Butler trade sets stage for drama Devils pick center Hischier at No. 1
As draft night approached, some of the heavy hitters in the NBA — Cleveland, San Antonio, Houston, Boston, the Clippers among them — were jockeying, making calls and looking for deals to try to position themselves to make a run at the Golden State juggernaut.
The Warriors' greatness has forced the rest of the league to do deep self-examination and be aggressive in upgrading their rosters if they're even going to have a chance to compete. The Celtics and Cavaliers were looking hard at Pacers star Paul George and Bulls guard Jimmy Butler, the Rockets and Spurs were looking at clearing cap space to make a run at some bigname free agents next week and the Knicks were, well, the Knicks.
Draft night always lays the groundwork for what will happen when the circus (officially known as free agency) begins on July 1. And with all of those contenders looking to make a splash, the biggest move was made by ... the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Wolves reunited Tom Thibodeau with Butler, giving up two promising young players in Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn and the No. 7 overall pick to land one of the best two-way players in the game. The move should jumpstart Minnesota's pursuit of its first playoff spot since 2004 and, the Wolves hope, pave the way for success in free agency.
"I think it will (help) a lot," Thibodeau said. "With players, they look around the league, they see the makeup of the team, they see how they play, play together. That's the main thing. Both offensively and defensively."
The Timberwolves have long had difficulty attracting free agents to a relatively small market that spends four months of the year covered in ice and snow. Landing a top-15 player like Butler to team with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins sends a sign of how aggressive the teams could be.
The Bulls plunged head-first into a rebuild with the decision, and now it's up to the Pacers to decide if they want to do the same.
Much to the dismay of Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard, George let it be known last week that he did not plan to re-sign in Indiana when he becomes a free agent next summer. Most of the league assumes that he wants to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, who appear to be in a tugof-war with the rival Celtics for George's attention.
"I'm confident we'll get something," Pritchard told reporters in Indianapolis on Friday.
One of the big markets affected on Thursday night was at point guard, the deepest position in the league. Philadelphia, the Lakers, Sacramento, New York and Dallas all drafted point guards in the top 10, which could diminish the options for veterans like Jrue Holiday, George Hill, Jeff Teague and Patty Mills.
Chicago — The New Jersey Devils grabbed Nico Hischier, and the Philadelphia Flyers felt quite comfortable with Nolan Patrick.
It was all about the forwards at the top of the NHL draft.
Hischier went No. 1 overall to New Jersey on Friday night, and Patrick was the No. 2 pick by Philadelphia despite being hampered by a groin injury last season. The expansion Vegas Golden Knights also opted for forward prospects with two of their three picks in the first round, taking Cody Glass at No. 6 and Nick Suzuki at No. 12 before selecting Swedish defenseman Erik Brannstrom with the 15th pick.
"I'm speechless," Hischier said. "I don't know what to say. It's just an incredible feeling. You can't describe it."
Seven of the top 10 picks were listed as centers. Defensemen Miro Heiskanen (No. 3 overall to Dallas) and Cale Makar (No. 4 to Colorado) and right wing Owen Tippett (No. 10 to Florida) were the only exceptions.
The New York Rangers took center Lias Andersson with the seventh pick, acquired from the Arizona Coyotes. The Rangers also took center Filip Chytil at No. 21. The Boston Bruins selected defenseman Urho Vaakanainen with the 18th pick.
The 18-year-old Hischier is the highest drafted Swiss player in the NHL history. He had 38 goals and 86 points in 57 games with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this past season. He spent the previous two seasons in the Swiss pro league, where he was coached by current Ottawa Senators coach Guy Boucher.
Hischier fits in nicely with general manager Ray Shero's desire to put a faster team on the ice. New Jersey is coming off its worst season in nearly three decades, finishing with a 28-4014 record.
But Hischier is just over 6-feet tall and listed at 179 pounds, and will need to put on more muscle to succeed in the NHL.
"I love hockey," he said. "It's my biggest goal to play in the NHL. I'm so happy."
The 18-year-old Patrick, a Winnipeg, Manitoba, native whose father Steve and uncle James played in the NHL, held the top spot in the NHL Central Scouting Department's final rankings in April. He sustained a sport hernia last summer that hampered him during his season with Brandon of the Western Hockey League, but he finished with 20 goals and 46 points in 33 games.
"Once we gathered all the information we felt comfortable that if he was there for us we were going to take him," GM Ron Hextall said.
Glass, another 18-year-old forward, had 32 goals and 62 assists in 69 games last season for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League.