The Deep 3 Podcast - Tier Listing The Biggest NBA Draft Busts | TD3 Clips

Episode Date: February 18, 2026

The biggest NBA draft misses of the last 20 years! #nba Check out the TD3 merch: https://the-deep-3-shop.fourthwall.com/ Listen on Spotify!: https://open.spotify.com/show/3elbbqVumwqz8wlIdknsLW Listen on Apple Podcasts!: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-deep-3-podcast/id1657940794 Follow us on TikTok!: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedeepthree Follow us on Instagram!: https://www.instagram.com/thedeep3podcast/ Isaac's twitter: https://twitter.com/byisaacg Mo's twitter: https://twitter.com/Mojo99_ Donnavan's twitter: https://twitter.com/Dsmoot3D Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are going to talk about the worst draft misses of the last 15 years or so. I'm going to show you a series of NBA draft bus. We had to put them into this tier list. Based on why they failed, let's go Jabari Parker. Why did Jabari Parker fail in the NBA? He refused to change that could be a part of the conversation. He fits in multiple. He really does.

Yeah, in another area, you'd be him. Also, injuries did ruin you too. I don't know. I think this era he could be him. Like a 6-9, do-it-all driver-shooter. He's not due-it-all because he wasn't a shooter for real. Yeah, that's the problem. He refused to change.

But his archetype still works today, so I don't think I'm going to give him in another error pass. Yeah. It's really, injuries ruined you if you want to be kind or you refuse to change if you feel like it was more than just the injuries. I think he would have been still a productive NBA player if he would at least like give effort defensively or expanded his game to three point line consistently too. So I think he refuses to change is perfectly fine.

Are you saying he'd be Paulo? Best case scenario. Yeah, good. Best case scenario, Paulo? without BR is right now? Well, best case scenario, I guess is Camalo Anthony. But in a realistic case scenario, when he stayed healthy, he could have been Palo. It's also Palo's best case.

All right, no mind. It's not about Palo. You refuse to change. I think he got hurt, came back, still didn't really adapt like that. If he either stayed healthy or changed a little bit, he could have had a role player here. You had to do one of those two. So be up on your press conference when you get signed to Chicago and then be like, yeah, like they don't pay me to play defense is one of the most damning things to hear as a fan.

Jalil Okafore. In another era, you're him. In the 1990s, you are a demon. You are an all-star. You have no idea how confused I was as a 16, 17-year-old watching him go crazy one year and then just be unplayable to the next. I thought he had like some type of insane disease. Like, how can you be this good and then follow up so fast?

You should change real quick in the NBA for him. Rookie year, you're right. Like, he was so flawed. And I think if we were like, if we were educated fans back then and not 16, we'd probably be like, oh, the defense isn't that good. It's not that efficient. I don't know. But to go from seven, was it 18 points per game? Or 16 something like that? Yeah, around there.

And then nothing the next year? Like, the league changed overnight. And you got left behind. That's tough. That damn, Steph Curry ruined his career. Tough. It would have been checked, though. Steph Curry, you owe to Lowe, Okaford, $100 million. Crazy work.

Thon Maker. Everything went wrong, wrong toys from day one. I don't know. Everything Yeah, Just one of those scratching bust There's no way

What are you laughing? Nothing Say it You gotta know what he was gonna say During our month You were to say that He was saying Oh damn he's so black

Give me off the screen man Give me off the screen Yeah you're next You had a flea association Yeah. I didn't say that. I didn't say that. What were you thinking?

I didn't say that. You're the one that said that. He didn't give me no pushback at all. He just said, I do not say that. Yeah, we know. He didn't say his other thought. He didn't say what he really wanted to say. Oh, man.

Lonzo Ball. Damn. I'm going to say, And injuries and ZO2's ruined you. Yeah, injuries ruined him because, you know, he was never going to be. Steph Curry with a 40-inch vertical. The stars weren't aligned for that. But he was on course to be an amazing role player for a long time and injuries ruined him.

