Why did Kings take Kenny Smith over Kevin Johnson?
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Kevin Johnson was the obvious choice for a variety of reasons. He went to Cal, right up the road, and he was from Sacramento. Unfortunately, at the time he played for a coach that was rigid in his style of basketball. You walked the ball up the court, and methodically executed your offense. It didn't allow Johnson the opportunity to show off all his talent. However, if you watched Cal play enough, you would see Johnson break away from the planned offense and explode. The first time I saw him ignore his coach and try to take over the game I became aware that there was a lot more there than we were seeing. That was the Kevin Johnson side of the story.
The Kenny Smith side was that he was leading a championship team, and getting a lot of press. Not to say that Smith was chopped liver, its just that if you watched both players play, it was obvious who the better player was. I'm not sure the Kings even had a scouting dept at that time. Axelson was a terrible GM. He was the same GM that traded Oscar Robertson away from the Royals at the peak of his career. He's the same guy that drafted Joe Kleine over Karl Malone. Pervis Ellison over Shawn Elliot. So its no surprise that he drafted Kenny Smith over Kevin Johnson.
The Kenny Smith side was that he was leading a championship team, and getting a lot of press. Not to say that Smith was chopped liver, its just that if you watched both players play, it was obvious who the better player was. I'm not sure the Kings even had a scouting dept at that time. Axelson was a terrible GM. He was the same GM that traded Oscar Robertson away from the Royals at the peak of his career. He's the same guy that drafted Joe Kleine over Karl Malone. Pervis Ellison over Shawn Elliot. So its no surprise that he drafted Kenny Smith over Kevin Johnson.
Good post. I do remember the Cal days. I actually went to one game in person against what was then known as UNC Charlotte and went to several practices. Campanelli was definitely a slow down guy who preferred tossing the ball to Leonard Taylor in the post.
One benefit of the doubt that I'll give the GM's in those days is that they just didn't have the access to stuff that they have nowadays. No internet and much more archaic means of scouting. Still, you would think that they would at least have the two guys in for a workout. Maybe have them play one on one or something like that. If Cleveland was able to see past Campanelli's style then KJ's hometown team should've been able to as well. Even Campanelli himself said that KJ was one of the top 3 PG's in the nation with Smith and Muggsy Bogues. Knowing that, you would think that he would've unleashed him more often.
One benefit of the doubt that I'll give the GM's in those days is that they just didn't have the access to stuff that they have nowadays. No internet and much more archaic means of scouting. Still, you would think that they would at least have the two guys in for a workout. Maybe have them play one on one or something like that. If Cleveland was able to see past Campanelli's style then KJ's hometown team should've been able to as well. Even Campanelli himself said that KJ was one of the top 3 PG's in the nation with Smith and Muggsy Bogues. Knowing that, you would think that he would've unleashed him more often.
Campanelli was a throw back to the old four corner offense days. Not able to keep up with the times and adjust to the idea of a shot clock, and therefore a faster style of play. He was a good coach in his time, but time passed him by. While I agree with you that the internet and technology has improved leaps and bounds since then, the good teams still managed to make good choices. To be fair to the Kings at that time, they were on a shoestring budget, and they had a league appointed GM in Axelson. As I said, they probably didn't have a scouting dept, and maybe had at least one scout. Axelson didn't just make bad draft choices, he destroyed a team with a decent foundation already in place through trades. In short order, Larry Drew, Mike Woodson, Otis Thorpe, Tank Thompson, and Reggie Theus, along with 2 or 3 first round draft picks were all gone, replaced with with players with bad knees like Derek Smith, and Ralph Sampson. Dick Motta and Bill Russell came along after, and threw more fuel on the fire, totally destroying any possibility of success. No wonder Petrie looked like a genuis!