We come to the first expansion team. Since the NBA will not
hold their coin flip until just before the real draft, we
held our own. The Grizzlies won the flip and elected to pick
first in the expansion draft. That gave the 6th pick to the
Raptors and their GM:
Rania R. Melhem
who picks:
Kevin Garnett, PF, 6-11. Farragut High School
Note: we held a Usenet expansion draft. The team analysis is
based on that fictional draft.
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The Toronto Raptors with the 6th pick of the NBA draft
select:
Kevin Garnett, PF/C, 6'11" 220 lbs Farragut HS, Chicago
Team Report:
the Toronto Raptors as everyone knows are a new expansion
franchise. We have just gone through the expansion draft,
and we have in our opinion selected a mix of old and young
players who should help us have a decent (maybe I should
say not too disastrous) a rookie season in the NBA
Center:
At center we have 2 pure centers: Will Perdue and
Tim Perry. Will Perdue has played his entire career
(to this point) for Chicago Bulls and has 3 rings
form them, he will bring a winning attitude to the franchise,
Tim Perry is very talented but inconsistent, maybe a fresh
start with a brand new team will help him mature
and be more consistent.
Power Forward:
At Power Forward we have : Scott Haskins , Stacy King,
Terry Davis, : all of them fairly young and hopefully they will
grow with the team. Jeff Turner has played this position
and could be the leader here.
Small Forward:
Again I took a veteran SF (Xavier McDaniel) and a host of
young one in their second or third years (95/96 season):
Tracy Murray, Bryon Russell, Jeff Turner could also play
that position if needed.
Shooting Guard:
Harold Minor is the only player we have who plays shooting
guard exclusively, and the playing time he gets will make
up for the relative lack of playing time he got in Miami.
Tony Bennett could also play shooting guard, because of his
shooting ability.
Point Guard:
At PG we have Sedale Threatt and Randy Brown. Threatt
is a good PG and will be another leader for this team.
Randy Brown is excellent defensively and should learn
the PG position from Sedale Threatt.
Draft Selection:
I drafted Kevin Garnett with the 6th pick because of his
excellent skills and physical ability. I know that he is young
and still needs to mature both physically and mentally.
But this is a young franchise that can afford the wait.
Others Considered:
Rashard Griffith: Too many ? and too much weight.
Corliss Williamson: Only in passing, not seriously.
I really wanted McDyess, but Minnesota grab him just
ahead of me.
Conclusion:
This is by no means a final roster, I hope to sign
several free-agents at all 5 positions including a
veteran center to help Garnett.
I think this is a fairly safe pick, since Isiah
Thomas has already stated publicly that if Garnett
came out he would take him with the 6th pick in the draft.
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Craig Simpson - Usenet Draft Commissioner