Fultz goes first, Butler traded T
NBA draft kicks off with blockbuster deal; Raptors choose Anunoby
BROOKLYN he NBA Draft couldn’t even get underway without a major trade being broken. Par for the course, since the last week or so has been nothing short of jaw-dropping, with big moves dropping one after the other.
About five minutes before commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that Washington’s Markelle Fultz was indeed going No. 1 to Philadelphia, Marc Stein of ESPN reported that Chicago Bulls superstar Jimmy Butler, one of the five best two-way players in the world, was heading to Minnesota. By the time Fultz had shaken Silver’s hand, walked off of the stage and toward one of the dozen or so interviews the first-rounders are obligated to do on draft night, the details had leaked out.
Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Town and the remaining Wolves were getting the sublime Butler and the No. 16 pick, in exchange for Kris Dunn, a talented point guard selected No. 5 last season, Zach LaVine, the league’s best dunker, picked 13th in 2014 and in the midst of a breakout year last season, before tearing his ACL and the seventh pick (stretch big man Lauri Markkanen out of Arizona).
Wolves boss Tom Thibodeau helped make Butler a superstar when they were together in Chicago and he had tried to reunite last year, in a deal also involving Dunn, but it didn’t go through. Now it has and the Wolves, in a playoff drought stretching over a decade, finally appear to be on the way back to relevance.
The Bulls rarely make deals, but now have commenced with a rebuild, complicated by the presence of Dwyane Wade and possibly Rajon Rondo.
Back to the draft, Fultz and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball are supposed to revive struggling marquee franchises in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
Boston, with yet another bonus pick from the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce robbery, took Duke’s Jayson Tatum, an excellent scorer. Whether they keep him or include him in a deal for Paul George later remains to be seen. George rumours heated up at the start of the night, but tapered off.
Raptors go for potential
The Raptors were talking to many teams about a deal, one involving centre Jonas Valanciunas, but at press time, didn’t have a deal. They selected OG Anunoby at No. 23.
An ACL injury suffered playing for Indiana ended the swingman’s season early, and it could be months until he plays again, but his potential was too intriguing to pass up.
Anunoby met with the Raptors recently, one of only six teams he visited with and he had told Postmedia Wednesday that it went well and there was a mutual fit.
“I liked them a lot, it’s a really good organization, it’s a good team,” Anunoby had said.
What does he bring to the table: “Hard work, defence and just willing to get better.”
Earlier Wednesday, Anunoby had told reporters he was feeling great. “No pain, doing a lot more. I think it should be October or November, back on the court.”
His brother played in the NFL. Anunoby was born in England.
Canadian rockies
Denver is loading up on Canadian content. Jamal Murray, of Kitchener, Ont., was the seventh pick in 2016 and made the all-rookie team. The team dealt for Saskatoon-born power forward Trey Lyles on Thursday, sending the 13th pick for Lyles and 24th pick to the Utah Jazz. Both Murray and Lyles have played for the Canadian national team and are considered key players for future squads, while Nuggets coach Mike Malone was an assistant coach with the program for years under Leo Rautins.
Murray and Lyles previously teamed up at the Nike Hoop Summit in 2014. They went to Kentucky a year apart and talked throughout that process.
Around the rim
This marked the first time the first four picks went to the same teams in the exact order in consecutive years … Sign of the night was easily a Knicks fan’s: “Don’t trade Zingis, ya Dingus.” Don’t get more on-point than that one … Ball had been asked what had been giving him nightmares leading up to the draft: “I really don’t have one. I like sleeping” … With three players selected, UCLA became the first school to 100 draft picks since 1966. North Carolina and Kentucky are both into the 90s.