Lakers all-time bust SG: Javaris Crittenton
In 2007, the Lakers were five years removed from their three-peat, and they had just lost in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year. LA was hoping to get Kobe Bryant some extra help in the backcourt when they selected Javaris Crittenton with the 19th overall pick. The 6’5 guard was outstanding in his lone season at Georgia Tech, and the Lakers believed the teenager could reach his ceiling.
Crittenton played just 22 games with the Lakers as a rookie before being shipped to Memphis in the Pau Gasol trade. He averaged 3.3 points and 1.0 rebound in 7.8 minutes per game during his time with the Lakers. It took Crittenton, two first-round picks, Marc Gasol, Kwame Brown, and Aaron McKie to land the future Hall of Famer in Los Angeles.
Things went from bad to worse from that point on for Crittenton. He lasted just two years in the NBA and had an infamous incident in Washington where the 6’5 wing and Gilbert Arenas pulled guns on each other in the locker room. Crittenton joined a gang following his NBA career, and he is currently serving 23 years in prison for manslaughter in connection with a shooting.
Javaris Crittenton was a bust on the court, and he has to go down as one of the Lakers’ worst draft picks in franchise history.