|  Wys³any: 2019-07-11 03:57:35 Temat postu: but in the end it was Masai Ujiri and the Toronto
BROOKLYN - It was widely expected to be one of the more unpredictable drafts in recent memory, but in the end it was Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors that raised the most eyebrows. For the first time all night, as the Raptors were on the clock to make the 20th overall selection, no one had the slightest idea what was about to happen. No leaks, no whispers, nothing. Then came the announcement. "With the 20th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors select Bruno Caboclo from Sao Paulo, Brazil," first-year commissioner Adam Silver proclaimed with a confused look on his face as the basketball world raced to their internet browsers and Google apps. Who was this Brazilian mystery man? The grainy clip of him shown on the broadcast appeared to be shot from a cell phone. A web search produced a few brief videos, little more. The bio distributed by the Raptors came courtesy of Eurobasket and listed his weight as "n/a". "Theres probably three or four teams that knew about him," Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters in Toronto shortly after the selection. Seven days ago Casey was in the same boat. He knew very little about the player that would eventually become his newest 6-foot-9, 205-pound small forward. "I hadnt seen him, didnt know who he was but I was totally impressed when I saw him," said Casey, who accompanied Ujiri on a scouting trip to Houston where they watched Caboclo workout and met with him a week ago. Caboclo had been on Ujiris radar for some time. The Raptors general manager made three trips to see the young Brazilian forward play throughout the season, and he had to be "stealth" about it. In this day and age it seems impossible that such a talent could exist, anywhere in the world, without every team and every scout knowing about him, right? It also seemed impossible that for once, in this age of social media, a pick was not broken on Twitter five minutes before it was made. But thats Ujiri. Thats how he does business, quietly. Expecting to use the 37th pick of the draft, Ujiri promised Caboclo the Raptors would select him months ago and as a result, the forward declined to workout for NBA teams. True to form, Ujiri was not following along with mock drafts, he was not the least bit concerned about how such a pick would be received. He saw something in Caboclo. "Hes a talent," Ujiri said of the 18-year-old and youngest player available in this draft. "I think at the end of the day we will be happy we picked him." Caboclo was not Ujiris primary target. As expected, the Raptors were after Canadian point guard Tyler Ennis, hoping he would fall to them while also trying desperately to trade up for him. Ideally, Toronto had hoped to select Ennis with pick no. 20 and snag Caboclo early in the second-round with pick no. 37. But the plan changed, as they often do on draft night, when the Phoenix Suns took Ennis at 18, two picks ahead of the Raptors. "We decided we lost one," Ujiri said. "Were not going to lose the second one. We jumped on it." The Raptors were fearful that Caboclo, second on their board, wouldnt make it back to them. A couple teams that had intel on the Brazilian and were believed to be interested - Phoenix and Utah - had picks ahead of Toronto and after missing out on a similar prodigy in Greek freak Giannis Antetokounmpo a year ago, Ujiri was not going to let this target get away. The allure, despite the lack of available information, is not a surprise given the rare gifts possessed by the long and athletic Caboclo. The first thing that jumps out watching short clips of the newest Raptor is his 7-foot-7 wingspan. "Bruno is an athletic phenomenon," Casey said. "At [pick no.] 20, you cant go out and get a perfect player but this young man has a chance to hit it big. Hes raw but hes going to be a guy thats going to develop in our program and grow and do a lot of things for us. Defensively hes long, he covers a lot of ground down [and] blocks shots with his length." He passed Caseys eye test immediately and the Raptors coach is confident hell turn heads once he heads north, calling him one of the most athletic players in the draft. "I know a lot of people dont know about him. Were excited to get him. Hes going to be a guy thats going to grow with our program and no one is going to be disappointed once this guy is developed and hits his peak because hes one of those guys that has a chance to hit it big as far as his potential is concerned." After a return to the playoffs last season, the Raptors have the luxury of bringing Caboclo along slowly, allowing him to learn in practice and on the bench, without the pressure of having to produce at a high level in his rookie campaign. Among other things, hell need to get bigger and stronger, hell need to get comfortable with the NBA game and his familiarity with the language will also be a work in progress. Upon meeting the 18-year-old Brazilian, Casey asked him who his favourite player is, to which Caboclo responded, "Kevin Durant". "Can you guard Kevin Durant," Casey asked and without hesitation the young man replied, "yes". Casey was impressed with his willingness and ability to learn on fly, a quality that should serve him well when he does join his new team. "Hes a smart young man, his basketball IQ is high," said the Raptors coach. "He knows how to play, has a great feel for the game. Hes going to be a clean slate as far as a guy to work with." Caboclo spent draft night in New York getting his visa sorted out before he makes a quick trip to Toronto over the weekend, where hell be introduced