The NBA could have held its draft in April and not much would have changed.
The Big Four in the spring - Larry Johnson, Kenny Anderson, Billy Owens and Dikembe Mutombo - was still the Big Four Wednesday night.The projected second tier of four players - Steve Smith, Doug Smith, Luc Longley and Stacey Augmon - went 5-6-7-9, with only Mark Macon sneaking up a few spots to break the pattern.
The four centers projected as the best in the first round - Mutombo, Longley, Rich King and Stanley Roberts - went exactly in that order.
Johnson was the No. 1 pick of the Charlotte Hornets, winning out over Owens among the team's management because of the aggressive play he displayed at UNLV the last two years.
"He came up No. 1 in most of the categories that we were looking at, but the big thing about Larry Johnson is his competitiveness and his leadership, and he's a winner," Hornets player personnel director Allan Bristow said. "The thing that separates Larry from all the rest is that he's always been a winner."
Johnson was the first of three Runnin' Rebels taken in the first round - another expected development - and four were taken in the first 29.
Augmon went to Atlanta with the ninth pick the Hawks acquired earlier in the day from the Los Angeles Clippers in a deal for Doc Rivers. Greg Anthony was selected 12th by the New York Knicks and George Ackles by Miami with the second pick in the second round.
"It's rare when you have a team that has as many high draft picks make it to the NBA," Anthony said.
Indiana in 1976, UCLA in 1979 and Michigan in 1990 also had three first-round players in one year.
Owens, from Syracuse, was favored by New Jersey player personnel director Willis Reed and coach Bill Fitch, but the Nets' ownership wanted the flashy Anderson, believing the sophomore point guard from Georgia Tech is a better drawing card because he was a high school hero in New York City.
"A Kenny Anderson comes along only once every 10 years or so. We looked at next year's draft and felt there was only one point guard, and there were at least three No. 3s (forwards)," said Joe Taub, a minority owner of the Nets.
"I'm a long-range kind of person. It came down to looking for immediate help or someone for the future. We felt we needed a point guard to make the other players better."
"They told me they wanted me right along," Anderson said. "All I can do is go in with a great attitude. There's a lot of work ahead, but New Jersey has a piece of my heart now."
"I guess we didn't make the decision until this afternoon, but when we left, there wasn't any blood on the carpet," Fitch said Wednesday night. "Joe's a very convincing guy, and he was an Anderson guy from the get-go. But this wasn't a Joe Taub decision, it was a Net decision."
Sacramento, which coveted Anderson with the third pick because the Kings are already loaded with young forwards, grabbed Owens, who they acknowledged to be an outstanding player, just not the one they wanted.
"It just created other problems for us, but we think we have those problems resolved," Reynolds said, referring to a deal for a point guard that will be announced Monday but won't involve Owens.
"We did not draft him to trade him," Reynolds said.
Denver did what was expected with the fourth pick, grabbing the best center available in Georgetown's 7-foot-2 Mutombo.
Despite not playing basketball until he was a senior in high school in Zaire, Mutombo averaged 15.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 4.7 blocks as a senior for the Hoyas and was selected as the Big East's defensive player of the year last season.
Mutombo also has excellent running skills and stamina for a big man, and he'll need them with the Nuggets, 20-62 last season with the worst defense in the NBA.
"I am a great defensive player," said Mutombo, who turned 25 on Tuesday. "This will bring defense back to Denver."
After Miami picked Michigan State's Steve Smith, Dallas selected Missouri forward Doug Smith and Minnesota took New Mexico's Longley, Denver used its second choice to take Macon.
The Nuggets, who acquired the eighth pick in a deal that sent guard Michael Adams to Washington, appeared to commit to using shooter Chris Jackson at point guard.
"We looked in the draft to get a nice balance of inside-outside, and we got exactly that," coach Paul Westhead said. "I'd be hard-pressed to think of anything better. It would be our hope that both would start right away. They are key players in our immediate future."
"Denver is a long way from home, but it is my home now," Macon said.
Between Augmon at No. 9 and Anthony at No. 12, Orlando took forward Brian Williams of Arizona 10th and Cleveland grabbed guard Terrell Brandon of Oregon 11th.
After Anthony was taken, it was forward Dale Davis of Clemson to Indiana, center Rich King of Nebraska to Seattle, Seton Hall's Anthony Avent to Atlanta, Chris Gatling of Old Dominion and Victor Alexander of Iowa State back-to-back to Golden State, Kevin Brooks of Southwest Louisiana to Milwaukee, Louisville's LaBradford Smith to Washington, John Turner of Phillips to Houston, Eric Murdock of Providence to Utah, Syracuse's LeRon Ellis to the Clippers, Stanley Roberts of LSU and Real Madrid to Orlando, North Carolina's Rick Fox to Boston, Shaun Vandiver of Colorado to Golden State, Mark Randall of Kansas to Chicago and North Carolina's Pete Chilcutt to Sacramento.
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(Additional information)
1991 NBA Draft: First round selections
1 Charlotte Larry Johnson, UNLV, f
2 New Jersey Kenny Anderson, Georgia Tech, g
3 Sacramento Billy Owens, Syracuse, f
4 Denver Dikembe Mutombo, Georgetown, f
5 Miami Steve Smith, Michigan State, g
6 Dallas Doug Smith, Missouri, f
7 Minnesota Luc Longley, New Mexico, c
8 Denver (from Washington) Mark Macon, Temple, c
9 Atlanta (from L.A. Clippers) Stacey Augmon, UNLV, f
10 Orlando Brian Williams, Arizona, f
11 Cleveland Terrell Brandon, Oregon, g
12 New York Greg Anthony, UNLV, g
13 Indiana Dale Davis, Clemson, c
14 Seattle Rich King, Nebraska, c
15 Atlanta Anthony Avent, Seton Hall, f
16 Golden State (from Phila.) Chris Gatling, Old Dominion, f
17 Golden State Victor Alexander, Iowa St., c
18 Milwaukee Kevin Brooks, S.W. Louisiana, f
19 Washington (from Detroit via Dallas and Denver)
LaBradford Smith, Louisville, g
20 Houston John Turner, Phillips Univ., f
21 Utah Eric Murdock, Providence, g
22 L.A. Clippers (from Phoenix via Seattle)
LeRon Ellis, Syracuse, c
23 Orlando (from San Antonio) Stanley Roberts, Real Madrid, c
24 Boston Rick Fox, N. Carolina, f
25 Golden St. (from L.A. Lakers) Shaun Vandiver, Colorado, f
26 Chicago Mark Randall, Kansas, f
27 Sacramento (from Portland) Pete Chilcutt, N. Carolina, f