The Kandi Man flies to Phoenix
The biggest bust heads to the land of basketball rejuvenation.
By Sam Rubenstein
Michael Olowokandi came into the league as the first overall pick of the 1998 NBA Draft. In his last two years with the Clips, he put up decent enough numbers to fool the T-Wolves into giving him a contract. POP QUIZ: What team did he finish last season with? Answer: The Celtics. How about that.
When you talk about the all-time NBA draft day busts, he’s right at the top of the list. Check out who was picked after him, and I don’t mean throughout the course of that draft, I mean in order right behind him: Bibby, LaFrentz, Jamison (traded for Vince), Vince (traded for Jamison), Tractor Traylor (traded for Dirk), E Boy, Larry Hughes, Dirk (traded for Tractor), Paul Pierce, and Bonzi. Every single one of those players with the exception of Traylor and arguably LaFrentz, is helping an NBA team right now, 8 years after they were drafted. Bonzi will eventually, and there were some sleepers in that draft like Al Harrington, Matt Harpring, Ricky Davis, and Nazr Mohammed. There were some good players taken after Kwame in the 2001 draft, but I’m comfortable with calling The Kandi Man the biggest bust of any #1 overall pick in NBA history.
Now you can just give him that comeback player of the year award. He’s going to Phoenix, where Tim Thomas became a playoff hero. Steve Nash and Mike D’Antoni, do your thing. Michael had to pay his own way to get to the tryout, but whatever. He’s got more than enough money to fly. Hoopsaddict has a nice link to the story which includes a video of Olowokandi’s greatest NBA moment, which happened in a game against these very same Suns. It wasn’t such a great moment for the Kandi Man himself, so much as it was Amare being Amare, but it’s still a must watch video clip. Strangely, if Kandi were to make the team, he would do so as an insurance policy for the manchild, who has a comeback player of the year campaign of his own in the works.
So, once Olowokandi makes the team, what are we looking at here? 15 and 8 every night? More than that? The Suns have proven they can rehab anyone’s game.
19 Responses to “The Kandi Man flies to Phoenix”
Sep.13 at 11:01 am
Bryant Reeves says:
So the Kandiman is going to the stats candy shop that is the Phoenix Suns?
I think this is just a ploy to get Amare back to the juggernaut he used to be. Seeing ‘Kandi moping around under the basket during practice should do more to put the bounce back in Amare’s step than any combination of surgery, physio and rest combined!
Sep.13 at 11:43 am
Nads says:
Could “Tractor” be a top 10 nickname of all time?
Sep.13 at 11:46 am
Nads says:
By the way, how is Sam Bowie not the #1 bust ever?
Sep.13 at 11:54 am
Sam Rubenstein says:
#1 top overall pick bust ever.
And tractor is definitely one of my favorite nicknames too.
Sep.13 at 12:03 pm
Allen says:
Let’s see Steve Nash work his magic with this bum. When Kandi starts pulling down 20 and 10, I’ll believe that Nash “makes other players better”. I’m just bitter about the MVP voting.
Sep.13 at 2:27 pm
G and D says:
if u check out the video of amare humliating kandi man, make sure u freeze it when they cut back to marbury’s reaction, who set it up with a great dish. the look of disgust on m’s face could be a caption to olowokandi’s whole career.
Sep.13 at 2:37 pm
Ron says:
Was that first comment from “Big Country”??? I must admit I was one of the suckers who thought the Wolves made a good move picking up Kandiman. Now I think he’s gonna make a fool of me again and become a double-double player for the season, now that I’m not in his corner anymore.
Sep.13 at 4:32 pm
Hans says:
Tim Thomas’ stats got lost on the way out of Phoenix. Look for him to lead the league in “size of fake Sean Jon fur coat worn behind a team bench”. I will freely admit it, if he proves me wrong. Kandiman will not be in Phoenix long. He is SO not uptempo basketball… BRING BACK PAUL SHIRLEY!!!
Sep.13 at 8:03 pm
Hoi says:
Kandi Man was definitely a bigger bust than Bowie - 1) you could at least understand drafting Bowie that high because he had a strong college career, and 2) he actually had a few above average seasons, albeit injury-riddled. Same case with Pervis Ellison I suppose. Kandi Man has had two average NBA seasons, that’s it. He wasn’t particularly good in college, and he never improved after being drafted. BUST! Still, now that he’s with the Suns, I’m half expecting him to put up at least 10 and 7 in 23 mins a game.
