Fansided

NBA Draft: Every team’s least popular pick ever

By Cody Williams

CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 30: Anthony Bennett
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 30: Anthony Bennett /
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NEW YORK - JUNE 25: NBA Commissioner David Stern poses for a photograph with the eigth overall draft pick by the New York Knicks, Jordan Hill during the 2009 NBA Draft at the Wamu Theatre at Madison Square Garden June 25, 2009 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK – JUNE 25: NBA Commissioner David Stern poses for a photograph with the eigth overall draft pick by the New York Knicks, Jordan Hill during the 2009 NBA Draft at the Wamu Theatre at Madison Square Garden June 25, 2009 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

New York Knicks – Jordan Hill (2009)

This might be a bit of a surprise to some people, especially considering the flashes that Jordan Hill has shown over his career. However, one of the things I undoubtedly value when it comes to lottery picks is what the players selected mean to a team long term. So when you consider the fact that Jordan Hill only spent 24 games with the New York Knicks before being a pawn in a trade that fruitlessly brought Tracy McGrady to the Knicks, that’s not a really favorable light to put the big man in.

New York selected Hill with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft out of Arizona and the big man had a lot of promise. Even if you didn’t think he was a star in the making, he had all the signs of being a good egg to have on a good team. Instead, the Knicks felt him expendable enough to trade him for T-Mac on the downside of his career.

Perhaps this is more of a condemnation of the Knicks front office, but that their No. 8 pick was merely just part of a package to land a past-his-prime star is damning. And that’s more than enough for me to call it an unpopular pick.

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