So he was going to be a little disappointing for a number two pick. But he was going to be a damn good player for a long time. Bro, Madgeant Johnson said your jersey's going right up there next to mind. Or you see, you had some moments because 2021 happened. That 30 games was a moment. He was the youngest triple double ever. A moment. That 30 games was a moment

Youngest triple double ever He threw some Him and LeBron were the only teammates Ever triple doubles in back to back games It was a couple moments right there That's an ESPN stat Yeah No

Injuries ruined you He couldn't stand up for three years Like no I'm gonna say injuries ruin Taking Stephen A Smith's side on this issue You were worse than anybody You couldn't stand up Steven neighbor

I've never seen someone's jump shop Be talked about as much as Lanzo man. Peak Alonzo Jump shot in this course. Yeah. Dude, he had so much cloud back then.

It was ridiculous. I remember, you remember, like, the, was his first game ever against, like, the Clippers and that was when Patrick Bebri,

like, shoved them or whatever. Locked him up. Yeah. There were YouTube careers built off Alonzo. Yeah. There's not a lot of NBA players

you can say that. That's fair. I feel like my life is on the line every time Lonzo played a game in his rookie year. Yeah. I was like,

if this guy's not good, I'm over. I think there was one game in his rookie year where he put like 27 or so. It's game two. Or the sons.

It was game two. Game one, he got locked at Pat Bev. I went to school. I think that was freshman year in college. Sad. I felt like my life was over and we dropped to the bus.

I can't believe this. Next day I get home, see the game. 27 against the sons. He had like six threes. Yeah. Ridiceless man. That summer league run

with him and in Koooo. And Josh Hart. I think was Caruso there? I think Ingram was too good. No, Ingram was too good. He didn't play. He didn't play.

It was the last one game. It was the Lakers in some, Yeah, man. The lights can't pickings. Jonathan Camingo. Wrong choice, day one. Ah. Or either that or everything went wrong.

It could be you refuse to change too. It's a refuse to change. I think he's the poser boy if you refuse to change. Steve Kerr just like, please cut and play some defense, grab a rebound or two and hear golden, $20 million is heading your way. He said, fuck that, I'm a bucket. Even then, the reason why I would still go, everything went wrong is because you can have that. but to have the organization being like,

bro, you're taking too much food. Now it's personal. Now it's beyond basketball. The way you talk to me is different. All he had to do was change. And they were to take all the food you want. They've never told Jimmy Butler you take too much food. I promise you, Jimmy Butler, it takes tons of food.

Probably. I swear to you, he does. I know Jimmy Butler. Marvin Bagley. Wrong choice. Day one for sure, man. They picked them over Luca. Yeah.

I remember, I don't know, I forget who it was, but someone in their front office had relations to Lucas' dad or Lucas head coach back overseas or whatever. And they were so stale on just like, yeah, no, fuck that guy. We're taking him. We're taking this athletic floor. It was their head coach was Dave Yeager. Yeah. Who worked with Luca, his entire life grown up as a basketball player. He was so mad.

And he didn't take him. Everyone swore they would take him. Well, first they swore the sons would take him because I think it was their GM or maybe it was their head coach. It was the sons I'm thinking about. You're right. The sons also had ties to him. Yeah. That the sons had, I can't remember if it was their head coach.

I think it was their headquarters. Yes. So they swore he would take him. And then Dave Yeager also had some ties to Luca. No, no, no, no. Dave Yager had nothing to do, Luca. Dave Yager's American. I think you're talking about the head coach of the son.

The coach of the sons and the GM of the kings had connections to him. So they were like. But I remember Dave being upset that they. Well, yeah, because Dave's a smart person. Yeah. He was like this is moronic. But it wasn't because they're pals. You're right.

It was the son's coach was hired and he was the coach of Luca. And then Vladay Divok is somebody who had connection with Luca. so they're like, surely he's going to pick the European. He did not. They laid dinner, Fox sitting in their way bad. Damn. Crazy. So yeah, Sharper Marvin Bagley.

