khandor’s sports blog

Prior to last night’s proceedings, these 15 individuals were identified by this corner as players who could have given the Toronto Raptors what they need, at this moment in time, heading towards a long term future [A] with or [B] without Chris Bosh:

Perception vs Reality - Who SHOULD Raptors Draft?

Al-Farouq Aminu [6-9, 215, SF/PF, Wake Forest, now unavailable]
Tyreke Evans [6-6, 219, PG/OG, Memphis]
DeMar DeRozan [6-7, 220, OG/SF, USC]
Earl Clark [6-10, 226, PF, Louisville]
Derrick Brown [6-8, 225, SF, Xavier]
Terrence Williams [6-6, 213, OG, Louisville]
Wayne Ellington [6-5, 202, OG, UNC]
Danny Green [6-6, 208, OG/SF, UNC]
Sam Young [6-6, 223, SF, Pittsburgh]
Marcus Thorton [6-4, 194, OG, LSU]
Tyler Hansbrough [6-9, 234, PF, UNC]
Taj Gibson [6-10, 214, PF, USC]
Dante Cunningham [6-8, 227, PF/SF, Villanova]
Tyler Smith [6-6, 212, OG, Tennessee, now unavailable]
Nando De Colo [6-5, 190, OG, France]

This is what happened last night with each of those 15 players::

Al-Farouq Aminu. Withdrew from consideration; back to Wake Forest.
Tyler Smith. Withdrew from consideration; back to Tennessee.

Tyreke Evans. SACRAMENTO/No. 4, selected by Geoff Petrie.

DeMar DeRozan. Player the Raptors/No. 9 wanted all along.

Earl Clark. PHOENIX/No. 14, selected by Steve Kerr.
Derrick Brown. CHARLOTTE/No. 40, selected by M-Jordan/L-Brown.
Terrence Williams. NEW JERSEY/No. 11., selected by R-Thorn/K-Vandeweghe.
Wayne Ellington. MINNESOTA/No. 28, selected by David Kahn
Sam Young. MEMPHIS/No. 36, selected by Chris Wallace. 
Danny Green. CLEVELAND/No. 46, selected by Danny Ferry.
Marcus Thorton. MIAMI/No. 43, selected by Pat Riley [traded to New Orleans-Jeff Bower/Byron Scott].
Tyler Hansbrough. INDIANA/No. 13, selected by Larry Bird.
Taj Gibson. CHICAGO/No. 26, selected by J-Paxson/G-Forman.
Dante Cunningham. PORTLAND/No. 33, selected by Kevin Pritchard.
Nando De Colo. SAN ANTONIO/N. 53, selected by RC Buford/G-Popovich.

———-
 
1. Over the next few seasons, it is going to be most interesting to watch the development of these 15 players.

2. The Charlotte Bobcats [37-45] are gradually building a very solid team:

* Adding Gerald Henderson [OG] and Derrick Brown [SF] last night
* Trading for Boris Diaw [PF-SF], Raja Bell [OG], Vladimir Radmanovic [SF-PF] and DeSagana Diop [C} last season
* Drafting DJ Augustin [PG] & Alex Ajinca [C} last year
* Re-signing Gerald Wallace [SF-PF] last year
* Re-signing Emeka Okafor [C-PF] 2 years ago

3. There’s a very good reason the same names keep popping up when the Larry O’Brien Trophy is awarded, in June, to the NBA Champions.

 

Update:

* Marcus Thorton has subsequently been traded to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for two future 2nd Round Draft Picks [i.e. 2010 & 2012].
  

Tags: Al-Farouq Aminu, Byron Scott, Charlotte Bobcats, Chicago Bulls, Chris Wallace, Cleveland Cavaliers, Danny Ferry, Danny Green, Dante Cunningham, David Kahn, Derrick Brown, Earl Clark, Gar Forman, Geoff Petrie, Gregg Popovich, Indiana Pacers, Jeff Bower, John Paxson, Kevin Pritchard, Kiki Vandeweghe, Larry Bird, Larry Brown, Marcus Thornton, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Michael Jordan, Minnesota Timberwolves, Nando De Colo, New Jersey Nets, Pat Riley, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, RC Buford, Rod Thorn, Sacramento Kings, Sam Young, San Antonio Spurs, Steve Kerr, Taj Gibson, Terrence Williams, Toronto Raptors, Tyler Smith, Tyreke Evans, Wayne Ellington

This entry was posted on Friday, June 26th, 2009 at 8:44 am and is filed under Analytics, Basketball, NBA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.