The Toronto Raptors didn’t draft Dzanan Musa, introduced to the world Thursday as a “Bosnian scoring machine” whose Kobe Bryant-lite routine frustrated his teammates in Europe.
Musa was taken 29th overall by the Brooklyn Nets, who used the pick that the Raptors had to send their way in exchange for taking on the (then) remaining $30.2-million on the former Raptor forward DeMarre Carroll’s contract last summer.
Not to put any limits the ceiling of Musa, but that seems like an overpay and we can probably put to rest any notion that giving up the pick was a mistake by Ujiri.
Signing Carroll as a $60-million free agent in the summer of 2015? Different discussion.
But from a Raptors point of view, that was the highlight on a night when Toronto had neither a first- or second-round pick, and didn’t manage to either trade their way into the first round or buy their way into the second.
They weren’t alone in that respect. For the first time in memory, not a single player under contract was traded on draft night — the obvious explanation being that teams are waiting for the movement of big name players like LeBron James, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to break the dam.
“We had a few things early, a few things in the middle, a few things late,” said Raptors general manager Bobby Webster. “I think we thought we were close but you’d have to ask the other teams.”
“I don’t know if something is going on around the league, and people are a little hesitant with personnel and only wanted to do draft picks tonight, and we didn’t have draft picks so we got shut out.”
Paint drying was more compelling.
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Elsewhere, the Canadian basketball highlight was 19-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being taken 11th overall by the Charlotte Hornets, before being flipped to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The six-foot-six freshman played his high school basketball in Hamilton, Ont., before playing two more seasons in Tennessee. He saw his draft stock soar in the second half of his first college season, which was capped off with an MVP award at the SEC tournament and a strong showing at the NCAA tournament as he led Kentucky to the Sweet 16.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the eighth Canadian taken in the draft lottery since 2011, when Tristan Thompson (fourth overall) became the first Canadian ever taken in the draft’s top-14. Overall, there have been 11 Canadian first-rounders in the last eight years.
“I feel like we’re on the rise,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, whose father, Vaughn, played high school basketball in Toronto’s north end and whose mother, Charmaine, represented Antigua in the 400-meters at the 1992 Olympics. “I guess over the past couple years we’ve gotten a lot more resources and more exposure to basketball over here. The world is starting to realize how good we are at basketball.
“I don’t think it’ll stop soon. There is a lot of good kids over there that have a good potential. I think we’ll be really good. I think this is just the beginning.”
The rangy point guard with the seven-foot wingspan has been training in Los Angeles in preparation for the draft, but was briefly heading east before finding out he was staying in familiar confines — although he’ll have some competition for immediate floor time behind veterans Patrick Beverley, Austin Rivers, Milos Teodosic and Lou Williams.
Those are issues for later. For now he can revel in a dream come true:
“Yeah, I was ecstatic to be going to Charlotte, to be going to the NBA really,” he said. “It’s a great feeling, and whoever I got drafted by, I was going to feel really good. And then figuring out I was going to go to the Clippers was even a better feeling. I feel like I fit really well with them and had a great workout and dinner with those guys and feel really comfortable. I guess I feel like I’m on top of the world.”
The other Canadian who heard his name called was Justin Jackson, the sophomore from Maryland who has been on the radar since he represented Canada as a 15-year-old at the U17 World Championship. Hampered by a shoulder injury this past season, Jackson was taken 43rd overall by Denver before being traded to Orlando, the appeal being his potential as a switchable big man who can shoot threes.
The top of the draft was dominated by various versions of the NBA’s new-era bigs: seven-footers who can run the floor, defend on the perimeter and at the rim and knock down an open jumper or two.
As widely expected, seven-foot-one Deandre Ayton was take first overall by the Phoenix Suns. Marvin Bagley III, the six-foot-10 jumping jack from Duke, went second to Sacramento. Six-foot-11 Jaren Jackson Jr. went fourth to Memphis and seven-foot-one Mo Bamba was picked at No. 6 by Orlando.
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The most interesting move was the decision by the Atlanta Hawks to flip the No. 3 pick for Dallas’ No. 5 pick and a future first-round pick. As a result, highly-touted European teenager Luka Doncic will join Dirk Nowitzki for what will presumptively be the final NBA season for the all-time European great, while the Hawks took Trae Young, the diminutive point guard from Oklahoma who was the first player to lead the NCAA in scoring and assists in the same season.
The Raptors off-season makeover — should there be one — will have to wait, as Toronto didn’t manage to work their way into the draft or find a deal that could help their looming luxury tax problems, or otherwise reshape their roster.
But the NBA’s silly season is just beginning. It doesn’t promise to stay this dull for long.
