SPORTS. Your Pick is as Good as Mine Munro dissects the 2006 NBA Draft David Munro, OP Contributor The NBA Entry Draft went in late June, and like every year, there some talented players were selected. Last draft saw a record number of high school players (7) selected including Martell Webster (Portland), Andrew Bynum (LA Lakers), Gerald Green (Boston)—none of which played significant minutes last season, The consensus is that this year’s draft-eligible players— such as Adam Morrison (Gonzaga), JJ Redick and Shelden Williams (Duke), Randy Foye (Villanova), and Brandon Roy (Washington)—are more “NBA ready” after spending several years in college, but may not have as much poten- tial as the aforementioned high school stars. So who is most likely to help turn their team into an NBA champion in five years? Only time will tell. The Raptors are banking on first overall pick, 20-year-old Italian . The 7’0 forward prospect has an offensive game that has been compared to Dirk Nowitzki, but will need work on the defensive end. Nonetheless, the Raptors have now assembled a young and talented frontline with Chris Bosh, Charlie Villanueva, and now Bargnani. And with the recent acquisitions of center Rasho Nesterovic (from San Antonio) and forward Kris Humphries (Utah), the Raps now have the big bodies to compete in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors would have loved to have traded down in this draft to add some backcourt depth, while still drafting Bargnani. But since 1984, only four first-overall picks have failed to become all-stars, and Orlando’s Dwight Howard is quickly on the way to cutting that list to three: So in com- mitting to Bargnani, don’t be surprised to see trade inquiries for Charlie Villanueva, who could bring back some immediate backcourt help after a strong rookie sea- son in which he finished second in rookie scoring, However, that could be difficult considering that Villanueva is still on his rookie contract for the next three years. NBA rules only allow trades amongst similar con- tracts, within 15 percent of salary, which makes picking up a quality guard for under $3 million nearly impossible. Now before we go looking for the next Steve Nash or Kobe Bryant, let us not forget that both Nash and Bryant came off the bench for their respective clubs for the first couple of years in the league before blossoming into superstars. So let’s not expect all-star status for Bargnani right away. Even Dirk Nowitzki struggled his first few years in Dallas. It will take some time and even at that, it’s a crapshoot. Drafting players these days is as inexact as picking stocks. Who can remember the 1996 Draft when Toronto GM Isiah Thomas was booed for drafting Damon Stoudamire, when the fans wanted NCAA Champion and Final Four MVP Ed O’Bannon. Stoudamire went on to win Rookie of the Year, while O’Bannon failed to finish the year in the NBA. So pick RIGHT NOW—who is going to win the Rookie of the Year? Who’s it going to be? Adam Morrison, Andrea Bargnani, JJ Redick, Brandon Roy? What about Lamarcus Aldridge or Tyrus Thomas? Your pick is as good as mine. Other NBA Draft notes: Many felt UConn guard Marcus Williams should have been a lottery pick. Instead, he fell to the Néw Jersey Nets” at number 22. It is not uncommon for small point guards to slip in the draft. Cases in point: Tony Parker (28th over- all in 2001) and Jameer Nelson (20th overall in 2004). Sometimes there are question marks about attitude and rumours persist about Williams showing up to pre-draft workouts out of shape, not to mention a previous charge of stealing computers on campus. Can you imagine UConn’s practices last year? They had five players selected in the draft—Rudy Gay, Hilton Armstrong, Marcus Williams, Josh Boone and Canadian Denham Brown. And a sixth, sharpshooter Rashad Anderson will undoubtedly be invited to a free-agent camp somewhere. Makes you wonder how they lost to George Mason in the NCAA tournament. Speaking of Toronto’s Denham Brown—who was drafted 35th overall by Seattle—look for him to have every opportunity to make the SuperSonics, who only have the aging Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, and Damien Wilkens under contract on the wing. The Sonics also used their first round lottery pick on 770 project Saer Sene, and he'll likely need to develop overseas for a couple of years. Thus, Brown could be the only additional rookie contract on the books next season for the financially strapped Sonics. After point guard Daniel Gibson (Texas) went to Cleveland with the 42nd overall pick, the rest of the draft was pretty much of international players that teams can “stash” overseas for a couple of years. That would save many NBA teams from having to pay additional payroll hy - mclennonb@douglas.be.ca next season, while also giving their prospects time to devel- op in Europe. Nine of the last 18 picks were Euros, with little to no chance of being seen in the NBA for at least a couple of years. In similar fashion, let’s not forget the Raptors second- round draft pick from the 2005 draft, Roko Ujic, who played for KK Split in Croatia. He was rated the fourth- best point guard in the draft last season, but remained overseas to develop. The Raptors have always thought he would be able to contribute when he arrives. Look for him to be in a Raptors uniform either this season or next. Happiest man at the NBA draft had to be Renaldo Balkman, a 6’8 forward from South Carolina, who was drafted 20th overall by the New York Knicks. He averaged less than 10 points per game at COLLEGE, and came off the bench 16 times at South Carolina. But he came on at the NIT tournament, where he was selected MVP. Nonetheless, for a guy who only started 22 of 38 games at South Carolina, I’m sure he’s pretty excited to get a mini- mum guaranteed 3-year contract of at least 3.5 million US. Evidence that the NBA draft is on potential. Leon Powe was a Pac-10 first team all-star at California, and the 6’8 forward was on many All-American lists. He was draft- ed 49th by the Denver Nuggets. One pick later at number 50, 770 center Ryan Hollins from UCLA was drafted by the Charlotte Bobcats, despite averaging just 7.0 points and 4.8 rebounds for the Bruins. v9 ee » aa REITO