Canadian forward Anthony Bennett of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was taken with the No. 1 overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers, setting the tone for a surprising NBA Draft on Thursday.
Bennett, a versatile 2.03m forward who averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds as a freshman last season, jumped over touted centers Nerlens Noel of Kentucky and Ukrainian Alex Len of Maryland to land the top pick by the Cavs.
Injuries to Noel (knee) and Len (foot) and others clouded the picture in a draft that was without a consensus No. 1 choice, with Bennett landing with the 24-58 Cavaliers, despite undergoing shoulder surgery at the end of last season.
Photo: Reuters
“I’m just as surprised as everybody else,” Bennett told reporters at the Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets.
Athletic guard Victor Oladipo of Indiana was taken with the second pick of the first round by the Orlando Magic, while the Washington Wizards followed by claiming forward Otto Porter, who played for nearby Georgetown University, third overall.
“Surreal feeling, man,” Oladipo said. “I’ve been watching this draft pretty much all my life, and to actually be a part of it and to actually be the No. 2 pick in this draft is truly a blessing.”
Trade rumors circulated throughout the draft, with the Barclays Center crowd distracted by reports that the Nets had agreed in principle to a mega-deal with the rebuilding Boston Celtics that would send Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry for a trio of future No. 1 picks.
Nothing was made official, though, and the draft chugged along complicated by a lively trade market of its own.
The Charlotte Hornets tabbed Indiana center Cody Zeller with the fourth pick, before Len was scooped up by the Phoenix Suns and Noel was taken by the New Orleans Pelicans with the next two picks.
However, Noel was later informed he had been traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in a package that sent All-Star guard Jrue Holiday to New Orleans.
“They’ve got a great organization there, too,” Noel said about the 76ers after telling a TV interviewer how happy he was about joining New Orleans. “I’m just staying positive about everything.”
Some deals were announced on the podium by NBA commissioner David Stern, but not yet made official, lending suspense and some confusion to the proceedings.
After the top 10 choices were distributed there was a rush toward international players in the draft.
New Zealander Steven Adams out of the University of Pittsburgh was taken with the 12th pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder, NBA finalists last year.
Poised to become just the third Kiwi to play in the NBA, the 2.13m-tall player from Rotorua was a freshman at Pittsburgh and ranked first on the team in rebounds, with 6.3 a game, and blocks, 2.0 average, while averaging 7.2 points.
Three picks later the Milwaukee Bucks claimed forward Giannis Antetokounmpo out of Filathlitikos AO of Greece, a 2.06m forward who at 18 was the youngest player available in the draft.
The Boston Celtics used the 16th pick to take Brazilian Lucas Nogueira, a center from Estudiantes in Spain, while the Atlanta Hawks followed by selecting guard Dennis Schroeder of Phantoms Braunschweig of Germany.
With the 19th pick, the Cavaliers chose Russian guard Sergey Karasev of BC Triumph Lyubertsy, then two choices later the Utah Jazz grabbed Senegalese center Gorgui Dieng of Louisville.
As for the top pick, powerfully built Bennett was considered one of the best rounded prospects from this year’s draft class, equally adept at scoring from down low as he is shooting from the outside.
“I can contribute at the four, at the three,” the 20-year-old Bennett said. “There’s things I still need to work on, but I feel like I’m a great teammate, unselfish. I think I can fit in right away.”
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but