Still in the league, still being an effective role player. Still earning a job. So he's not a all-out bust. You just got picked over Luca. Yeah. So you got to, you're the best player on his list, probably. Has nobody ever had some moments? There's probably some moments coming up, I would assume.

Let's see. Mark Kel Fultz. Everything went wrong. Yeah. Damn. This is a worse. Yeah. Yeah.

From the injuries to the shot form. To the mental side of it. Yeah, everything went wrong. Can you believe he's out of the league now? Yes. He had a resurgence to an Orlando that I was happy about. He said, yeah. Pretty plausible.

That's still stands to reason. It's so crazy. So everything did go wrong for him. Should we be kind and give him injuries ruined you? Because that's the origin of it all is like a apparent freak injury from a motorcycle crash allegedly ruined you. You would have been an NBA superstar. But that one injury ruined your career from the jump and everything else is a cascading effect.

I don't know. I don't even know if I can say injury. Ruined you because like at least someone like Lonzo we could point to some tape with Markell there's zero tape in the NBA Because it's so unfortunate like he can't shoot because that injury and that made everything fall apart He got honestly he could go on either one everything was wrong or injuries for him He was an elite shooting prospect brother they got hurt off the court and couldn't shoot that's fucking outrageous Nothing else like him after matters that's insane yeah they were comparing him to James hardon and dam and damela Bro, we're having these guard prospect

conversations now with Darren Peterson. Y'all got to watch the Markell highlights, man. Special guy. Special guy. I'm going, I would go, everything went wrong. Everything went wrong, though. I put the spirit of that is you suck at everything. Markele did suck at everything.

No, he could slash. Yeah, you said that magic research. Yeah, I'd say injuries ruined you. He didn't. All right, if you're laying that magic resurgence, bump him up. That was like, you got like a $10 million contract. That wasn't another.

Nothing, resurgence. That was a few years of being a starting point guard. I mean, they didn't have a point guard for a long time. Listen, man, thought maker is everything went wrong. That's the type of players we're dealing with. That's the lowest tier for a reason. I can see that. Okay.

Let's not do more Kel that way. Moamba. Again, he might be everything went wrong. He was really the wrong choice day one. Dude, people back then were saying, yo, this is Rudy Gaubert with a three-point shot. They were like, yo, this is AD. If you give him even more length. nasty conversations.

Andy with more length is crazy. Yeah. AD can't handle that much more length. He's the longest we spend the league you got drafted. You can't give him too much more length. This was disgusting. He was the wrong pick from day one, right? Some light KD comparisons to.

Was he the wrong thing in day one? I mean, everything you described, that's a pretty good prospect for the fifth pick. It never made no sense. It never made no sense. Yeah, it did. He just wasn't very good. But like, it made sense to pick him.

Like the defense and stuff? Yeah, it did. But when it comes to like how they skewed up his offensive talent, it was such a drag because I don't think he ever showed an ounce of creation. No, but he should have been like new age version of Dwight Howard. Yeah, if you can be an elite prospect that has that size and shot blocking ability and some three point shot capabilities, you were worth your pick.

I don't think he was the wrong choice, especially because he went after all the best guys. He went five. The problem is he just wasn't very good. Exactly at all. So I was on like everything went wrong. He never had a good outstanding year for them. But as a prospect, he was okay. But so the tier that-

All these guys are good as prospects, that's irrelevant. Because you were your prospect. Yes, that's what I'm saying. He wasn't wrong choice day one. He was the right choice. But everything went wrong Because none of the abilities That were on paper

Supposed to come to fruition came to fruition Yeah, like a couple of picks later Right before that There's a similar guy to you Except he's a little smaller Who did the exact same thing as you But he actually had proof and concept In three-point shooting

Which is Darren Jackson Jr. back then He went four and above him Did Moamba go three? No, he had five Had some moments for the song No, let me chill Loki Loki

Okay, how are we going to affect this into this Low key. He had a moment. Fuck it. He had a moment. He had a summer. He might be the folly one who had a moment. I don't think we can say in another area or him.

