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09.03.2019 07:38
BROOKLYN - It was widely expected to be one of the more unpredictable drafts in recent memory, but in the end it was Masai Ujiri Antworten

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. Gorgui Dieng Jersey . 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. Andrew Wiggins Jersey . The 49ers announced the deal Thursday. San Francisco selected Kilgore in the fifth round of the 2011 draft out of Appalachian State. He has played in 33 regular-season games, plus all six playoff games the last two seasons. Jimmy Butler Jersey . The Rays hope to stay alive for the postseason and salvage the finale of this series Sunday at Rogers Centre, where they dropped a 7-2 decision Saturday. Chris Archer lasted 2 1/3 innings in the no-decision, charged with a run and five hits, and Alex Torres suffered the loss in relief. http://www.cheaptimberwolvesjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-kevin-garnett-jersey .com) - New England Patriots starting center Bryan Stork will not play in Sundays AFC Championship against Indianapolis due to a knee injury the rookie sustained last week.MIAMI -- For so much of the night, just about everything was going wrong for the Miami Heat. They were missing every 3-pointer, arguing plenty of calls, even screaming at one another. Then one quick burst changed everything. Dwyane Wade scored 32 points, LeBron James added 24 on a sore left ankle, and Chris Bosh and Ray Allen connected on huge 3-pointers within a 31-second span down the stretch. It all added up to the Heat erasing a 15-point deficit in the final 18 minutes to beat the rival Indiana Pacers 97-94 on Wednesday. "It shows were a team thats been there before," Wade said. "No matter what the score is we always feel we have an opportunity to win the game." So even when Indiana led 68-53 midway through third quarter, hope remained. And even when James and Mario Chalmers were getting in a heated exchange during one particularly bleak stretch -- James said afterward that he was wrong, and Chalmers said the matter was forgotten -- the Heat didnt fall apart. "It was a good win," James said. "Good, good, quality win against a very good team on our home floor. We had to overcome a lot." Paul George scored 25 points for Indiana but missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it with 4 seconds left, and insisted afterward that he was fouled by James on the play. "I went into my shot, got pushed in the back, I thought it was a foul, nothing was called, and we lost the game," George said. "Aside of that we still should have taken care of business." David West had 23 points and Lance Stephenson added 13 for the Pacers, who have dropped two straight and saw their lead over Miami in the Eastern Conference trimmed to one game. Both teams have won against the other on their home floor this season, and Miami topped Indiana at home in Game 7 of the East finals a year ago. "Its December," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "I think you have two great teams going at it. Its going to be a fun series all season, the regular-season matchups, and hopefully we will both be able to reach a point in the playoffs where we can meet again." Miami got the 15-point deficit down to five by the end of the third quarter, and was still down 92-85 when West scored with 3:21 remaining. Then, forr the first time all night, the Heat put together a real run. Taj Gibson Jersey. . The Heat scored the next 10 points -- Boshs 3-pointer, his first in 15 attempts, tied it at 92. And after George missed in the lane at the other end, James brought the ball the other way and found Allen for a 3-pointer that put the Heat ahead for the first time since the score was 14-13. They didnt trail again. "I was encouraged by our ability to stay focused and show some resolve in the second half," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It wasnt necessarily pretty, but you have to make enough plays ... and a lot of times against this opponent it has to be like that, where its not smooth and you have to make enough plays to just give yourself a chance in the end." The Pacers had a chance at the lead late, but it went awry when George Hill turned the ball over on a pass with 14 seconds left. Allen made two free throws with 10.3 seconds remaining to put Miami up by three, and that capped the scoring. Pacers centre Roy Hibbert got his fourth foul early in the third, and Vogel opted to leave him in the game. The gamble appeared to backfire 46 seconds later when Hibbert picked up his fifth with 8:34 remaining in the quarter. Hibbert went to the bench -- but the Pacers didnt miss a beat. George made three free throws after getting hit beyond the arc by Chalmers to put Indiana up 66-51 midway through the third, and the Pacers lead was still 14 with 4:17 left in the period. "They stole the game from us," West said. Even though the teams wont see each other again until March, and with the playoffs still 50-something games away, there was clearly a little more meaning to this one. James was questionable because of a bad ankle, the one he twisted in Mondays win over Utah. Vogel was questionable because of bad spaghetti -- at least, he thinks thats what caused a quick bout with illness that set in after he dined Tuesday night. By game time, both pronounced themselves ready. NOTES: Pacers F Danny Granger, who has played in just five games since the start of last season because of injuries, will practice Thursday and is set to return to the lineup. ... Neither team has topped 100 points in the last six meetings, including playoff games. ' ' '

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