TORONTO - Well, it was not the first time the Toronto Raptors shocked the NBA world by drafting a little-known Brazilian player. How many franchises can say that?
To be fair to Rafael Araujo, he was at least a known commodity when the Raptors selected him eighth overall in 2004. When NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the Raptors were selecting Bruno Caboclo, even people who had done a reasonable amount of research had no idea who that was. This was one of the weirdest picks in first-round history.
This is Masai Ujiri's first bold step in charge of the Raptors, and he could hardly get bolder. Although the ESPN broadcast made jokes about Caboclo being mentioned as the Brazilian Kevin Durant, it is clear that nobody knows much about the Raptors' latest first-overall pick, save for the Raptors front office. Nobody saw this coming, not even Yahoo Sports reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, who was spoiling picks on Twitter before they happened all night long.
Prospects who the Raptors were seemingly high on, such as UCLA forward Kyle Anderson and Swiss big man Clint Capela - players who had come to Toronto to work out in the weeks leading up to the draft - were still on the board. Last year, Ujiri was enamoured with Giannis Antetokounmpo, a similarly rangy, athletic swingman. However, Ujiri could not find a trade that would allow them to take the kid who would become known as the 'Greek Freak' in his rookie season in Milwaukee. So, Ujiri gets the benefit of the doubt, but only for a little while.
Caboclo, who will turn 19 in September, is a 6-foot-8 swingman - with a 7-foot-7 wingspan, according to Eurobasket.com - who played with Pinheiros of the Brazilian league this year. He played 16 games last year, scoring 4.9 points and grabbing 3.1 rebounds per game. He also has a history with the Basketball Without Borders program, to which Ujiri has ties. Naturally, one of Caboclo's teammates with Pinheiros was Araujo, which should delight Raptors fans.
The Raptors picked Connecuticut forward DeAndre Daniels with the 37th-overall pick. Daniels averaged 13.1 points per game last year, and is a perimeter-oriented big man. They also own the 59th-overall pick.
While it was a strange evening for Toronto's team, it was a wonderful night for some of its kids.
Andrew Wiggins came into the NCAA season as the most likely first-overall pick, but it was hardly a sure thing going into Thursday night. There were reports up until a few hours before the draft that the Cavaliers' brass was split between Wiggins and Duke forward Jabari Parker, who went second to Milwaukee. Several teams also tried to trade for the pick, but the Cavaliers ultimately decided to go with the chalk play. Improbably, the Toronto area has now produced two consecutive first-overall picks - Cleveland took Anthony Bennett last year. They join Brampton's Tristan Thompson, as well.
Wiggins' Kansas teammate, Joel Embiid, went third to Philadelphia, despite having surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot. Later on, Philadelphia traded its 10th pick for the 12th pick, Dario Saric, whose contract will likely keep him from playing in the NBA for two years. Philadelphia picked centre Nerlens Noel, who did not play because of knee surgery last season, with the sixth-overall pick in 2013.
Mississauga shooting guard Nik Stauskas went a few spots higher than most experts predicted, going eighth to Sacramento. Brampton's Tyler Ennis went 18th to Phoenix, just two picks ahead of the Raptors. Ennis has a chance to become the best Canadian point guard since another player who suited up for the Suns - Steve Nash.
Post By http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/06/26/toronto-raptors-make-unexpected-pick-of-unheralded-brazilian-swingman-bruno-caboclo-at-2014-nba-draft/
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