Is This The Worst Rookie Class Ever?

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We tried to keep track of this year's NBA rookies, looking for any signs of credible life. Brandon Roy should be a nice player, once fully healthy. The Raptors' Andrea Bargnani has had some flashes of brilliance, and that shaggy guy in Charlotte has a few fans. But all in all, this is a miserable, miserable crop.

Kevin Brewer of The Washington Times is in an especially bleak mood, calling this "the worst rooke class of all time":

The commissioner's new rule kept high school players out of the draft last year for the first time in Kevin Garnett's lifetime, temporarily keeping talents like Greg Oden, Kevin Durant and Brandan Wright out of the league...

The winner may want to accept the award with a bag over his head. This season's winner also may receive another dubious honor -- worst rookie of the year ever.

Brewer goes on to snicker at the heavily-hyped Morrison and Reddick, calling the Raps' Jorge Garbajosa and the Hawks' Shelden Williams "Roy's modest competition for the award" and then note that:

Jazz forward Paul Milsap, Timberwolves forward Craig Smith and Kyle Lowry and Alexander Johnson of the Grizzlies have been the most productive rookies on a per-minute basis, but all of them play less than 20 minutes a game.

It's Brewer's alternative, though, that's really interesting. Rather then crown another Mike Miller, he suggests that the league just "leave it vacant." Honestly, I just can't see this being worse than the Class of 2000. Even if only Roy and Bargnani end up having any lasting impact, that still bests the likes of the oft-injured K-Mart, Desmond Mason, and Quention Richardson.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

1-09-2007 @ 9:42PM

The Big Picture said...

Sam's comment is far more educated than mine, but I can't tell you, having the privilege of watching B-Roy for 4 years at UW, he'll be a real solid player. that Adam Morrison ain't bad either. bad haircut though.

1-09-2007 @ 10:23PM

shoals said...

wait, what happened to the rookie wall?

a lot of the rookies whose scoring average increaed post all-star break were also getting increased PT, too. felton, williams, mccants and gomes, for example, only really emerged as starters later in the year, when they finally beat out the vets ahead of them. i don't dispute that some of them were also playing better, which kind of makes it a chicken/egg situation, but they just weren't getting the same consistent opportunity pre-feb.

1-10-2007 @ 1:33PM

Mike said...

Hassan Adams is going to be the best player of this year's rookie class

1-10-2007 @ 1:52PM

DRake said...

THIS IS NOT RIGHT.......
the rookie class this year has played great..../adam morrison....jordan farmar.....rudy gay

1-10-2007 @ 3:49PM

LA ALEX said...

HEY BREWER..MY MAN CALLLMMMM DOWWWNNN..AS WE BLACK FL GATORS LIKE TO SAY.. ITS NOT HOW YOU START MY MAN ITS HOW YOU FINISH!! YOU CAN'T REALLY GRADE ROOKIES UNTIL YEAR 3 TO KNOW WHAT YOU REALLY GOT. I'M SURE IF I READ AN ARTICLE YOU WROTE YOUR FIRST YEAR ON THE JOB, IT WOULDN'T BE AS GOOD AS YOUR 3RD YR...EXPERIENCE PAYS OFF... FEEL ME

1-10-2007 @ 3:52PM

Stephanie said...

I havent seen anything spectacular from thsi year's rookie class. i think adam morrison was over hyped. and being from chicago tyrus thomas has not been as affective as we thought but he gets his playing time. i believe the best rookie class to date was the year when lebron james, carmello anthony, kirk hinrich and cris bosh were drafted

1-10-2007 @ 5:49PM

Dana Salzarulo said...

Brewer has a point only based on the 2003 class and the 2004 class being so damn good! I think last years crop is weak and this year is still to be seen. Injuries and trades in the second have will increase PT for some and hopefully a few will break out. I think BREWER has been blessed as all of us have with recent great classes, but 2002 and early look the same. A good indicator is sports card prices per box, funny yes, but collectors love rookies. 2003 had Lebron, Carmello, Bosh, Wade, minor such as Josh Howard, Boris Diaw, Luke Walton etc...An Allstar within itself. 2004 follows with Dwight Howard, Ben Gordon, Loul Deng, Okafor...minors Livingston, Jefferson, D Harris, Iguodala, Nociani, JR Smith etc.
Last comment...2006 is as good or as bad as 2005, 2002 and earlier...I am sure by the end of next season...we will have 2 standouts and a few minor stars.

1-10-2007 @ 6:38PM

Bill Ruesink said...

Obviously you so called experts have not had the pleasure of watching Randy Foye over the last month. he has been averaging around 15 points per game and usually will have the ball during the last crucial times of the game. He was also named "rookie of the Month". I know you guys are only interested in the "big city" teams but you are missing a good one in Randy

1-10-2007 @ 7:32PM

chris said...

i think this class is going to be good by the end of the year..brandon roy,shelden williams,morrison,gay,farmar,are all going to get better..i knew tyrus thomas was a bust and i wouldnt have drafted him in the second round much less the first..im from louisiana and all he can do is block shots when hes from the weak side...stromile swift with the dunks

1-11-2007 @ 10:46AM

C said...

Sound like a lot of inexperinced NBA viewers giving there opinions. The fact is you have to give these rookies at least a full season to see what there made of. And for Comment #7 - you obviously must of been born after 1985 - check out that draft (Jordan,Barkley, Hakeem,Stockton..)

1-12-2007 @ 1:35PM

ramon said...

Gotta back up comment #10. Foye is a stud and is gonna be a force when he gets his NBA brain going. Best of the draft. And trust me, giving McHale any props makes me gag.

1-17-2007 @ 3:05PM

Sam said...

His arguments hold no statistical water. Pre-All-Star numbers are always much worse than Post All-Star numbers from a minutes-per-game/scoring standpoint for a number of reasons, most prominently because once teams throw in the proverbial towel, they start playing the rookies more.

Maybe this is Brewer's first season covering the NBA?

This year's rookies are as good, if not better, than other years. Just look at the pre and post All-star numbers of past seasons and you'll see comparable numbers.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/statistics?stat=nbascoring&league=nba&sort=pts&order=true&qual=false&season=2006&seasontype=2&pos=r&split=140

1-25-2007 @ 1:54PM

bb said...

It's a little early to be judging the rookies. Any coach or GM worth his contract is playing their $child carefully and not necesarily for stats. Keep tuned... Adam is gonna be a player.

1-26-2007 @ 1:29PM

Kevin Brewer said...

Remember, I'm not talking about how the careers of these rookies will turn out. There may be many All-NBA players in this class. I'm talking about only their rookie seasons. None of them are good this year. That's all.