Draft History: Dennis Lindsey

The 2015 NBA draft is less than two months away, and for teams that aren’t still participating in the NBA playoffs, the focus is on using that event to build toward a better future. The exact draft order won’t be known until the May 19th lottery, when the simple bounce of a ping-pong ball can alter the fate of a franchise. Of course, having one of the top selections in any draft doesn’t guarantee that a team will snag a future All-Star. Team executives and scouts still have the difficult task of making the correct call with their picks.

With this in mind we at Hoops Rumors will be taking a look back at the draft history of the primary basketball executive for each NBA team. Their names, reputations, and possibly employment will be on the line as a result of the decisions to come on June 25th, and we’ll be examining what they’ve done in previous years in charge of a club’s front office. Note that many of them have played other sorts of roles within a team’s executive structure, but this won’t take that into account. We’ll continue onward with a look back at the calls made by Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey…

Jazz (August 2012-Present)

2013 Draft

• No. 9 Overall — Trey Burke *: 146 games, 12.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 5.0 APG. .374/.324/.818.
• No. 27 Overall — Rudy Gobert **: 127 games, 6.2 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.8 BPG..587/.000/.598.

Notable players passed over: Michael Carter-Williams (No. 11) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 15).

*Traded picks No. 14 (Shabazz Muhammad) and No. 21 (Gorgui Dieng) to the Timberwolves for the rights to Burke.

**Traded No. 46 overall pick (Erick Green) and cash to Jazz for rights to Gobert.

2014 Draft

• No. 5 Overall — Dante Exum: 82 games, 4.8 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 2.4 APG. .349/.314/.625.
• No. 23 Overall — Rodney Hood: 50 games, 8.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.7 APG. .414/.365/.763.

Notable players passed over: Elfrid Payton (No. 10), K.J. McDaniels (No. 32) and Jordan Clarkson (No. 46).

*Traded No. 35 overall pick (Jarnell Stokes) to Grizzlies for a 2016 second-rounder.