First up, don’t forget the RR March Madness Pool.
Let’s kick off our NBA Draft coverage by recapping what’s been going on between the 6th and 10th pick this decade. The Raptors are currently slated to draft 8th and even though the team’s playing terrible I don’t see them falling below OKC and upping their odds to draft 5th. Obviously the lottery can change things but for a moment let’s assume everything works out according to the percentages and the Raptors draft where they’re supposed to draft. You’ll find that there’s plenty to be had if a GM has done his scouting. Some of the better players drafted in those spots this decade are D.J Augustin, Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, Andrew Bynum, Luol Deng, Andre Iguodala, Chris Kaman, Amare Stoudemire, Andrew Bynum, Caron Butler, Shane Battier and Joe Johnson. Only twice in this time span has the consensus best player been drafted between 6-10 and those two are Roy and Stoudemire.
DraftExpress.com has us currently drafting 6’2″ Wake Forest PG Jeff Teague as the eighth pick. NBADraft.net has us selecting Arizona swingman Chase Budinger. In the weeks to come we’ll be looking at possible selections such as James Harden, Al-Farouq Aminu, Gerald Henderson and my dark horse Evan Turner of Ohio St along with many more. Go ahead and make an early call as to who you think might help the Raptors. My early pick is USC swingman Demar DeRozan. For now, let’s just look back and recap.
2008 Draft
Best Player: Derrick Rose at #1
Notables: #2 Beasley, #3 O.J Mayo, #4 Russell Westbrook, #9 D.J Augustin, #22 Courtney Lee
6 Danilo Gallinari (SF) New York Knicks Olimpia Milano (Italy) 1988 7 Eric Gordon (SG) Los Angeles Clippers Indiana Fr. 8 Joe Alexander (SF) Milwaukee Bucks West Virginia Jr. 9 D. J. Augustin (PG) Charlotte Bobcats Texas So. 10 Brook Lopez (C) New Jersey Nets Stanford So.
2007 Draft
Best Player: Kevin Durant at #2
Notables: #1 Greg Oden, #3 Al Horford, #15 Rodney Stuckey, #24 Rudy Fernandez
6 Yi Jianlian (PF/SF) Milwaukee Bucks Guangdong Southern Tigers (China) 1987 7 Corey Brewer (SF) Minnesota Timberwolves Florida Jr. 8 Brandan Wright (PF) Charlotte Bobcats North Carolina Fr. 9 Joakim Noah (PF/C) Chicago Bulls Florida Jr. 10 Spencer Hawes (C) Sacramento Kings Washington Fr.
2006 Draft
Best Player: Brandon Roy at #6
Notables: #1 Andrea Bargnani, #2 LaMarcus Aldrdige, #8 Rudy Gay, #21 Rajan Rondo, #47 Paul Millsap
6 Brandon Roy (SG) Minnesota Timberwolves Washington Sr. 7 Randy Foye (SG) Boston Celtics Villanova Sr. 8 Rudy Gay (G/F) Rockets Connecticut So. 9 Patrick O'Bryant (C) Golden State Warriors Bradley So. 10 Mouhamed Sene (C) Seattle SuperSonics RBC Verviers-Pepinster (Belgium) 1986
2005 Draft
Best Player: Chris Paul at #4
Notables: #2 Marvin Williams, #3 Deron Williams, #10 Andrew Bynum, #17 Danny Granger, #37 Ronny Turiaf
6 Martell Webster (G/F) Portland Trail Blazers Seattle Preparatory School 7 Charlie Villanueva (PF) Toronto Raptors UConn-So. 8 Channing Frye (F/C) New York Knicks Arizona-Sr. 9 Ike Diogu (PF) Golden State Warriors Arizona State-Jr. 10 Andrew Bynum (C) Los Angeles Lakers St. Joseph High School (Metuchen, NJ)HSSr.
2004 Draft
Best Player: Dwight Howard at #1
Notables: #2 Emeka Okafor, #5 Devin Harris, #7 Luol Deng, #20 Jameer Nelson, #26 Kevin Martin, #30 Anderson Varejao
6 Josh Childress (G/F) Atlanta Hawks Stanford 7 Luol Deng (SF) Phoenix Suns Duke 8 Rafael Araújo (C) Toronto Raptors BYU 9 Andre Iguodala (G/F) Philadelphia 76ers Arizona 10 Luke Jackson (SF) Cleveland Cavaliers Oregon
2003 Draft
Best Player: Lebron James at #1
Notables: #3 Carmelo Anthony, #4 Chris Bosh, #5 Dwayne Wade, #18 David West, #29 Josh Howard, #47 Mo Williams
6 Chris Kaman (C) Los Angeles Clippers Central Michigan 7 Kirk Hinrich (PG) Chicago Bulls Kansas 8 T. J. Ford (PG) Milwaukee Bucks Texas 9 Michael Sweetney (PF) New York Knicks Georgetown 10 Jarvis Hayes (F/G) Washington Wizards Georgia
2002 Draft
Best Player: Amare Stoudemire at #9
Notables: #1 Yao Ming, #10 Caron Butler, #23 Tayshaun Prince, #34 Carlos Boozer, #55 Luis Scola
6 Dajuan Wagner (G) Cleveland Cavaliers Memphis Fr. 7 Nenê Hilario (PF) New York Knicks Vasco da Gama (Brazil) 1982 8 Chris Wilcox (F/C) Los Angeles Clippers Maryland So. 9 Amare Stoudemire (F/C) Phoenix Suns Cypress Creek HS (Orlando, Florida) HSSr. 10 Caron Butler (SF) Miami Heat Connecticut So.
2001 Draft
Best Player: Tony Parker at #28
Notables: #3 Pau Gasol, #10 Joe Johnson, #13 Richard Jefferson, #31 Gilbert Arenas, #38 Mehmet Okur
6 Shane Battier (F/G) Vancouver Grizzlies Duke Sr. 7 Eddie Griffin (F) New Jersey Nets Seton Hall Fr. 8 DeSagana Diop (C) Cleveland Cavaliers Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, VA) HSSr. 9 Rodney White (SF) Detroit Pistons Charlotte Fr. 10 Joe Johnson (SG) Boston Celtics Arkansas So.
2000 Draft
Best Player: Michael Redd at #43
Notables: #1 Kenyon Martin
6 DerMarr Johnson (SG/SF) Atlanta Hawks Cincinnati Fr. 7 Chris Mihm (C/PF) Chicago Bulls Texas Jr. 8 Jamal Crawford (SG) Cleveland Cavaliers Michigan Fr. 9 Joel Przybilla (C) Houston Rockets Minnesota So. 10 Keyon Dooling (SG) Orlando Magic Missouri So.
