The worst NBA Draft picks for every team

PORTLAND, OR - 1985: Sam Bowie #31 of the Portland Trailblazers warms up prior to a game played circa 1985 at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1985 NBAE (Photo by Brian Drake/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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21. Los Angeles Lakers: Kenny Carr

It’s fitting that we have the league’s dominant franchises back to back here, and that they’re the last entries before we get into the top 20.

This one isn’t that bad, because the Lakers wound up winning the title three years after this pick was made. Still, it’s fair to wonder whether their run in the 1980’s could have been even more dominant had they gone a different direction on draft night in 1977.

That was when the first of their picks obtained as compensation for the Utah Jazz signing Gail Goodrich in 1976 conveyed. It ended up being the sixth pick, and coming off a conference finals appearance, the Lakers went with NC State forward Kenny Carr, who had two and a half less-than-memorable years in LA before being dealt to Cleveland.

The next pick was a born scorer from the University of Tennessee by the name of Bernard King.

The best part about this “What If” is that there’s little chance King would have had any negative impact on the Lakers’ future. The pick they used to draft Magic Johnson in 1979 was the other future first sent from Utah as compensation for Goodrich. By selecting King, the Lakers would have only been adding to their riches.

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