Chicago Bulls: 5 times Jerry Krause whiffed in the NBA Draft as GM
1. Jay Williams, Point Guard
The story of the former Duke point guard Jay Williams and the early portion of his NBA career is one of little luck and a lot of tragedy. Williams looked to be on a good path during his rookie season before a tragic motorcycle accident would render his effectiveness near none for the rest of his NBA career.
Drafting Williams and having him turn out to be a bust due to off-the-court circumstances isn’t really blame that can be placed on Krause’s shoulders. But he did still miss out on a rather special 2002 NBA Draft class with what would be the least beneficial top four pick of them all. The other top four picks (in order) in the 2002 draft included Yao Ming, Mike Dunleavy, and Drew Gooden.
Other solid picks in this draft class included: Amar’e Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Nene, Tayshaun Prince, Caron Butler, and Matt Barnes.
Williams was a member of the 2002-03 All-Rookie Team. He averaged 9.5 points per game, 2.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.1 steals, while shooting 39.9 percent from the field and 32.2 percent from beyond the arc. Williams played in 75 games before the motorcycle accident would keep him from playing in another NBA regular season game in his career.
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Most of the picks on this list for Krause and the Bulls were mostly his fault for missing out on other solid talents. But Williams could have been a good point guard that spearheaded the “baby Bulls” in the early 2000’s. Instead his playing days were ruined by an off-the-court tragedy that would then begin his ESPN broadcasting days.