| 19 June 2009
The question is pretty straight forward, but there is one disclaimer.
If you had to choose a draft do-over for the Portland Trail Blazers throughout the years, who would it be and why? And you can’t say Sam Bowie. Let’s give the guy a break.
Everyone else –regardless of the round - is free game. Was that player a bust or was his game just straight broke? Was their exit from Portland pure drama? Also consider the players taken after the Blazers made their selection – because in the end, that truly helps support the case of a “do-over”.
Most will probably say Sebastian Telfair (13 overall in 2004), but I’m going with Qyntel Woods – 21 overall in 2002.
His reputation off the floor (animal abuse) made him Public Enemy number one in Portland during the 2004-05 season, and some were wondering even then why General Manager Bob Whitsett even gambled taking the small forward out of NE Mississippi CC.
Then factor in who Portland passed on by taking Woods: Tayshaun Prince (23), John Salmons (26), Roger Mason (30), Carlos Boozer (34), Matt Barnes (45), Rasual Butler (52) and even Luis Scola (55).
His stats don’t help his case either: in two seasons with Portland, Woods averaged 3.1 points before he was waived in 2005.
So whatever happened to Qyntel Woods after Portland?
He’s bounced around a bit – and been bonced in some instances. Miami signed him in 2005 and he played in New York (where he told me soon after he arrived that he’d changed and just wanted to start over) for the second half of the 2005-06 season. In 2007, Woods was in the D-League (Bakersfield Jam) and then headed overseas (Greece, Italy, Poland).
It was while in Greece playing for Olympiacos that Woods was caught with marijuana during a finals match-up in 2007-2008, resulting in a termination of the final year of his contract. He played in Italy briefly, but has now found a home playing ball in Poland (for Asseco Prokom Sopot, and sporting a full beard above) where Qyntel was recently names MVP in his teams’ six-straight title run.
But looking back seven drafts ago though, it’s hard not to associate do-over with Qyntel Woods.
pic via: interia
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