15. Arnett Moultrie
Back in the 2012 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers traded Justin Hamilton and a lottery-protected 2015 first round pick, to acquire Arnett Moultrie with the 27th pick via the Miami Heat. Not only did Moutrie not perform at the level of a first round pick, but his short tenure also wasn’t a pretty one.
Philadelphia 76ers
At 6-foot-11, Moutrie averaged around 16 points and 10 rebounds his junior year of college before getting drafted so it made sense for the Sixers to be interested in the power forward. However, giving up a lottery-protected first round pick for a player drafted late in the first round didn’t make much sense.
It should also be noted that Doug Collins was the head coach of the 76ers at the time and didn’t have a great record of playing or even developing most young players during his tenure in Philly, Jrue Holiday being the exception. Needless to say that Moutrie didn’t get much playing time in his rookie year.
He was in the G-League for some games his rookie season and only played in 47 games with Philly. When he did play with the Sixers, he averaged 11.5 minutes, 3.7 points, and 3.1 rebounds, while making 58.2 percent of his field goals. His second season was much worse.
He dealt with injuries and drug suspensions, while still being sent down to the G-League for minutes despite the 76ers embracing “The Process” and purposefully tanking. In the 33 games, he did play in, he averaged 15.6 minutes, 3.0 points, and 2.9 rebounds, while converting 42.1 percent of his shots from the floor.
The Moultrie era ended with him being traded to the Knicks for Travis Outlaw and two future second round picks that were later traded. Still, the Sixers jeopardized their first round pick in 2015 for a bust, but thankfully it was lottery protected so it ended up being safe. It converted into two second round picks that turned into Jordan Mickey and Deyonta Davis, neither are in the NBA right now, so nothing lost.