The 2014 NBA Draft featured two future MVP candidates, from the Philadelphia 76ers selecting Joel Embiid with the No. 3 overall pick to the Denver Nuggets selecting Serbian big man Nikola Jokic with the No. 41 overall pick the second round. However, not every team was as lucky, with several teams yet again missing on their first round draft choice and selecting some of the worst whiffs of the 2014 NBA Draft.
Five Worst Whiffs in the 2014 NBA Draft
Dante Exum (5th overall)
With the No. 5 overall pick, the Utah Jazz took an international prospect in Australian guard Dante Exum. There wasn’t too much film on Exum entering the draft. However, his impressive performance in the 2013 FIBA U-19 World Championships, where he averaged 18.2 points and 3.8 assists per game, was enough for NBA scouts to appreciate his talent. The excitement stemmed from his size, speed, and playmaking ability at the point guard position, along with his upside as a two-way player. The Jazz were willing to take the swing as they searched for a franchise point guard to run their offense.
However, Exum needed much more development than anticipated. A torn ACL in the summer of 2015 would sideline him for the entirety of his sophomore season, hindering his progress. Two years later, he suffered a shoulder injury, which would make him miss most of the 2017-18 season. With these ailments, Exum would never reach his full potential, fading behind Utah’s 2017 first-round pick Donovan Mitchell. He would mainly become a viable backup guard during his five-year tenure in Utah before being dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Exum would leave the league behind for two seasons, and it looked like his NBA career was over. However, he returned in 2023 with the Dallas Mavericks, showing vast improvements in his overall skill set. His perimeter shooting, which was a major weakness in his first six NBA seasons, became his biggest strength. By the end of the regular season, Exum was a valuable part of the Mavericks rotation, making his mark on their 2024 NBA Finals roster. Over the past two seasons, he has averaged eight points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game on 47.2% three-point shooting.
Nik Stauskas (8th overall)
For the sixth-straight NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings were once again on the clock with a top-10 selection. This time, they selected Michigan wing Nik Stauskas with the No. 8 overall pick. In his sophomore season with the Wolverines, the sharpshooting Stauskas averaged 17.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game on elite three-point efficiency (44.2%). With his 2014 campaign, he earned consensus second team All-American nod and 2014 Big Ten Player of the Year. Once again, the Kings were sure they had a starting position set for the future.
However, Stauskas’ impact never amounted to a franchise-changing talent. Instead, his time in Sacramento was just as short-lived as their 2012 draft bust, Thomas Robinson. The former Michigan star would only play his rookie season with the Kings. Similarly to Robinson, the Philadelphia 76ers agreed to trade for Stauskas, receiving yet another Kings draft bust.
Over his six-year NBA career, Stauskas would suit up for seven teams, developing his three-point shot into his biggest asset and giving teams nothing more than a consistent long-range sniper off the bench.
Noah Vonleh (9th overall)
Similarly to the Kings, for the fourth-straight NBA Draft, the Hornets were on the clock with a top-10 selection. With their second No. 9 overall pick in the past four years, Charlotte would select Indiana forward Noah Vonleh. In his one season at Indiana, Vonleh won Big Ten Rookie of the Year while averaging 11.3 points, nine rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. His skill set intrigued the Hornets as they looked to pair two Indiana front court prospects with him and their 2013 No. 4 overall pick, Cody Zeller.
The organization’s ideas for the Hoosier tandem never came to life. Zeller and Vonleh failed to develop any chemistry together on the court, resulting in some of the worst whiffs in both 2013 and 2014. They never overlapped during their time with the Hoosiers, but Charlotte dismissed that fact. However, they didn’t dismiss it for too long as after Vonleh’s rookie season, the Hornets decided to part ways with the former 2014 top-10 pick, sending him to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Doug McDermott (11th overall)
On draft night, the Denver Nuggets traded the rights to Creighton forward Doug McDermott to the Chicago Bulls. In exchange, Denver received Michigan State wing Gary Harris and Bosnian center Jusuf Nurkic. McDermott was dominant at the collegiate level as he swept the 2014 college award race. He earned 2014 National Player of the Year while becoming a three-time consensus first team All-American. After winning 2011 MVC Rookie of the Year, in his next three seasons, McDermott averaged 24.2 points, and 7.6 rebounds on 55.6% from the field and 47.1% from distance.
However, being one of the most dominant college basketball players of all time, expectations were huge, and McDermott’s talent never fully translated to the next level. Pushing for playoff contention, the Bulls looked for a prospect who could be immediately reliable next to Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Jimmy Butler, and newly acquired Pau Gasol. The former Creighton star and 23-year-old rookie felt like the perfect match. In reality, McDermott needed a season to develop his strengths, only converting on 31.7% of his three-point attempts as a rookie. Meanwhile, Harris and Nurkic were developing into impact contributors in Denver.
By his sophomore season, McDermott was well-adapted and comfortable, becoming an effective bench scorer for Chicago, averaging an efficient 9.4 points per game. The Bulls began to move in a different direction though, leading to his departure from Chicago to Oklahoma City midway through his third season. Although his time with the Bulls didn’t live up to expectations, his career didn’t flame out like the majority of whiffs. With a career average of 41.1%, McDermott’s long ball efficiency has become his greatest friend during the best stretches of his 11-year career.
Bruno Caboclo (20th overall)
Even though there are many other mistakes before the Toronto Raptors’ selection of Brazilian forward Bruno Caboclo, this swing takes the cake as one of the more memorable whiffs. When we talk about taking a swing, this is the player the conversations pointed to. Caboclo was always two years away from being two years away. He lived up to that name, and it became a regular occurrence for Raptors GM Masai Ujiri to take those type of swings. During the 2013 NBA Draft, Toronto was in heavy conversations to grab Giannis Antetokounmpo, and this selection at No. 20 displayed their desire for developing an international prospect.
However, that outcome never worked itself into existence as Caboclo struggled to develop and earn any minutes in Toronto. He averaged a measly 1.2 points in just 25 games over three seasons there. It was a disastrous experiment for the organization. Although the Raptors were a contender led by DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry during Caboclo’s tenure, their whiff of a first round selection in 2014 could be what set them back from overcoming their kryptonite in LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Despite a good stint in the pros, Caboclo would never play more than 34 games in a season over his NBA career. He finally played valuable minutes during the 2018-19 season, averaging 8.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and one block per game for a bad Memphis Grizzlies team before ending an underwhelming seven-year career with the Houston Rockets in 2021.
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