Because he's just big. I don't think he's like the post-mov that like that. So I guess everything went wrong. I can't even see her refuse to change. You tried. It just didn't work. Damn. He's still in the league now.

I think he's part of the Raptors. He just got picked up. Yeah. He just got picked up. Yeah. And his freedom. Often forgot. Number three pick in the draft.

And his canter. everything went wrong. You just suck. His name was not free. Everything went wrong. She's horrible. I don't have to do with this. And I can't like in another era, you're not him.

He would have been decent in another era. He would have been decent. Maybe he would have defended better in the 90s, doesn't the move as much? Yeah. I'm not going to give him your him though. In another era, you could have been like in the NBA. Wasn't he like in six man conversations one year? No.

Okay. Fake conversation. Maybe he was like the one of us. Maybe somebody had the conversation. Someone brought it up. Yeah. Hey, how about Somebody made a comment or two

Look, whatever path he went down Is the wrong path Everything went wrong for him I think being at Kent It was better Josh Jackson Josh Jackson Nobody's had some moments

On this list What the fuck? Yo, he was bust Josh Jackson The ceiling that he was supposed to be at Kawai Convose man I want to Josh Jackson Overtatim that draft

That's bad And you weren't ridiculous He went wrong He was mad athletic. Defensive tools are there. The shot was just always broke. Is it just everything went wrong? He just weren't good.

Everything went wrong. He just weren't good. He got into some legal battles too, bro, which like, definitely kicked him out of life. Wait, what happened? Everything wrong. What kind of legal battles be talking? Totally.

Yeah. Do you nasty man? No, not nasty man. Just don't want to, you don't want him around the room. I mean, it happened. We can't just say it. I think you put hands on somebody. Oh, so he's not as I remember correctly.

I mean, so I guess we're nasty men through from Monica. Yeah. Yeah. 2017 got three selections on you. That's kind of crazy. It is crazy. I thought you were about to say 2017 is three nasty men.

And who is this? Oh. Anthony Bennett. I had to leave it. Who is this? I had to lead him to recognize him, my bad. Anthony Bennett. Let's just keep him off this right now.

Wrong choice day one. Wrong choice is day one definition. I'll never forget. forget the Bill Simmons moment of the 2013 draft. Whoa! Iconic. That was the most baffled I've ever been in a sports event.

Man. Really? Ever. Ever. Those were the first drafts I really followed as a kid. And I was Victor LaDipo, let's go. Avi's number one pick. I didn't even really know who Anthony Bennett was.

He was projected like nine. He was just a guy. He went number one. We need that more often. That happened. That's like Colin Murray Boyle's going one. draft. No, really.

We need that. That's Patrick Williams is going number four, but for no reason. Sometimes they come out of nowhere at four. They come back to nowhere at one. Yeah. So I guess the best comp would be the 2024 draft

because that draft class was bad. That would be that Cody Williams randomly going number one. And we were like, surely it's going to be Saar and it's Cody Williams. Damn. That's lit.

I would like more intrigue around the draft like that. Deer and Fox has replaced Janus at the All-Star game. Shout out Fox, man. Shout out Fox. Okay. Let me make some call. Wait, is it modern day Anthony Bennett

just Zachary and Risha Shea? Yeah, but people knew he'd go once. It wasn't surprised. Oh. Yeah, he was like talked about for a while. Yeah. But loki, you're not far off. When he was brought off,

though, I was like, no, Anthony Bennett, he did nothing in the league. It's not comparable. What's his career? Let me see where his career high is. Who? Anthony Bennett.

Career high in a single game? 14, 16. I don't know. I'm gonna say, ever take a guess. I'm say 21. So, Rookieeer probably played some minutes, but not even. Like,

He didn't play full starter minutes. 12. 18. Not 12. 18. 18 is the guess. 18 for you. What's your guess?

