It’s just the beginning, but for the Toronto Raptors and the rest of the NBA, it’s as good a place to start as any.
Tonight, the first big event of the off-season gets under way with the draft lottery held at the NBA’s television studios in Secaucus, N.J.
The 14 teams who failed to qualify for the playoffs will have their draft order finalized as they try to upgrade their talent by picking over the best eligible players on June 25 in New York.
The Toronto Raptors will be represented in New Jersey by president Bryan Colangelo who will no doubt be hoping lightning will strike twice. In his first draft lottery since coming over from the Phoenix Suns in 2006, the Raptors had the fifth-best chance to get the first pick but saw the lottery balls bounce their way yielding them No. 1 overall pick Italian forward Andrea Bargnani.
This year the Raptors are hoping to move up from the ninth spot they earned thanks to their 33-49 record, but the chances or moving up are slim. They can only improve to the first, second or third positions, but only have a 0.017 per cent chance of getting the top pick, 0.02 per cent chance for the second pick and 0.024 per cent of the third pick.
They are shut out picks four through eight and have a chance of moving back to picks 10 through 13, though again the odds are slim.
And while the Raptors would doubtless like to move into the top-three - “It would be a nice problem to have,” said Raptors senior director of player personnel Jim Kelly - no one’s betting on it.
In a draft class that appears to drop off significantly after the top three picks, it means the Raptors will likely be onlookers when the likes of Oklahoma State power forward Blake Griffin, Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio and University of Connecticut centre Hasheem Thabeet are taken in the top three, most likely in that order, according to league insiders.
The good news for the Raptors is that the distinction between picking fourth, ninth and 12th is likely muted this year as the pool of available talent levels off. It will make the evaluation process challenging – as many as 25 players might get some consideration if the team indeed picks ninth – but it also means that there is some hope they can find a player who is as likely to help them picking ninth as anywhere else outside the top three.
With uncertainty about its perimeter rotation – both small forward Shawn Marion and shooting guard Anthony Parker are free agents – the thinking is the Raptors will look for an aggressive wing player who can contribute right away.
Among the players who the Raptors will focus on include Davidson guard Stephen Curry who led the NCAA in scoring and whose father, Dell Curry, was a popular former Raptor; Brandon Jennings, a slashing point guard who played professionally in Italy this year and Terrence Williams of Louisville, a multi-skilled small forward.
