Toronto needed Giannis Antetokounmpo, and had been one of many few groups within the league with the heart to pick a thin 6-foot-9 child enjoying second-tier Greek league basketball. However they didn’t have a choose within the 2013 NBA draft, and so they couldn’t discover a vendor. There may be footage of Ujiri attempting to reclaim what the Raptors had given up previous to his regime. A short glimpse of the Raptors’ draft room in 2013, Ujiri working the telephones, simply weeks into the job, with Oklahoma Metropolis for the twelfth choose—a choose that was as soon as theirs. It was a top-three-protected choose traded to the Houston Rockets as a part of a deal that might land Kyle Lowry, who would sooner or later be heralded as the best Raptor of all time. The choose was instantly rerouted to Oklahoma Metropolis within the notorious James Harden commerce. Sam Presti calls again. The Thunder are conserving the choose. The sunshine in Ujiri’s eyes dims a bit. “No deal,” he tells his crew. All the room appears to suppose it’s Giannis that OKC is taking. “It is likely to be [Steven] Adams, although,” Ujiri notes. He’s proper, although it doesn’t imply a lot. Toronto’s different attainable deal for Minnesota’s 14th choose falls via; they’re left to observe as Antetokounmpo lands in Milwaukee at 15. -via The Ringer / June 30, 2024