21. 21. Beasols? 12. 12. 18 is, I think I'm being nice. Yeah.

Is it out pulling up? I remember he had like maybe, I remember specifically like two or three games back in his rookie year. It is 20 points. Damn. I was close. I caught one of them games when I was 13. No. November 21st, 2014.

Against the Spurs. In 2014? Yeah. Damn. Yeah. Against the 2014 spurs, okay? Oh, shit, you're right. Yeah, yeah, you're right.

Well, that's probably one of the games are arresting everybody and making headlines for reversing stars. In November? Shit. Yo, Popper's a demon back in. He put a cook on that. Hey, man, he had a moment. He had a moment. Kevin Knox.

He had a moment. He had a Summer League moment. Summer league was a day one for that fucking suit he had, dog. The suit, the Fortnite jacket, moments. Yeah. Summer League? Moments. Dude, during Summer League, I literally thought this motherfucker was Janus and a Tatum hybrid.

He was that fucking different, bro. That different. You love Summer League. Are we going to give him some moments? No, man. No, yeah. Yeah, that too. And then also remember when Zion first came to the summer league and he ripped the ball off of him too, he had a bad moment.

But it was an iconic moment. It was a moment. Moments were half. Stop it. We got to put Kevin Knox there. James Wiseman. Bro, he sucked. James Wiseman.

Everything went wrong. You think in another error you're him? No. No. Wrong choices. Didn't they pick him over Lamello? Yeah. Yeah, but also like, we say that,

Lamello and Steph Curry, like, how does that work? Yeah, yeah. It was a, drafting off need. It was a debatable choice. I think a lot of people, a lot of smart draft people knew James Wiseman had some flaws

nobody was talking about, but it wasn't a horrible. You could understand the pick. Yeah. Just because Lamello was so, like, how the fuck would you play with Curry? Yeah, it was, I get it. I get it.

Like the halibur and stuff. They were never going to pick another point guard, especially not one that's not knock out of the park like Lamello. So I get it. You can't blame him. Although, like, they were like going back to what you said, smart people were like, yeah, this guy doesn't have much tape at all when it comes to college because he was like suspended and some more shit like that and he had to reinstate it. It was a whole mess. But low motor, everything went wrong. Then you tore your Achilles.

Everything went wrong. Killian Hayes. Actually, I don't know if every, I think for me personally, at least we put him wrong choices day one because there was no word where he was going to be useful or good. for useful as great everything went wrong you're stretching it out there's definitely a world where he could have been

average it might have been a reach but there's definitely a world he could have been a competent and big

next to Gary I don't know but company big in number two yes that's what they needed for the second pick

again do you want them to pick Lamello I'm sorry is everything is obitopin rides it up here

your draft board yeah watch me uh killian hayes She Has he ever had a moment? Remember when

Pre-draft? Who was her old coach Before J.B. Bickerstaff? Oh, was Monty Williams used to start him and Kate Cunning him? He played him way too much. The moment was Monty Williams was obsessed with him.

That's crazy work. Start him over Jaden Ivy at the moment was debatable or not debatable. It was slandered because Jaden Ivy had all the promise in the world. Taking the ball out of Cade's hands

is nasty work, bro. I can't even say he refused to change because what do you want him to do? Do he just drop like 50 in the G League? Yeah, he's a goon in the G league. Wrong choice. You never had no moment.

Yeah, injuries. Yeah, bro, wrong choice, day one. I guess. It just shouldn't have been the pick. I liked him so much as a prospect. I thought he was, like, going to be Jew holiday, French Jew holiday. That's a wild cop. Yeah, I mean, if you think of killing Hayes as a prospect, like, what comes to mind?

Big guy. You play defense. He's not the best score in the world. What a sad tier list. I have no words. Could have been Drew Holiday. Yeah.