All-Time Cleveland Cavaliers draft bust starting five

All-Time Cleveland Cavaliers draft bust starting SF: Luke Jackson

The Cleveland Cavaliers took LeBron James in the 2003 NBA Draft, the exact opposite of a draft bust. LeBron was an instant phenom, but even so the moribund Cavs team around him won only 35 games, so they were back in the lottery with the 10th pick in the 2004 draft ready to find a wingman for LeBron.

They landed on “Cool Hand” Luke Jackson, a 6’7″ small forward out of Oregon. Jackson was a four-year player for the Ducks, growing from a small role as a freshman to an All-American season as a senior averaged 21.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. This wasn’t a desperate grasp at future potential; Jackson looked like the real deal at Oregon.

He certainly wasn’t in the NBA. He earned just 43 total minutes as a rookie, averaging just 2.9 points per game across 10 appearances. His second season wasn’t much better as he dealt with a wrist injury. That was it for his time with the Cavs, who sent him to a Boston Celtics team who waived him before the season began. Jackson bounced around the league a bit before calling it quits.

Who else could the Cavs have taken? Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, J.R. Smith and Jameer Nelson all went in the next 10 picks, not to mention much later picks such as Kevin martin and Trevor Ariza. Cavs favorite Anderson Varejao went 30th.