following a workout at the ACC on Saturday. Next week hell meet up with some of his new teammates and coaches in Los Angeles and is expected to participate in Summer League with the Raptors next month. Although theres no telling what role hell have with the team or to what extent hes able to produce right away, Caboclo will be a member of the Raptors this coming season. The Raptors were able to add a more seasoned player with the 37th pick in forward DeAndre Daniels, a proven winner and member of the reining National Champion UConn Huskies. Daniels, 22, averaged 13.1 points and 6.0 rebounds with Connecticut last season. "Hes a good athlete also," Casey said of Daniels. "Hes a guy thats going to go through our Summer League program and well see where he is but I was impressed with his workout." Toronto selected Xavier Thames of San Diego State with the 59th overall pick, quickly trading him to the Brooklyn Nets for cash considerations. Cheap St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys .Y. -- Mark Steenhuis scored four goals and added two assists to lead the Buffalo Bandits over the Toronto Rock 12-10 in National Lacrosse League action on Saturday. Wholesale MLB Jerseys . 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Paul George scored 16 points, Roy Hibbert made a putback and two free throws in the final 1:09 and the Pacers turned to their defence to hold off Clevelands late rally for an 82-78 win over the short-handed Cavaliers. The Pacers led by 16 in the fourth before guard Dion Waiters brought Cleveland back by scoring 12 straight points in a 16-1 run that got the Cavs within 75-74 with 3:35 left. Hibberts free throw with 7.9 seconds left put the Pacers up 81-78, and Indiana got the ball back when Cavs forward Earl Clark stepped on the sideline on a poorly executed inbounds play with 6.9 left. David West made one free throw with 5.4 seconds remaining, and the Pacers escaped with their seventh win in eight games. At 27-6, Indiana has the NBAs best record -- now thats pretty. "We didnt finish the game the right way," West said. "They hung around and made some shots, but our defence held strong." C.J. Miles scored 21 and Waiters had 14 for the Cavaliers, who played their third game in a row without All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving. He has a bruised knee and his backup, Jarrett Jack, sat with back spasms. The Pacers had to grind this one out after taking control with 14-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters. "I know coach is going to be on us about giving up a big lead, but we know how to play in that situation," George said. "Weve been through that before. The best thing for us is to stay together and we were able to hold them off the last couple of possessions." Lance Stephenson made a 3-pointer as Indiana closed the third with a 7-0 run and then extended the lead to 16 by opening the fourth with another 7-0 burst capped by Danny Grangers 3. Thats when Waiters, the subject of trade rumours for weeks, brought the Cavs back. He reeled off 12 in a row and fed Anderson Varejao with two nice assists to get the Cavs within 79-78. Hibbert split a pair of freee throws, but on Clevelands next trip, Waiters missed a 3 and then forced a layup in traffic.dddddddddddd Hibberts free throw gave the Pacers a two-point cushion, but Cleveland couldnt execute a simple inbounds pass without a turnover and West put it away with his late free throw. "Its another tough loss," Waiters said. "We fought back. We never put our heads down when they went up 16. These kinds of losses hurt because we were right there. Weve been there all year long, and once we find a way to close these games out well be really good." Hibbert added 15 points and West 11 for the Pacers, who shot just 36 per cent from the floor, but played their typically stout defence. Indiana has won nine straight over Cleveland and 15 of 16. Tristan Thompson added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavs, who have reportedly been involved in talks with the Los Angeles Lakers for a trade involving Andrew Bynum for Pau Gasol. The enigmatic Bynum was recently dismissed from the team for detrimental conduct and the Cavs would like to deal or release the 7-footer by Tuesday, when his contract will be guaranteed. The injury-ravaged Lakers would consider bringing back Bynum -- he spent seven seasons with Los Angeles -- so they could cut him, clear salary-cap space and avoid paying the luxury tax. The Pacers, who fell behind by 14 before rallying to beat New Orleans on Saturday, shot only 37 per cent in the first half but used a 9-2 spurt to close the second quarter and lead 44-35 at the break. NOTES: Indiana came in allowing a league-low 88.9 points per game. ... Cavs coach Mike Brown would not comment on the trade rumours swirling around his team, and particularly about Bynum, who was banned from all team activities on Dec. 28. Waiters and Varejao have both been mentioned in various deals. ... Vogel says his team is a target every time it takes the floor. "Its not so much that theyre gunning for us," he said. "I think everybody looks at us and says, If we beat the Pacers, thats going to be a quality win. You do get their best shot from that standpoint. Teams recognize that you have to play a great basketball game to beat us." Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Cheap NBA Jerseys Wholesale NHL Jerseys Wholesale MLB Jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Wholesale NCAA Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys Wholesale Basketball Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' ' |
but in the end it was Masai Ujiri and the Toronto 