Sep.13 at 9:27 pm
Wingo says:
Whoaa, Bryant Reeves, theres electricity at your lake cabin? speaking of coincidence…But seriously, could he qualify as the biggest Bust as in Pay day drafts?? Im not sure but I think he signed for 80millions? He alone ruined the Vancouver Franchise with that contract(Hell of a guy though with community) But Come Ooon 80mil$
Sep.14 at 10:32 am
sam says:
Suns will only prove they can rejuvenate any career if they pick up laterall sprewell
Sep.14 at 4:25 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Michael Olowokandi has never appeared even remotely interested in the game of basketball. If he does end up on the Suns, I’ve got even odds on Steve Nash killing him before the All-Star break.
Sep.19 at 3:58 am
Little Phil Buddha Boy says:
Watch the tapes if you want to see a great (not good) Center. Against Shaq, Duncan, Yao–Olowokandi just doesn’t fit into the mold so mediocre coaches can’t deal with him. Where’s Flip now? Everyone get’s to find themselves, and many great players do that the second half of their careers. Once Michael gets with a team that truly plays like a team (not invdividual superstars)–you will see his greatness rise and then and only then will the pundits finish their analysis on how important the “post-style” center can truly be.
Sep.20 at 5:45 am
OKNARB says:
Wow. First off, Sam.. out of all the writers for SLAM your are the one I cannot stand the most. Just reading your articles irritates my blood to the point of instant rage. All you material has a tone of crybaby whining about something or other. Not journalistic observational opinion, but this whole “If only I ran the world or the L this would be a much better place”. Seriously have you ever seen an Olowokandi interview? Didn’t Lang talk to him at some point or another? Ever read anything the guy has had to say? Maybe you should talk to Russ cuz he seems to get it. Olowokandi DOES NOT CARE about basketball. He plays chess and read books. He got stuck making a living at it cuz he is tall.
I was under the impression that a bust is someone who gets drafted high and has zero skill at the L level. (ryan leaf - NFL)He’s averaged 8 and 7 and he doesn’t even CARE!! That’s almost a DD. Could you imagine if he just put some effort into it? Don’t sit there and tell me you wouldn’t have drafted a 7 footer with potential. Can we get a definition of a bust?
Sep.20 at 11:00 am
edi says:
Yes, Michael is a bust. But someone please point out that the man is an EXCELLENT post-up player with an unstoppable turnaround-one-hander. I think he’ll help the Suns a ton.
May.2 at 10:54 am
shelbie_PHX_SN13 says:
he will help them but the Suns are already the best..
May.2 at 10:55 am
shelbie_PHX_SN13 says:
it dont hurt to make them a lil better
May.3 at 12:02 am
K Boone says:
In response to Nads, Sam Bowie was not the #1 bust. he happened to be a hell of a player who had to worry about rehabilitating and getting back on the court more than getting better. No one, with the exception of Bobby Knight, had any idea of how good Michael Jordan would be. Anyone who said they knew is a liar. Bowie, was a good shooter, shot blocker, passer, and defender. His only weakness was that he did not like playing with his back to the basket. He was a 53% shooter from the field as a rookie. His shooting went down from missing games. Instead of him worrying about getting better like most players, his focus had to be on rehabilitation and recovery. He had a decent career. It is not fair to talk about him like he was some scrub. The man was not fortunate enough to stay healthy.
May.3 at 12:05 am
K Boone says:
In response to Nads, Sam Bowie was not the #1 bust. he happened to be a hell of a player who had to worry about rehabilitating and getting back on the court more than getting better. No one, with the exception of Bobby Knight, had any idea of how good Michael Jordan would be. Anyone who said they knew is a liar. Bowie, was a good shooter, shot blocker, rebounder, passer, and defender. His only weakness was that he did not like playing with his back to the basket. He was a 53% shooter from the field as a rookie. His shooting went down from missing games. Instead of him worrying about getting better like most players, his focus had to be on rehabilitation and recovery. He had a decent career. It is not fair to talk about him like he was some scrub. The man was not fortunate enough to stay healthy.