have no hope he'll ever develop." , but if any poster has proof that they really wanted Jae Crowder, Draymond Green, or Khris Middleton instead, I will be very surprised.  Only 2 guys picked after Melo in the first round are still playing in the NBA, one is avg 2.6ppg the other is averaging 1.8.  Ezeli was the only decent player, and who knows when/if he'll ever play again.

All this to say, Melo was not univerally panned (at the time), and there wasn't anything really better after him until 12 picks later.

I wanted Draymond.  I'm trying to get away from the habit of pulling up old posts to say "See, I told you so", so I won't link it here.  But anyone who doubts should feel free to search for my post on May 23, 2012.  (There were a couple others who posted in that thread in agreement.)  That said, if I've moved on from Fab, and I did long ago, everyone else should be able to too.

But I'm not perfect either, because I know I wanted Jujuan Johnson with our pick in 2011.

[BitterJim]

Fab Melo was a late teen to mid 20 pick on just about every mock.  I really don't think every single person knew it wouldn't turn out well.  Plus several post draft analysis seemed to think the Melo pick was fair and he had upside (like here and here).  Not to say everyone loved the pick (see here), but this is definitely not some head scratcher move where Danny drafted some guy 10,15,20 spots ahead of where he should have been drafted.

As always, people were split here.  Some people wanted their binkie (Perry Jones III), some people liked Melo's potential (hoping he'd develop similar to DeAndre Jordan).  I think Nickagenta said something along the lines of: "my son goes to Syracuse, said this guy is a complete idiot, I have no hope he'll ever develop." , but if any poster has proof that they really wanted Jae Crowder, Draymond Green, or Khris Middleton instead, I will be very surprised.  Only 2 guys picked after Melo in the first round are still playing in the NBA, one is avg 2.6ppg the other is averaging 1.8.  Ezeli was the only decent player, and who knows when/if he'll ever play again.

All this to say, Melo was not univerally panned (at the time), and there wasn't anything really better after him until 12 picks later.

I wanted Draymond.  I'm trying to get away from the habit of pulling up old posts to say "See, I told you so", so I won't link it here.  But anyone who doubts should feel free to search for my post on May 23, 2012.  (There were a couple others who posted in that thread in agreement.)  That said, if I've moved on from Fab, and I did long ago, everyone else should be able to too.

But I'm not perfect either, because I know I wanted Jujuan Johnson with our pick in 2011.

Good call on Draymond. I liked Royce White and Sully in that draft, so at least I was 1 for 2 (and luckily Royce got taken at 16 so we didn't even have the option for him)

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like Syracuse is no longer a particularly good school for producing NBA players. In former times, sure, with guys like Derrick Coleman, Sherm Douglas, and Carmelo, but in more recent years it's been mostly guys like Fab Melo, Kris Joseph, and Jonny Flynn, with the occasional decent player such as Dion Waiters or MCW. Is it the system Syracuse runs?