2014 NBA Draft: Biggest draft mistakes of the lottery era

1985 — Michael Jordan and Karl Malone together?

It’s strange to think that two guys who battled in the NBA Finals and both carved out their places in history because of their postseason success could have played together. In our first draft bust of the lottery era, we’ve got the Chicago Bulls drafting No. 11 overall. Out of the University of Memphis, the Chicago Bulls select….Keith Lee. You know, the guy who played a total of 2,907 minutes in the NBA.

Then, the Washington Bullets made things worse by drafting Kenny Green at the No. 12 spot. Karl Malone went No. 13 to the Utah Jazz and the rest, as they say, was history. Having Malone and Jordan together on the same Chicago team certainly would have changed NBA history — and not necessarily for the better. The worst part about this is the fact that the Lee, the Bulls actual pick, was a power forward.

If they had drafted Malone and were solid at the power forward position, would they have gone after Horace Grant in the 1987 draft? How about Will Perdue in 1988 and Stacey King in 1989? The fact is, they might have been stronger inside and they may have gone a different way. Can’t go back and change it now — and the Jazz are happy about that.