Memo to 1986: Sorry, but we’re stealing your NBA draft.

Yes, I know it’s been years since we’ve seen the likes of Brad Daugherty and even longer since we’ve seen Len Bias (RIP), but for a moment, consider that draft just 23 years in our past, one of the worst in NBA history.

It may happen again. Actually, I’m betting on it.

When the best thing beyond the No. 1 pick — whom I’m not sold on by a long shot, by the way — is a wimpy, unskilled Euro point guard and a 7-2 center with a softness problem and bum shoulder, you’ve got draft problems. And I’m not talking about Budweiser here.

Anyone following the association figures Blake Griffin is the Clippers’ pick at No. 1. It’s the obvious pick, hopefully more obvious than the Clips’ blunder in 1998 in Michael Olowokandi. He’s big, he’s athletic and he dunks well.

Fantastic. He’ll run into the NBA, where everyone is big, athletic and dunks well. What makes some NBA players great and others just average is ridiculous size (Shaq, Dwight Howard), shooting (Reggie Miller, Pete Maravich), passing (Chris Paul, Jason Kidd), or a freakish will to win combined with superior offensive and defensive skills (Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant).

I like Griffin. In any other draft, he’s No. 4 or 5. It’s just that this draft is … eh.

It reminds me of the 1986 draft, perhaps the worst ever.

The top pick was Brad Daugherty, who was a decent NBA player who made the all-star team five times.

The rest of the first round had zero all-stars. I don’t mean zero perennial all-stars. I mean, none of the guys drafted 2-24 made an all-star team. Ever. The best guys in the first round other than the Cavs’ sleepy center were Chuck Person at 4, Ron Harper at 8, John Salley at 11, Dell Curry at 15 and Arvydas Sabonis (remember him?) at 24.

Len Bias, the guy who died a few days after the draft, was drafted No. 2. Chris Washburn, the No. 3 pick, had his career shortened by the untimely demise of his willpower to drugs. It was apparently contagious, as it affected William Bedford (pick 6) and Roy Tarpley (pick 7) as well.

Round two was a little better: Mark Price went at No. 25, Dennis Rodman at No. 27, Nate McMillan at No. 30, Kevin Duckworth at No. 33 and Jeff Hornacek at No. 46.

That was when the NBA still had more than two rounds, and this may be one of the reasons they chopped off those picks: In the ’86 draft in rounds 3-7, just one player stood out, and made the Hall of Fame predominantly because he was good at a young age and then died (Drazen Petrovich).

Again, not the best material if one is trying to defend that draft.

Seriously. Check it out: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_NBA_Draft. It beats out the 1988 and 1990 NBA drafts by a hair for awfulness.

Back to 2009. Why is this draft similar? A dearth of true NBA talent and a possibility we see just a handful of guys sticking with their rosters come the late fall.

In any event, here are some of the other possible top-5 picks for 2009:

Ricky Rubio. 6-5 point guard from Spain. Weighs 190 pounds. Critics love his court vision and passes, which are, I understand, characteristics that bode well for a point guard. Knocks: doesn’t shoot remarkable well and doesn’t play defense. Sorry, but a No. 2 pick should be able to do those things. You might be able to get away with that in Spain, but you’ll get absolutely eaten alive by everyone else. He’s projected at No. 2. If you’re Memphis, do you want him going up against Deron Williams and Chris Paul every other week?

Haseem Thabeet. 7-2 post from Connecticut. Big. Much-improved. Blocks a ton of shots. Comparisons run a lot toward Dikembe Mutombo. Still, critics say he’s soft and doesn’t have much of an offensive game. Mutombo didn’t and still wound up with a Hall of Fame career. I like the guy but, jeez, is he really a top-5 guy? I’d say no. In this draft, however…

James Harden. 6-5 shooting guard from Arizona State. Critics call his game “smooth” and “crafty.” Physically he’s mature but he’s only a sophomore, and his “big game” tests in the NCAAs showed he has a long way to go. He’s projected at No. 3 by some, going to the OK City Sonics, er, Thunder, and it may be an OK fit for them and him.

Stephon Curry. 6-3 combo guard from Davidson. Shoots the lights out. Can really shoot. Great range. He is quite fond of three-pointers, and they are fond of him. Quite accurate from far-away spots on the court. Did I mention he can shoot? Here’s the rub: J.J. Redick can shoot, too. So can Steve Kerr. Redick may turn out to be a decent NBA player and Kerr got a ton of rings. But they were/are ROLE PLAYERS who succeed only when others took the load. Can you say that he’ll do it at 6-3, 181 pounds? Chris Paul is smaller (by three inches and six pounds) but gets it done because he has lightning-quick hands for steals and finding open shooters. Can’t say that about Curry yet. Other than his shooting (he can really, really shoot, you know?), he’s got big-game ice in his veins after what we saw from him in the NCAA tourneys. 

The guys I really like, most of them point guards, that are projected first round but not in the top five:

Tyreke Evans. A 6-5 guard from Memphis. May be the best player in the draft. Strong, athletic and has a variety of moves. Love this guy.

Jonny Flynn. A 6-foot point from Syracuse. Solid. Wants the ball. Not afraid. Strong. A winner.

Terrance Williams. One of my “I like this guy because he’s from Washington state and this state is on a roll” picks. A 6-6 swingman from Louisville, Williams likes to play defense (whoa!) and has tremendous upside. Doesn’t need to score if he’s on a team that already has one. A good, good bet to be a solid NBA player.

Ty Lawson. The 6-foot point from UNC, Lawson is just a winner. He goes out and finds ways to win, from taking it to the hole to shooting to finding the open man.

Others projected for the second round that may be steals:

Sam Young, Pittsburgh (SF) — Marcus Thornton, LSU (SG) — Josh Heytvelt, Gonzaga (PF), sentimental state pick #2 — Danny Green, UNC (SF) — Jon Brockman, Washington (PF), sentimental state pick #3

The draft, bad as it may be, is scheduled for 4 p.m. Pacific time on ESPN.

Sports junkies and former colleagues Dan Ross (NapaValleyRegister.com) and Michael Dashiell (Sequim Gazette) give their rather unusual take on the day’s activities in the National Basketball Association. They both need an outlet for their basketball frustrations now that their Seattle Sonics have faded from existence.