NBA Draft - Canada Connection

The NBA draft - The Toronto Raptors had the 5th selection of the 2011 NBA Draft and they chose Lithuanian Centre Jonas Valanciunas. This is a good young centre who stands 7feet tall. He is quick and can move down low and set picks. He will need time to develop and to physically grow in order to make some valuable contributions on the court with Toronto. This is a future prospect, he is only 19 years old but perhaps he is worth something right now as trade bait. We'll see what the Raptors do. The difficulty is they are rebuilding. The Raps only had 22 wins last year. Was there a quick fix in the draft- truth in the matter there was no pick in the draft who could come in a dramatically change things for the Raps. They are a young team and they will continue to struggle, Toronto's biggest problem is nobody wants to stay in Toronto too long.

Canadian connections - The Cleveland Cavaliers had the 4th overall pick and made history selecting Tristan Thompson from Brampton, On. Thompson is the highest drafted Canadian of all time. The previous record was held by Steve Nash who was drafted 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns in 1996