By now it’s become common knowledge that Anthony Bennett was one of the NBA’s biggest busts of all time.
Bennett was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2013 draft and is currently out of the league. What comes as a surprise is that former Cleveland general manager Chris Grant voted against drafting the Canadian.
In an excerpt from his new book, entitled The Blueprint: LeBron James, Cleveland’s Deliverance and the Making of the Modern NBA, Jason Lloyd reveals that Grant was on the wrong end of a 9-1 vote among the Cavaliers’ front office regarding the Bennett selection.
According to Lloyd, Bennett’s stock with the franchise began to plummet almost immediately due to his lack of competitive fire and poor conditioning. Not what you expect from a No. 1 pick.
[blockquote]
Bennett purchased a home in Independence, not far from the Cavs’ facility so he would be close. But it didn’t take long for team officials to begin questioning his work ethic, and it soon became clear Bennett couldn’t play either forward position. He started out as a rookie behind Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao, and free agent pickup Andrew Bynum. He never passed any of them. He showed up to his first training camp overweight by at least fifteen pounds and out of shape. When he appeared in the team’s intrasquad scrimmage on the campus of Baldwin Wallace University in early October, Bennett was gassed after only a couple of trips up and down the floor. The questions about his conditioning started early and never really went away.
[/blockquote]
David Griffin, who took over GM duties once Grant was fired, also voiced his displeasure with how the pick turned out, admitting he made a big mistake.
“The issue with Anthony was, and we had no way of knowing it at the time, the kid had no desire to overcome adversity whatsoever,” Griffin told Lloyd. “As soon as it was hard, he was out. His whole life, he rolled out of bed bigger, better, and more talented than everybody else. As soon as it was hard, it was over. And I was the one on campus at UNLV. I’m the one who got sold the bill of goods and I bought it hook, line, and sinker…”
Bennett was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves after one season. He spent one year in Minnesota before brief stints with the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets. He played in Turkey in 2017 and signed with the Phoenix Suns in September. The 24-year-old was waived by the Suns earlier this month.
You can read the full excerpt from Lloyd’s book here.
[relatedlinks]
